Canada’s ‘Negative Experience’ Due to Beijing’s Actions During Meng Wanzhou Affair May Have Been Catalyst for Indo-Pacific Strategy, Panel Hears

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, flanked by Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly (L) and International Trade Minister Mary Ng, holds a press conference following the ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Nov. 13, 2022. The Canadian Press/Sean Kilpatrick

The catalyst for the government’s Indo-Pacific Strategy could have been the Meng Wanzhou affair and the arbitrary imprisonment by the Chinese regime of two Canadians, an expert suggested during a panel discussion on Dec. 7.

James Boutilier, a distinguished fellow at the Macdonald Laurier Institute (MLI), said there have been calls for Canada to engage in the Asia Pacific region going back decades, pointing to a recommendation in 1984 by the newly established Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.