The Canadian government has stationed a cybersecurity expert at its Taipei office as Ottawa deepens security cooperation with Taiwan, Canadian media reported yesterday.
Recognizing that China poses the biggest threat to Canada and Taiwan in terms of cybersecurity, Ottawa wants to work with Taiwan to respond to that threat, the Globe and Mail reported.
Canada’s Communications Security Establishment in a report last week identified China as “the most comprehensive cybersecurity threat facing Canada today.”
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As Canada does not have formal relations with Taiwan, it has been cautious about cooperating with Taipei on national security.
In January, Ottawa quietly sent officials to Taipei to study disinformation during the presidential election, much of which was conducted by China, the Globe and Mail reported.
Canada has also dispatched cybersecurity teams to Canberra, Seoul, Singapore and Tokyo as a part of its Indo-Pacific strategy, the Canadian Department of Global Affairs told the newspaper.
“Through the Indo-Pacific strategy, Canada is committed to enhancing and diversifying its security partnerships and building its cyberdiplomacy, especially as concerns over foreign interference, state-sponsored disinformation, cybersecurity and cybercrime have become increasingly significant,” department spokesperson Charlotte MacLeod said.
Richard Fadden, a formal national security adviser to two Canadian prime ministers and previous head of the Canada Service Intelligence Service, led a group of former Canadian security and defense officials on a trip to Taiwan in September, marking the highest level of engagement between the two countries on national security to date, the paper said.
There is a growing consensus in Canada that if Beijing annexes Taiwan, it would only embolden the Chinese government, so Ottawa plans to deepen its cooperation with Taiwan quietly, Fadden told the paper.
Canada is helping Taiwan improve its national security by providing military goods and technology, the Globe and Mail said.
Last year, exports of military goods and technology to Taiwan rose to C$32.6 million (US$23.48 million), the highest on record, the paper said, citing department data.
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