Canada’s defense minister has abruptly ended training with the Chinese military

Canadian Defense Minister Hajit Sajan confirmed in the Canadian Parliament December 10 that his country’s military is no longer training with the Chinese military.

The decision is primarily for winter training, and the policy thereafter has not been finalized, according to Canadian Defense Department documents. Minister Sajan directed that the Canadian military would not train with the Chinese, one of the main reasons being that the military would take the side of Canadians detained by the Chinese government.

The reference is to two Canadians, including a former Canadian diplomat, who were arrested by The Chinese government in 2018 shortly after Canada assisted the United States in detaining Meng Wanzhou, a vice president of the Chinese company Huawei.

But Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has expressed dissatisfaction with the defense Ministry’s decision, noting in a document to the military that any decision to curtail Canada’s relationship should be carefully considered and avoided any unhelpful or pointless moves.

Members of Canada’s Conservative Party have criticized The Trudeau government, saying that Canada’s defense and foreign ministries are out of step on China policy.