{"id":46147,"date":"2026-05-15T04:54:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T04:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/46147\/"},"modified":"2026-05-15T04:54:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-15T04:54:13","slug":"canadian-delegation-gains-firsthand-insight-into-the-cafs-indo-pacific-engagement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/46147\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian delegation gains firsthand insight into the CAF\u2019s Indo-Pacific engagement"},"content":{"rendered":"

May 14, 2026 – Defence Stories<\/p>\n

By Major Christopher Daniel, Senior Public Affairs Officer, Indo-Pacific<\/p>\n

Estimated read time: 2:10<\/p>\n

\"CAF
\nCaption<\/p>\n

CAF members demonstrate the OneWeb FoldSat system to delegation members during Exercise BALIKATAN.<\/p>\n

From April 16 to 20, a delegation of Canadian defence stakeholders visited Manila with a clear objective: to observe, engage, and understand.<\/p>\n

Led by the Stakeholder Engagement Team (SET) from the Assistant Deputy Minister (Public Affairs) (ADM(PA)), in collaboration with the Canadian Defence Attach\u00e9 team at the Canadian Embassy in Manila, the engagement was attended by Ms. Genevi\u00e8ve Binet, the Department of National Defence\u2019s Assistant Deputy Minister (Public Affairs), along with other stakeholders. The session was part of the Defence Team\u2019s broader efforts to foster a better understanding of Canada\u2019s evolving role in the Indo-Pacific region among academia and domestic think tanks.<\/p>\n

\"Assistant
\nCaption<\/p>\n

Assistant Deputy Minister (Public Affairs) Genevi\u00e8ve Binet and delegation members meet with the Philippine Coast Guard during an engagement in Manila.<\/p>\n

Over five days, participants engaged with key Philippine partners, highlighting the strength of Canada\u2013Philippines defence relations.\u00a0Discussions addressed regional security dynamics in the South China Sea, referred to in the Philippines as the West Philippine Sea. During these visits connections were made with the National Security Council, the Presidential Office on Maritime Concerns, the Presidential Advisor on Maritime Concerns, the Secretary of National Defence, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the AFP Chief for Gender and Development, and the Philippine Coast Guard.<\/p>\n

The group also visited the Canadian Embassy in Manila, engaged with members of the Canadian Forces College National Security Programme, and met with Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members\u00a0participating\u00a0in Exercise BALIKATAN as members of the targeting cell, where they contribute to operational planning alongside regional partners. They also had opportunity to visit His Majesty\u2019s Canadian Ship\u00a0(HMCS) Charlottetown, which was deployed in the region supporting Operation HORIZON and participating in Exercise BALIKATAN,\u00a0where the group gained\u00a0further insight into Canada\u2019s role in multinational operations and its maritime capabilities.<\/p>\n

\"Assistant
\nCaption<\/p>\n

Assistant Deputy Minister (Public Affairs) Genevi\u00e8ve Binet and delegation members visit HMCS Charlottetown during Exercise BALIKATAN.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the Assistant Deputy Minister for Public Affairs, one of my key responsibilities is to help tell the CAF\u2019s story to the Canadian public,\u201d said Ms. Binet.<\/p>\n

That story highlights Canada\u2019s growing engagement in the Indo-Pacific, guided by cooperation, stability, and respect for international law, in partnership with countries such as the Philippines.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to explain to Canadians the importance of this region, and the important work the CAF is doing here to help ensure security and stability, working with key partners like the Philippines,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no substitute for being present on the ground and seeing with one\u2019s own eyes the work of the CAF and hearing directly from our international partners their perspectives on defence collaboration,\u201d Ms. Binet added.<\/p>\n

\"Assistant
\nCaption<\/p>\n

Assistant Deputy Minister (Public Affairs) Genevi\u00e8ve Binet meets with the Head of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Gender and Development Office during an engagement in Manila.<\/p>\n

The visit also underscored the importance of informed public discussion in Canada. Direct exposure to operations and international partnerships supports more accurate research, teaching, and public dialogue on Canada\u2019s role abroad.<\/p>\n

This marked the first Indo-Pacific visit under the renewed Stakeholder Familiarization Visits Program, a key initiative within ADM(PA)\u2019s SET mandate. Its timing coincided with Canada\u2019s participation in Exercise BALIKATAN and recent defence developments between Canada and the Philippines.<\/p>\n

For Ms. Binet, the objective is clear: help Canadians better understand where and how their armed forces are engaged abroad.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"May 14, 2026 – Defence Stories By Major Christopher Daniel, Senior Public Affairs Officer, Indo-Pacific Estimated read time:…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":46148,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[20472,17,4391,20469,20369,20470,20471],"class_list":["post-46147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-balikatan","tag-canada","tag-indo-pacific","tag-operations","tag-philippines","tag-public-affairs","tag-stakeholders-engagement"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46147","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46147"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46147\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46147"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46147"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46147"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}