
While not explicitly CANZUK related, I included the above article as Australia has also recently bought in to South Korea’s military supply, with a purchase of “$6.19-billion program to build 129 infantry fighting vehicles, many of them [to be] constructed in the Commonwealth country.”
CANZUK nations could certainly benefit from having similar, or at least overlapping, military tools. It will be interesting to see if Canada is serious about rearming using non-US equipment.
Sure, if you wanted to add South Korea to the free movement & trade pact. But I don’t think they quite fit the same way. Perhaps in an extended CANZUK…
In this case, South Korea has pitched to sell some weaponry that Australia has also recently acquired (and some different stuff Canada wants/needs, like submarines), providing the two militaries with similar technology that allows for overlap & improved coordination between the two forces in joint exercises or encounters.
The move by South Korea provides Canada with an opportunity to demonstrate movement from US-sold armaments (upon which Canada heavily relies) to those from other places. Additionally, South Korea’s track record in Poland demonstrates that they can help us re-arm quickly.
This decoupling is also seen in Canada’s movement to acquire Australia’s JORD-tech (radar) to beef up Arctic monitoring, and the expressed interest in joining the UK-led 6th generation fighter program, GCAP (along with Australia).