In the News

Martial law: Year after South Korea imposed it, where else is it in force?

Al Jazeera, December 3, 2025

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: Ukraine’s situation is closer to what Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President, Research and Strategy at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, described as a “state of emergency, where governments activate special powers – such as curfews, bans on gatherings, or expanded policing – but within a constitutional framework that keeps civilian institutions, including parliament and the judiciary, formally in charge.

Regarding the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, Nadjibulla says “military commanders have taken over local administration, civilian courts have been sidelined, and open criticism of the regime or its proposed elections can lead to harsh punishment.” She described Myanmar as the “clearest example [of martial law] in the Asia Pacific."

A New Australia-Canada-India Partnership

Policy Magazine, November 30, 2025

Featuring: David McKinnon, Senior Fellow, APF Canada

Excerpt: If the Australia-Canada-India Technology and Innovation Partnership (ACITI) announced by Anthony Albanese, Mark Carney and Narendra Modi at the G20 summit in Johannesburg works, it will be unprecedented in economic, strategic, and symbolic terms.

The initiative, which includes co-operation on AI, clean energy, and critical minerals, has significant potential to enhance Canada’s image as a reliable partner in the Indo-Pacific, assuming our commitment has staying power...

Over the past year, I have been part of a productive track II (non-government) dialogue on the future of Canada-India relations, organized on the Canadian side by the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada."

Canada and India Reset Ties in a Realigning World

Policy Magazine, November 30, 2025

Featuring: Sanjay Ruparelia, Senior Fellow, APF Canada

Excerpt: The joint declaration that India and Canada issued from the sidelines of the South Africa G20 this week announcing that the two countries are seeking a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is a significant development.

...The announcement in Johannesburg follows the reappointment of high commissioners in Ottawa and New Delhi, and multiple visits between cabinet ministers and senior officials in charge of foreign affairs, international trade, and national security.

...Yet, many factors are driving both sides to address serious issues, grasp economic opportunities and lessen their respective vulnerability to the United States. Perhaps most striking, the pace and direction of steps taken by the Carney government suggests that it seeks to enhance Canada’s strategic autonomy through a more multi-aligned foreign policy, a principle long practiced by India.

A Chip Odyssey delves into history to reveal how Taiwan conquered the semiconductor industry

Pan Vancouver, November 27, 2025

Featuring: Karen Hui, Research Scholar, Greater China, APF Canada

Excerpt: In 1976, the Taiwanese government made a fateful decision that transformed the future of technology around the world. This came when it sent a team of young Taiwanese engineers to RCA Corporation’s research and development centre in America to learn more about semiconductors. That set the stage for Taiwan’s stunning rise to become the world leader in semiconductors—one of the great industrial triumphs of the past 50 years.

The small East Asian island economy now produces more than 60 per cent of the world supply and more than 90 per cent of the most advanced chips, according to Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada research scholar Karen Hui. And the tale of how this occurred is told in a captivating new feature-length documentary:  A Chip Odyssey (造山者-世紀的賭注).

Indonesia and APFC Reinforce Strategic Indo-Pacific Partnership

Jakarta Globe, November 27, 2025

Featuring: Jeff Nankivell, President & CEO, APF Canada; Erin Williams, Director of Programs, APF Canada

Excerpt: Indonesia and Canada strengthened their policy and academic ties this week as the Foreign Policy Strategy Agency of Indonesia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry signed a circular Memorandum of Understanding with the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (APF Canada).

... Ambassador Muhsin Syihab and Consul General Nina Kurnia met with APF Canada President and CEO Jeff Nankivell and Director of Programs Erin Williams to discuss broader avenues for joint work. The two sides explored ways to expand scholar-to-scholar co-operation, academic partnerships, and people-to-people contact to advance Indonesia–Canada collaboration in the Indo-Pacific.

Saskatchewan soft power fuelled the Canada-India reset on trade

The Globe and Mail, November 25, 2025

Featuring: APF Canada's Background Note: Economic Resilience and Critical Minerals Supply Chains

Excerpt: The Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, meanwhile, has recently highlighted the importance of leveraging “subnational strengths” to further bilateral co-operation on critical minerals.

“As federal initiatives gain momentum on both sides, the next phase of Canada–India collaboration will also increasingly hinge on subnational engagement," states a recent background note published by the not-for-profit organization.

“In both countries, provinces and states hold jurisdiction over natural resources and anchor key critical mineral projects, processing facilities, and investment ecosystems.”
 

Exclusive: Trump Unintentionally Pushes India, Canada To Reset Ties? ‘US No Longer Reliable Partner’

Hook Global, November 25, 2025

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: Nadjibulla joins Victor Fedeli, Minister of Economic Development of Ontario, for a wide-ranging discussion on the Canada-India trade partnership and the future of bilateral relations. 

