Vanguard Magazine

is only partially observable in Canada's international trade figures. Hidden in the data is the deeper structural reality that na- tional and regional economies have been completely reorganized into an integrated global economy. That global economy has enriched Canadian lives as producers and consumers, but it has also created deep interdependencies the world over. The economies of the United Kingdom or Ja- pan, for example, would begin faltering in a matter of days without maritime com- merce. But even North America, arguably the most self-contained regional economy in the world, depends heavily on interna- tional maritime commerce. The forces that have created a global economy have also transformed societies themselves by creating a vast and intricate web of relationships − political, economic, financial and social − that have permit- ted unprecedented flows of wealth, ideas, goods, services, culture and people among the world's nations. We call this hyper- connected and massively interdependent world order the "global system." There are few states more "globalized" than Canada. It is among the world's most connected societies. It is among the world's most successfully plural societies, with personal connections and family roots extending around the globe. It is among the world's most active participants in the international community. And it is among the world's largest trading states. THe Rcn'S fUnDAMenTAL PURPOSe Today's global system has evolved beyond recognition from its earliest days, when the Portuguese first rounded the Cape of Good Hope. But oceanic trade has been fundamental to the Western way of life ever since, as has the sea power that served to protect it. It is no accident that across those five centuries, the leading economic power of the day − Spain, the Netherlands, Great Britain and today the United States − was also the dominant sea power of its era. There is a deep relationship between sea power and the economic, legal and politi- cal world order. In today's globalized era, Western navies, led by the United States, are the principal guarantors of the mari- time peace and good order upon which the global economy depends. But even as large a navy as the US Navy is insufficient to the task. Defending the global system – and hence Canada's prosperity and way of liv- ing − is a cooperative outcome that navies such as Canada's and like-minded allies de- liver as one of the greatest public goods of this global era. We turn to the missions for the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), now recast in terms of this fundamental strategic purpose. In the coming decades, Canada's maritime forces shall: • Protect Canada by exercising Canadian sovereignty in home waters, securing the maritime approaches to North America and contributing to maritime peace and good order abroad. • Prevent conflict by strengthening global maritime partnerships and deploying for- D Defence policy www.vanguardcanada.com ocToBER/NoVEMBER 2016 35 Maritime defence and security threats are merging and expanding…

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