Should Canada move navy to Pacific coast to meet China?

Would you believe that China has the third-largest military in the world? That its defence budget is $129 billion and that it has nearly 1,000 ships, from aircraft carriers and destroyers to submarines and amphibious assault vehicles? Sure, probably.

If not the specific numbers, you’re likely to have at least a passing understanding that China has a damn big military.

Considering China is a powerhouse in the Pacific Ocean, and Canada happens to have a Pacific coastline, you may also have noted.

You'd be forgiven if you haven't, of course; we leave these sorts of things to the experts in the Department of National Defence, who most assuredly have taken note.

Defence analysts believe, however, that Canada should be taking more than note about China's military buildup. We should be taking action.

Postmedia News reports that several analysts have recommended moving the brunt of our maritime power to the Pacific coast. The military is currently split about 60-40 between Halifax and Esquimalt, B.C., favouring the Atlantic coast. (A military index places our navy presence at 33 total watercrafts.)

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“Nowadays, the threat on the East Coast is pretty mild, whereas the Pacific is a more dangerous environment,” David McDonough, a post-doctoral fellow at the University of B.C., told the newsgroup.

Roger Girouard, a retired rear admiral, added that Canada should become a "Pacific power."

But while Canada is being urged to take China's "military buildup" seriously, China itself is taking note of action is the Pacific.

China Daily News expressed concern over Japan’s military presence, with the construction of a 248-metre helicopter carrier. The Philippines is also adding ships to the area.

Via China Daily:

Of course Japan, a regional ally of the U.S., isn't all that excited about China's own military buildup. Kenichiro Sasae, Japan's ambassador to the U.S., recently described China's maritime actions as "provocative."

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The whole affair seems to be focused on a string of oil- and resource-rich islands in the East China Sea. Tension surrounding disputed claims of ownership have broken down communications and increased tension between the Asian countries.

So should China's "military buildup" have Canadians quaking in their boots? No, China isn't poised to strike out at the Great White North.

This is about tension between China and Japan over resource claims, to put it simply. We've got our own such standoffs to focus on (Hi, Russia. Those are our Arctic resources, thank you).

Still, this is a standoff between China's massive military and Japan and its burgeoning force, which reports suggest is growing at a rate that has the U.S. concerned.

This all means that it is unlikely China will flinch, let alone notice, if we refocused our navy to our Pacific shores.

Perhaps we should be proactive and just move them all to the Arctic, and prepare for the resource battle when it comes to our shores.

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