As Canadians prepare to cast their ballots on April 28, the nation confronts an unprecedented constellation of challenges to its global standing and democratic institutions. Against this tumultuous backdrop, the Indo-Pacific region represents perhaps the most consequential foreign policy arena facing the country.

In response to the mounting threats and geopolitical tensions created by the PRC, on March 13 President Lai introduced 17 comprehensive national security measures that aim to fortify Taiwan’s defense mechanisms, uphold its sovereignty, and build all-of-society resilience.

In response to Trump’s tariff offensive, the Chinese government has implemented extraordinary fiscal measures to accelerate technological self-sufficiency and stimulate domestic consumption. China has been proactively preparing for such scenarios since 2018. Its swift and forceful countermeasures underscore a growing sense of confidence within the Chinese Communist Party. However, the current pace of deterioration in U.S.-China economic relations may have exceeded Beijing’s expectations.

In response to China’s growing infiltration efforts and the resulting threats to Taiwan’s national security, President William Lai convened a national security meeting on March 13. During the meeting, President Lai identified five national security threats stemming from China’s united front tactics and introduced 17 countermeasures to address them.

The 2025 sessions of China’s National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) were held in Beijing on March 4-5. Given the ongoing slowdown in China’s economic growth and increased uncertainty in U.S.-China relations since Donald Trump’s return to power, the State Council placed particular emphasis on economic policy adjustment in its briefing ahead of the government work report. This shows that the economy is China’s primary domestic concern.

Since the installation of the second Trump administration in January 2025, the comparison between Ukraine and Taiwan merits interrogation from a new angle – in light of President Donald J. Trump’s pursuit of “power through uncertainty” and the resulting sharp shift in Washington’s Ukraine policy, how will the United States security partnership with Taiwan evolve?

The EU and the European part of NATO must accelerate their defense industrial base and financial commitments to ensure Ukraine’s continued resistance, even if it means acting independently.

Germany’s shift to the political right under Friedrich Merz presents an opportunity for a more assertive and strategically coherent Indo-Pacific approach, especially toward China and Taiwan.

The Chinese Naval deployment in February of a powerful task force which partly circumnavigated Australia and conducted live fire exercises off its coast in the Tasman Sea, have sent a visible “shot across the bow” of the Australian government’s rather relaxed approach to defence spending.