Canada\u2019s growing role in space defence may feature a new partner, thanks to a recently signed deal.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On January 27th, David J. McGuinty, Minister of National Defence, met with His Excellency Kanji Yamanouchi, the Japanese Ambassador to Canada, and subsequently announced<\/a> that the two countries had agreed to an Equipment and Technology Transfer Agreement (ETTA).\u00a0<\/p>\n In the announcement, the Government said that the agreement would \u201chelp Canadian and Japanese companies co-develop projects that require the transfer of equipment, technology, or intellectual property to Canada.\u201d Canadian and Japanese companies will be able to work more closely together on defence-related projects, as well as export defence equipment and technology between the two countries. The Government said in their announcement that this will help in \u201cproviding the Canadian Armed Forces with an additional source of supply.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Defence shift<\/p>\n The news reflects key changes in the defence outlook in both countries.\u00a0<\/p>\n While Canada and Japan have been allies for a long time, both countries are moving in directions that make these kinds of deals more relevant. Canada is looking to build diplomatic and trade relationships outside of the traditional Canada-US framework that had dominated up until recently, and has lately emphasized a \u201cbuy Canadian\u201d strategy that reduces defence spending on US-made products, stating<\/a> that the US-Canada relationship must no longer be one of \u2018dependency,\u2019 and that Canada needs to widen its international defence partnerships.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Japan is reevaluating its defence sector and defence posture, quite possibly including changes to the constitution\u2019s well-known prohibitions against Japanese force-projection capabilities.\u00a0Japan\u2019s new Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, has made these changes a central part of her agenda, vowing that Japan will continue its defence build-up and \u201cproactively push for its fundamental buildup of its defense power.\u201d<\/p>\n It also reflects a recent shift in Japanese attitudes towards the defence sector and defence exports. On February 25th, a Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) panel approved changes to a number of guidelines restricting defence-related exports, which (according to The Diplomat<\/a>) \u201celiminate a restriction that limited defense exports to rescue, transport, warning, surveillance, and minesweeping equipment.\u201d These changes also allow the export of weapons that are co-developed with other nations, presumably including the kind of co-development enabled by this new Canada-Japan ETTA.\u00a0<\/p>\n In comments to SpaceQ, a spokesperson for the Department of National Defence (DND) said that the agreement \u201cenables Japanese-origin equipment, technology, and intellectual property to be transferred to Canada, either between the governments or between industry.\u201d They said that DND \u201cremains focused on bringing the ETTA into force so that we have the necessary foundation in place to facilitate any future equipment or technology transfers.\u201d<\/p>\n The DND announcement noted that \u201cthe ETTAs are a requirement under Japan\u2019s Three Principles on Transfer of Defense Equipment and Technology.\u201d<\/p>\n ETTA and space<\/p>\n How does this impact companies that are focused on space? Potentially quite a bit, though it\u2019s still somewhat in the early stages and it\u2019s still being worked out.<\/p>\n DND said that \u201cthe ETTA is a forward-looking agreement,\u201d but that since \u201cspace projects are planned over a horizon that spans decades, we are in the very early stages of our partnership with the Japan Self-Defence Forces (JSDF)\u201d on anything regarding space.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nevertheless, both countries would have an interest in applying this kind of agreement to space.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the case of Japan, any future transition towards force projection in its military and defence carries the need to develop and protect its space-based surveillance and communication capabilities. As Japan\u2019s military and defence assets venture out beyond the region, space assets could prove critical. And, at the same time, its main regional competitors\u2014North Korea and the People\u2019s Republic of China (PRC)\u2014are building significant capabilities that either operate in the space domain or can exert force upon it.\u00a0<\/p>\n The PRC, particularly, is building up a presence in space that rivals that of the United States. Japan may need to leverage every partnership it can in order to ensure its own continued presence in the space domain.<\/p>\n In turn, Canada is facing its own set of challenges. Both Prime Minister Mark Carney and Brig. Gen. Chris Horner, Commander of the CAF\u2019s 3 Canadian Space Division, have talked about the problems faced by the \u201crules-based international order.\u201d That order has, to date, ensured that Canada enjoys peaceful and continuous access to space-based assets, and Horner said last July<\/a> that preserving that order and preventing aggression is a key goal. \u201cAs we build out those partnerships with partners and allies, that\u2019s not just the Five Eyes,\u201d he said, adding that it would involve \u201cnew relationships that we are forming in different ways.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Presumably, that would include Japan.<\/p>\n