"The level of ambition now is to have a relationship that's much more fit for purpose in the current global moment, where both Canada and India need each other more as they try to reduce over reliance on the U.S. and continue to manage their relationship with China."

"There is too much at stake for the relationship to just be left... in that diplomatic freeze." The Trump Administration's tariff polices have "accelerated everything and completely changed the game in terms of what's possible" in economic diversification. 

Relaunch of Canada and India Talks

L'essentiel via CPAC, November 24, 2025

Featuring: Jeff Nankivell, President & CEO, APF Canada (at the 20:30 min. mark)

Excerpt: Nankivell notes that trade talks between Canada and India initially kicked off 15 years ago and "now there is a chance for a new beginning and the conditions for both parties are not the same as they were before." 

He adds that India could play a "very important role" in Canada's economic diversification strategy, including toward the Indo-Pacific. "There are many areas where [the Canadian and Indian] economies are complementary and that is very promising" for future trade negotiations. India may be more "motivated than it was 15 years ago" to diversify its economic partnerships, he said. 

Canada, India launching ‘ambitious’ trade talks: international security expert

CBC News – Power & Politics, November 24, 2025

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President, Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: Nadjibulla said the focus of the Canada-India reset following Prime Minister Mark Carney's meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely "going to be on commercial and economic relations, hence the announcement of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership... what's notable is that this is not a reset of what [Canada and India] had paused... both governments are signalling that this is about something else, something more ambitious, something that is fit for the current moment."

Carney and Modi agree to restart stalled Canada-India trade talks

The Globe and Mail, November 23, 2025

Featuring: Jeff Nankivell, President & CEO, APF Canada

Excerpt: New Delhi has started to change its approach to trade as a result of shifts in both domestic politics and geopolitics, said Jeff Nankivell, President and CEO of the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada.

He said U.S. President Trump has imposed a 50-per-cent tariff on Indian goods, leading New Delhi – like Ottawa – to look for new export markets. In July, India struck a free trade agreement with Britain, and it is currently in trade talks with the European Union.

“This is a change in their trade policy, and I think they recognize that it’s time for an opening up of the Indian economy," said Nankivell. "Not an easy thing to do with domestic politics in India, but that’s a change."

India trade deal could serve as a ‘powerful economic anchor’ between the two countries: Canada

Hindustan Times, November 24, 2025

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: “Today’s PMs' meeting [between Canada and India] is the clearest sign yet that the Canada–India reset is not only holding — it is accelerating and deepening,” said Nadjibulla. 

She described the development as “remarkable” and something that “would have been hard to imagine” when she was last in New Delhi in February this year for APF Canada's inaugural bilateral Track 2 Strategic Dialogue.

“The focus now has to be on implementation and to make sure that these high-level political commitments are turned into reality and tangible benefits for the economies of both countries," added Nadjibulla.

The Great Forgotten Ones of Rearmament

La Presse, November 23, 2025

Featuring: APF Canada 2025-26 Media Fellow, Laura-Julie Perreault

Excerpt: "Canada is preparing to invest tens of billions of dollars in rearmament and the development of its military industry. But are we considering the effects this increased militarization will have on women in particular? Just ask South Korean women!" 

Perreault explores female representation and the gender pay gap in South Korea's military: "According to the most recent statistics, [women] represent less than 7% of the Korean armed forces. This is a proportion the Korean government would like to double to address the declining population." 

She also examines the mistreatment of Korean 'comfort women' by the Japanese military, showing how female artists are breaking the "silence by recounting the suffering [they] endured in brothels set up by the Imperial Japanese Army."

Carney, Modi agree to start talks on new Canada-India trade deal

CBC News, November 23, 2025

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: "We are seeing that this reset... is really gaining momentum," says Nadjibulla from New Delhi, where she is set to participate in a Canada-India Track 1.5 Strategic Dialogues hosted by APF Canada and the Council for Strategic and Defense Research (CSDR). 

"It looks like the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement talks have been re-launched... which is a significant development... [India] is also committing to double bilateral trade by 2030." 

Nadjibulla highlights the significance of these advancements as "it is only in the recent years that we are seeing India make these free-trade agreements" and move away from economic protectionist policies. "Both Canada and India find themselves in positions where we are genuinely trying to diversify partnerships and we have come a long way since even two years ago when those negotiations were paused." 

When it comes to remaining tensions, "we also can draw on lessons from other countries, notably Australia where similar issues of foreign interference exists... but nonetheless Australia and India are able to have a strategic partnerships."

Carney Meets with India's Prime Minister

CTV News November 23, 2025

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: Prime Minister Mark Carney met today with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.

