Canadian, U.S. leaders meet to discuss NORAD modernization, Russia, Ukraine, China, more
On February 10, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III hosted his Canadian counterpart, Minister of National Defense Anita Anand, for a bilateral meeting at the Pentagon, according to a report released yesterday by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).
The two North American leaders discussed their cooperation through NATO to counter Russian aggression against Ukraine, and their shared commitment to North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) modernization, Arctic security, and a free and open Indo-Pacific.
The two Defense leaders reaffirmed their steadfast support for Ukraine, pledging to continue providing moral, financial and military assistance to strengthen Ukraine’s security and sovereignty over the long term.
Just last month, Anand revealed that Canada would be supplying the Ukrainian effort with four Leopard 2A4 main battle tanks from Canada’s inventory of military weaponry. Austin confirmed again that Canada and the U.S. are members of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which supports Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression.
“I’m very grateful for Canada’s leadership on Ukraine, including your [January 26] recent announcement to donate Leopard 2A4 tanks to Ukraine, and I look forward to building on that work today,” Austin said.
They also reaffirmed the importance of both nations’ investment in modern, ready, and capable forces, steps to advance NORAD technological modernization, and close coordination on a range of other bilateral and global issues.
NORAD is a United States-Canada organization with the missions of aerospace warning, aerospace control and maritime warning for North America. Those warnings includes the detection, validation and warning of an attack against North America — whether by aircraft, missiles or space vehicles — through mutual support arrangements with other commands, according to the DoD.
The U.S. Secretary took yesterday as an opportunity to thank Anand publicly for Canada’s contribution in the tracking and analysis of the high-altitude balloon (aka the Chinese Spy Balloon) and support for the U.S. response to the PRC’s [People’s Republic of China]unacceptable violation of our sovereignty.
Canada and the U.S., working through NORAD, tracked the Chinese spy balloon that violated the sovereignty of both countries, Austin said.
See:
U.S. Air Force F22 Raptor shoots down Chinese spy balloon over Atlantic Ocean
“We remain concerned by the PRC’s [People’s Republic of China] increasingly assertive efforts to subvert the rules-based international order that keeps us all secure,” Austin said about China’s actions.
Austin and Anand emphasized the continuing commitment of the United States and Canada to work together to improve security in Haiti, in collaboration with their respective inter-agencies and regional and international partners.
For more on yesterday’s meeting between the NATO leaders, see the video accompanying this article.
(Cover photo, U.S. Secretary of Defence Lloyd J. Austin III & Canadian Minister of Defense Anita Anand, Image credit: Twitter)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram
