MELBOURNE \u2014 During a meeting with his Japanese counterpart in Tokyo, Canada\u2019s defense minister has said that Ottawa is \u201cinterested in learning more about\u201d the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) next-generation fighter.<\/p>\n
David McGuinty told media that he had discussed the programme during the meeting meeting with Japanese defense minister Shinjiro Koizumi, calling it a \u201cpromising initiative\u201d in further comments to Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are interested in learning more about it. I\u2019ll take it back to my team and see what it looks \u200clike,\u201d he told the news outlet.<\/p>\n The comments mark the first occasion a senior Canadian official has spoken publicly about the country\u2019s interest in GCAP, a multinational effort between Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom that envisions a sixth-generation fighter jet as well as collaborative combat drones and high-tech data sharing. The remarks also come as Canada is considering a split buy of existing airframes for its next fighter amid tensions with the US<\/a>.<\/p>\n The two officials had previously met in Tokyo in March, where Japanese outlet The Asahi Shimbun<\/a> quoted unnamed Japanese officials saying that the topic of Canada joining the programme as an observer had come up during discussions. Joining GCAP as an observer would allow the country access to programme information from the founding members and serve as a pathway to potentially deeper involvement including joining as a development partner.<\/p>\n