“We're seeing big developments in Canada-India relations, the reset that began in June is gaining momentum,” said Nadjibulla. “It's clear that Prime Minister Carney wants to re-engage with India fully on economic and commercial relations, but also on technology and innovation.”

Can we consider India a reliable trading partner at this point?

“The Prime Minister certainly said so in his press conference right before meeting with his Indian counterpart,” said Najibulla. “I think what he's saying is that we need to look at the relationships that we have with partners like India differently than relationships we have with the European Union or U.S. or others, that there could be different levels of engagement.

“And right now, there is a big push for Canada to diversify its relationships, to reduce over reliance on the U.S., and India is a huge part of that diversification, given its size, given that it's the fastest growing major economy and it's also important on key issues like technology governance, like critical minerals, and energy security moving forward.”

Rearming in reverse

La Presse, November 22, 2025

Featuring: APF Canada 2025-26 Media Fellow, Laura-Julie Perreault.

Excerpt: "Safe under the American umbrella, Japan, like Canada, long preferred to invest in public services rather than its armed forces. Today, the awakening is harsh, and the path to greater autonomy is not to everyone's liking." 

This four-part dossier charts Japan’s contemporary rearmament strategy, looking at the civil push back to increased military presence in Okinawa, marketing strategies in Japan's only military magazine, the country’s evolution from imperial power to pacificism, and rearmament in the Trump era of global politics.  

Indo-Pacific capital into B.C. critical minerals jumps tenfold in one year, says report

BIV News, November 21, 2025

Featuring: Vina Nadjibulla, Vice-President Research & Strategy, APF Canada

Excerpt: “Critical minerals is now apparently a big priority for Canada as well as Indo-Pacific partners. Everybody's trying to diversify supplies,” Vina Nadjibulla told BIV News. 

“B.C. is a big mining hub in Canada … the trend we're seeing from the Indo-Pacific—there's attention to B.C. as a place for mining and critical mineral exploration.”

“What we saw interesting this year," says Vina, citing APF Canada's recent Investment Monitor Report looking at two-way FDI flows between Canada and the Indo-Pacific in 2024, "was the investment from China to Canada has increased significantly, including into British Columbia … after declining during the political crisis [in 2018]."

Canada hopes to conclude free-trade negotiations with Philippines next year

Manila Bulletin, November 18, 2025

Featuring: Barret Bingley, Asia Regional Director, APF Canada

Excerpt: "Barrett Bingley, Regional Director for Asia of Vancouver-based think tank Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (APF Canada), explained that Canada is looking to fast-track talks with the Philippines due to uncertainties with the tariff policy of U.S. President Donald Trump.

US can’t break China-Russia strategic alignment, says analyst

CNBC, November 7, 2025

Featuring: Vice-President, Research & Strategy, APF Canada, Vina Nadjibulla

Excerpt: "Both sides wanted to show that the relationship between Russia and China remains strong... and that nothing that happened between the U.S. and China would in any way derail that" partnership. 

She adds that the "symbolism of this meeting was much more significant than the outcome." 

"For the last two years we have seen Russia become more of a junior partner to China...Russia dependence on China, both economically but also diplomatically, is very much obvious... but there is some frictions in the relationship as well around." Such friction points are shown in Russia's desire for "more support from China when it comes to sanctions," but Nadjibulla notes that China is being strategic to not develop economic over-dependence on one market. China, she says, "has all the cards."

Jaishankar to visit Canada next week to attend G7 foreign ministers’ meet

Hindustan Times, November 7, 2025

Featuring: Vice-President, Research & Strategy, APF Canada, Vina Nadjibulla

Excerpt: Nadjibulla says it is “good to see India among the guests” for the G7 Foriegn Ministers' meeting in Niagara Falls next week. “It will be another opportunity for Canada and India in the repair and rebuilding of the relationship.”

“India is an important player” on ket topics proposed in the meetings agenda, including maritime security in both the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea.

"The Asia Pacific Foundation's role in connecting Canada and Asia will become increasingly important" - Interview with Christy Nakamura

Japan Canada Today, November 4, 2025

Featuring: Christine Nakamura, Vice-President, Central Canada Office, APF Canada 

Excerpt: "The Asia Pacific Foundation was established in 1984. It is an organization created by the government through an Act of Parliament.

"...The reason why the Canadian government decided that a Foundation was necessary at the time was because Japan was the second largest economy in the world . . . and they decided that 'we need to deepen our ties with Japan'... In other words, the Foundation was initially created out of a desire to deepen ties with Japan. Then, several decades later, with the rise of China and the recognition that Asia is a strong and important market in many ways, it became clear that we needed to deepen our ties not only with Japan, but with all of Asia."