Transnational Challenges and Future Security Cooperation: The Australia-Canada Relationship

Australia-Canada Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Paper No. 2

September 18, 2013

The possibilities for future Asia-Pacific security cooperation between Australia and Canada are promising. Economic development and population growth mean that security challenges present themselves as opportunities. Australia and Canada are well positioned to influence regional approaches to transnational challenges such as crime, terrorism, piracy and environmental degradation, and to contribute to food, energy and cyber security. This paper explores the current state of security cooperation between Australia and Canada in the Asia-Pacific, and identifies opportunities to extend the relationship, focussing on collaborative efforts like economic and maritime cooperation, which may help tackle transnational security challenges.

Part of Series

Australia-Canada Security Cooperation in the Asia-Pacific

The three papers in this series, co-published with the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), are part of a two-year project between CIGI and ASPI exploring the possibilities for Canadian and Australian cooperation in promoting strengthened security and regional governance in the Asia-Pacific. The project will culminate in a special report that will contribute to discussions at the February 2014 Australia-Canada Economic Leadership Forum in Melbourne. The report will be presented later in 2014 to both Australian and Canadian governments.

About the Author

Sarah Norgrove holds a master’s degree in strategic studies and was the 2012 T. B. Millar scholar of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University. She works as a researcher at ASPI in Canberra.