A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Friday, May 5, 2017
Canada, under Trump pressure, says will boost defense spending
By David Ljunggren-Wed May 3, 2017
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada, which
like other NATO countries is under pressure from Washington to increase
defense spending, on Wednesday promised major new investments in the
military but stopped short of saying how much.
In unusually frank comments, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan said poor
decisions and under funding by successive governments had left the armed
forces short of equipment and increasingly unable to do their job.
"It's going to take a significant investment ... it's going to be
significant because of the hole we need to come out of," he told a
defense industry lunch.
Canada currently devotes just under one percent of GDP on defense, less
than it did in 2005. The Trump administration is focusing on the many
NATO member states who have yet to meet a commitment to spend two
percent of GDP.
"We are now in the troubling position where status quo spending on
defense will not even maintain a status quo of capabilities," said
Sajjan.
More details of planned spending will be revealed in a major defense
policy review that is due to be released ahead of a NATO leaders'
meeting this month.
"The number that we'll be announcing is a number that meets the needs of Canada and our support for our allies," he said.
Sajjan said he was particularly concerned by Ottawa's failure to acquire
replacements for Canada's ageing fleet of CF-18 fighter jets, some of
which have been flying for almost 40 years. He also highlighted problems
with outdated trucks, excavation equipment and helicopters.
The former Conservative administration said in 2010 it would buy 65
Lockheed Martin Corp F-35 jets for C$9 billion ($6.6 billion). They
later scrapped the decision, triggering years of delays and reviews.
Sajjan said that if Canada were to fulfill its defense commitments both
in North America and as a NATO member, it would in any case need more
than 65 jets.
"The C$9 billion in funding that was earmarked for the jet replacements
by the previous government is nowhere near enough to even cover the 65
jets they proposed," he said.
Last November, Canada unveiled plans to buy 18 Boeing Corp Super Hornets
as a stop-gap measure while it prepared an open five-year competition
to replace the CF-18s.
Canada has experienced a string of military procurement problems since
the early 1990s, variously featuring naval ships, search and rescue
helicopters, fighter planes, trucks, close combat vehicles and
submarines.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren)