Richard Stubbs &
Mark S. Williams
The poor cousin?
Canada-ASEAN relations
It may surprise Canadians to know that 50 years ago when their government
looked across the Pacific, the primary focus of attention was every bit as
much on key countries in southeast Asia as it was on other parts of the
continent. However, 25 years ago, when the Asia Pacific Foundation of
Canada was founded, the rapid economic maturing of Japan and South Korea
was already beginning to eclipse southeast Asia as a region requiring
Ottawa’s attention. Since then, the remarkable post-Cold War ascent of the
economies of both China and India—and Canada’s recent commitments to
security in Afghanistan—have continued to push Canada’s relations with
southeast Asia further and further down the list of its Asian priorities. But
for any number of reasons, including the personal bonds and political and
economic relations that tie Canada to southeast Asia as well as the centrality
of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to the process of
Richard Stubbs is a professor of political science at McMaster University and a research
associate with the Asian Institute at the University of Toronto. Mark Williams is a doctoral
student in the department of political science at McMaster University.
| International Journal | Autumn 2009 | 927 |
| Richard Stubbs & Mark S. Williams |
regional community building in east Asia, Canada should not underestimate
the importance of working on specific issues so as to maintain a strong and
enduring engagement with the region.
A LEGACY OF LINKAGES
Canada does not have a high profile within southeast Asia, nor indeed does
ASEAN (whose members are Brunei, Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and
Vietnam) have a high profile in Canada, but Canada’s past relations with
southeast Asia have left significant legacies. For example, Canada was the
non-communist representative on the International Control Commission set
up in 1954 to oversee the Geneva accords that ended France’s occupation of
Vietnam. Canada’s role on the commission lasted until 1973. Significantly,
the part the Canadian government played in officially monitoring events in
Vietnam during a very turbulent period in its history mean