• By Sam Garcia / Editor, with CNA

The Canadian government has deployed a team of cybersecurity experts to its office in Taipei, Canadian media reported yesterday, as Ottawa deepens cooperation with Taiwan to combat hacking and disinformation originating from China.

Recognizing that China poses the greatest threat to Canada and Taiwan in terms of cybersecurity, Ottawa wants to work with Taiwan to respond to this threat, said the Globe and Mail reported.

Photo: AFP

In a report released last week, Canada’s Communications Security Establishment identified China as “the most significant cybersecurity threat facing Canada today.”

As Canada does not have formal relations with Taiwan, it has been cautious about cooperating with Taipei on national security matters.

In January, Ottawa quietly sent officials to Taipei to study disinformation in Taiwan’s presidential election, much of which was carried out by China, the Globe and Mail reported.

Canada has also sent cybersecurity teams to Canberra, Seoul, Singapore and Tokyo as part of its Indo-Pacific strategy, Canada’s Ministry of Global Affairs told the newspaper.

“Through the Indo-Pacific Strategy, Canada is committed to improving and diversifying its security partnerships and strengthening its cyber diplomacy, especially as concerns about foreign interference, US-sponsored disinformation State, cybersecurity and cybercrime have become increasingly important,” said ministry spokesperson Charlotte MacLeod.

Richard Fadden, official national security adviser to two of Canada’s prime ministers and former head of the Canadian Intelligence Service, led a group of former Canadian security and defense officials on a trip to Taiwan in September, marking the highest level of engagement between the two countries on national security to date, the newspaper said.

There is a growing consensus in Canada that if Beijing succeeds in annexing Taiwan, it would only embolden the Chinese government. This is why Ottawa plans to quietly deepen its cooperation with Taiwan, Fadden told the newspaper.

Canada is helping Taiwan improve its national security by providing it with military goods and technology, the Globe and Mail reported.

Last year, exports of military goods and technology to Taiwan reached 32.6 million Canadian dollars (23.47 million US dollars), the highest figure on record, the newspaper said, citing data from the ministry.

Taiwan also plays an important role in Canada’s growing lithium-ion battery supply chain, the report said.

In November last year, the Canadian federal government and the provincial government of British Columbia supported E-One Moli Energy Corp, a Taiwanese company, to establish a lithium-ion manufacturing plant in Maple Ridge, aims to make the region a center of the global supply chain. for battery components, the report said.