Defence Minister Anita Anand spoke with her Australian counterpart, Minister Peter Dutton, during a telephone discussion that covered several matters of mutual interest.

Both ministers expressed their perspectives on the bilateral relationship between Australia and Canada, which share a common outlook on security challenges, as well as a similar approach to training and operations. Minister Anand pointed to recent joint exercises in the South China Sea involving HMCS Winnipeg and Her Majesty’s Australian Ships Warramunga and Brisbane as an example of that common outlook, as well as Canada’s continued commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. The two ministers expressed an interest in strengthening collaboration in the region.

Finally, both ministers underscored the importance of the Five Eyes alliance to Australian and Canadian security interests, and expressed their desire to hold a ministerial-level meeting in the near future to discuss several matters, in particular the security dynamics in the Indo-Pacific region.