Canada-China Relations Committee on June 10th, 2024

[H.E. Maria Andrelita Sacramento Austria]

Yes.

[Michael Chong, Conservative, Wellington—Halton Hills, ON]

Thank you. That's very helpful.

Thank you very much, Ambassador, for your testimony.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken Hardie]

The next five minutes will be split between Mr. Erskine-Smith and Mr. Drouin.

[Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Liberal, Beaches—East York, ON]

Ambassador, I appreciate the time. I have two questions for you. First, this is a study in the context of the Canada-China committee. What do you think is missing from the Indo-Pacific strategy or how do you think we can extend the relationship between Canada and the Philippines to address one of the goals in the Indo-Pacific strategy, which is to counter the influence of China in the region?

[H.E. Maria Andrelita Sacramento Austria]

We believe the Indo-Pacific strategy is a very good first step. What people are watching in the region is how this strategy will be operationalized. Canada has taken very good first steps, like the establishment of the appropriate mechanisms and the regional agriculture and agri-food hub. We are looking at how the strategy will translate into concrete projects and initiatives that will make Canada's presence in the region felt and better appreciated.

[Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Liberal, Beaches—East York, ON]

I appreciate that.

My last question is more human rights-related. I find it quite interesting that you have a situation in which Maria Ressa won the Nobel Prize. You have a situation in which she was the commencement speaker at Harvard just a month ago, and yet, while she was acquitted of some charges in the fall, I understand that some charges remain outstanding. Now, it was under the previous regime that she was targeted, I would say, to undermine journalistic integrity.

What is the state of play there, and what is the government's view of Maria Ressa's journalism?

[H.E. Maria Andrelita Sacramento Austria]

The fact that she was acquitted of some of the charges against her shows that the justice system works. It takes time sometimes, but the justice system is functioning. It gives a sense of stability, and it gives a sense of structure. We're closely watching the progress of the case, which is now under the judicial arm of our government.

[Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Liberal, Beaches—East York, ON]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken Hardie]

Mr. Drouin, it's over to you.

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Ambassador, for testifying before this committee.

You've mentioned something important, which is dear to my heart, and that is the Indo-Pacific strategy but also, more importantly, the fact that for the first time we have an agri-food hub office in Manila. In Canada, we're lucky. We have masses of land and we're 40 million people. You have almost 120 million people but 300,000 square kilometres of land mass.

Therefore, obviously, when we talk about security, feeding your population is important. I just want you to talk about what it meant to you when the minister was there in February announcing the official opening of the office and, more importantly, that Canadian farmers are now destined to feed part of your population, how keeping that human-to-human relationship is important and, more importantly, how food is always an important factor in discussing and building relationships.

[H.E. Maria Andrelita Sacramento Austria]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, for that very important question and for the important contribution that Canada has brought to the Philippines in terms of our food security.

Food security is a very big priority. When Minister MacAulay was in Manila, I had the privilege of being in Manila at the same time.

There was a personal side to the story. One NGO in the Philippines buys granola seed potato seeds from P.E.I., brings them to the Philippines and distributes it to at least five indigenous communities in the Philippines. Through that seed, the productivity of the potato farmers in those five areas has almost doubled. On the occasion of Minister MacAulay's visit, about eight or ten of the farmers made the six-hour drive from their mountain communities to present Minister MacAulay with their harvest.

Having witnessed that, it was a very touching reminder of the assistance that Canada has provided and how working together.... The potential of the bilateral relations to improve lives of people on the ground is very important to us. Working together and leveraging the bilateral relations, we can translate that to a better future for many people.

That, to my mind, is a golden moment for Philippine-Canada relations.

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Often in trades, some countries—without naming them—will unilaterally break off trade or impose non-trade barriers because of X, Y or Z.

Do you believe that Canada would ever do that to the Philippines or do we have that strengthened tie between the Philippines and Canada, specifically when we talk about exporting food to your country?

[H.E. Maria Andrelita Sacramento Austria]

Canada and the Philippines have a long history of sharing values, including the rule of law and democracy. I believe that if there was any dispute between the Philippines and Canada, we could resolve it peacefully without resorting to economic measures.

[Francis Drouin, Liberal, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

Thank you so much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken Hardie]

We'll now go to Mr. Bergeron for two and a half minutes.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

In early May, the defence chiefs from the Philippines, Japan, the U.S. and Australia met for their second joint meeting in Hawaii. The defence chiefs from the four nations held their first meeting in Singapore, on June 3, 2023. At the meeting, the defence chiefs reiterated their shared vision for a free, open, secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region. They expressed serious concern over the situation in the East China Sea and South China Sea. They strongly objected to the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels in the South China Sea.

As you will recall, in September 2023, two Royal Canadian Navy vessels participated in a joint naval exercise with the navy of the Philippines in the South China Sea, as part of Canada's Indo-Pacific strategy.

Do you think every country that shares that vision for the Indo-Pacific region should take part in those defence chief meetings?

I have a follow-up question. Why do you think Canada is not part of those meetings yet?

[H.E. Maria Andrelita Sacramento Austria]

The Philippines has always been supportive of Canada's more intense engagement in the region.

In certain mechanisms, for example, in the East Asia Summit and the ASEAN Defense Ministers Plus, there are administrative challenges, but we continue to discuss with our partners—both in ASEAN and our bilateral partners—how we can engage more partners.

We can involve more partners in these discussions and activities because we believe there are many more countries that have an equal stake in the issues that we are discussing.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

In your opening remarks, you referred to the perception of Canada based on a specific program or project. How does the Philippines view Canada's military contribution, participation or presence in Pacific waters?

[H.E. Maria Andrelita Sacramento Austria]

Let me refer to a survey done very recently among ASEAN countries. It asked them to rank the importance of the dialogue relations between ASEAN and our dialogue partners. In the survey, Canada, unfortunately, came out almost last...it was New Zealand...in most countries except the Philippines. In the Philippines, Canada was the sixth or seventh most important among our dialogue partners.

[Stéphane Bergeron, Bloc, Montarville, QC]

How do you explain that?

[H.E. Maria Andrelita Sacramento Austria]

We are more than friends. We are family.

[The Chair, Liberal, Ken Hardie]

That's very good.

Thank you.

Ms. McPherson, you have two and a half minutes.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

I almost wish we could stop on the “we are family”. It feels like a good place to hang our hats....

I do want to comment on something you had said in your opening statement as well. You had talked about multilateralism and how important that was going forward, and how the rules-based order was something that the Philippine government strongly believes in. You talked about trying to work to make it more constructive and more equitable.

How would you see the Filipino government playing a role in that, and how could Canada help in that manner?

[H.E. Maria Andrelita Sacramento Austria]

For one, we have made a very big investment in ensuring the rule of law is upheld. For example, in our dispute over the West Philippine Sea, we brought it at great cost, at great time and at great reputational cost to the Permanent Court of Arbitration, just to drive home the point that right is might. We have the rule of law to fall back on when the world seems to be in flames.

Canada is a very natural partner in that effort, so we appreciate very much Canada's consistent statements of support for the arbitral decision and for speaking out in situations when the Philippines is being harassed in the West Philippine Sea. Canada's active and consistent stand in support of the Philippines and the rule of law, particularly the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is a very powerful reminder that Canada is a very important player in the Pacific region.

[Heather McPherson, NDP, Edmonton Strathcona, AB]

Thank you very much.

As someone who represents a large Filipino population, I know in Alberta there are a number of Filipino members, people who are living in that province, who thank you very much for being here this evening.

That's all from me, Mr. Chair.