Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Wayne Eyre talks to his troops as he takes part in an announcement in Petawawa, Ont., on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. In a new message to military members, the chief of the defence staff says China and Russia don't differentiate between war and peace.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
OTTAWA – The chief of the defence staff says in a new message to military members that China and Russia are expansionist powers that don’t differentiate between war and peace.
Gen. Wayne Eyre has released a pan-domain force employment concept to Canadian Armed Forces members, a document he says is the foundation for changing the military’s operations.
In it, Eyre singles out Russia and China, saying they aim to rewrite the rules-based international order and will act “just below the threshold of armed conflict.”
The military has sometimes been slow to respond to hostile actions, the document says, and it calls for strengthening Canada’s ability to “compete below the threshold.”
It also calls for the military to integrate its operations in all battlespace domains air, land, maritime, space and cyber.
The concept says climate change and humanitarian crises resulting from extreme weather events increase the risk of armed conflict.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 26, 2023.
