Juno News - October 06, 2021


China continues to pose a serious threat to Canada


Episode Stats

Length

3 minutes

Words per Minute

164.2659

Word Count

612

Sentence Count

33

Hate Speech Sentences

1


Summary


Transcript

00:00:00.000 I recently finished reading a very interesting novel called 2034.
00:00:09.920 It's a novel co-authored by a man who was an admiral in the American Navy,
00:00:13.460 someone who really knows what he's talking about in terms of how people at the top of the American military
00:00:18.460 think about threats, think about possible conflicts, think about how World War III could come to pass.
00:00:24.460 And the plot of this novel is that, well, this conflict begins to unfold in the South China Sea,
00:00:30.500 an issue involving the United States, China, and Taiwan, and Taiwanese sovereignty.
00:00:35.700 A big issue that, well, it's happening today.
00:00:38.900 It's unfolding right now in the headlines.
00:00:41.100 So while I found the novel very realistic, I had to ask, 2034, that's like a science fiction headline,
00:00:47.820 you know, those novels that you saw, 2001 and so forth.
00:00:51.000 Far off in the future, I know it's only 13 years away, but one also sees headlines in the news today
00:00:56.240 and worries, is it going to be sooner than that?
00:00:58.900 Obviously, we don't want any such event to unfold, but the possibilities, the concerns about conflicts,
00:01:04.940 about, well, moving into a Cold War, because there's debate as to whether or not the phrase Cold War
00:01:09.440 can even be used right now, vis-a-vis the U.S. and China relations,
00:01:13.320 or moving full on into some sort of hot conflict.
00:01:16.120 Because we are seeing the Taiwan Strait playing a role more and more in tensions between the U.S. and China.
00:01:22.720 We're seeing American President Joe Biden being tested in a number of ways,
00:01:26.020 different countries doing different things to test how will the American administration respond,
00:01:31.180 and China doing a lot when it comes to Taiwan.
00:01:34.720 Their relationship, worse than ever, the China-Taiwan issue.
00:01:38.720 Because just in this past week, they have sent about 150 of their fighter jets into Taiwan's air defense zone.
00:01:45.920 Just about 50 of them on a single day.
00:01:48.860 That is an extremely provocative action.
00:01:52.320 And it already has people in the Biden administration and the president himself saying,
00:01:56.440 we've got to calm this down.
00:01:58.040 We've got to talk about this issue.
00:01:59.740 We've got to de-escalate it.
00:02:01.240 But it really shows that that idea that those novelists put forward,
00:02:05.340 that those experts put forward, that the South China Sea,
00:02:08.380 that's unfortunately where, if stuff hits the fan, that could be where it happens.
00:02:13.600 We're seeing that play out right now.
00:02:15.220 And it underscores the importance of so much of what we're talking about right now in foreign affairs.
00:02:19.100 Whether it comes to Canada needing to strengthen its relationship and support for Taiwan.
00:02:24.760 Whether it comes to our conversation about the need to decouple from China in a responsible way,
00:02:29.620 such that they have less leverage over us.
00:02:32.000 And just a basic reminder that we've got to keep our eye on everything that's happening
00:02:36.240 in that part of the world and on the China file.
00:02:39.040 Great news that the two Michaels are back on Canadian soil.
00:02:42.520 That that issue is, well, in part behind us.
00:02:44.960 But of course, there are ramifications to that issue.
00:02:47.780 And those ramifications involve the conversation around decoupling.
00:02:51.220 It involves all of those people who still had rose-colored glasses on when it came to China,
00:02:56.120 realizing it's not over, it's continuing, and in some ways, it's only getting worse.
00:03:03.180 Got to talk about the issue, got to deal with it,
00:03:06.040 and the general public has to talk about it more and put more pressure on our political leaders
00:03:10.600 to prioritize what is a very concerning file.
00:03:13.620 I'll do the thing about it more and we'll catch up with it at the moment of the end of the year.