Canada plans military bases in global hot spots

OTTAWA - Canada is finalizing agreements with five countries to host Canadian military bases in some of the world's most volatile regions, the Toronto Star revealed Tuesday.

Under the Access to Information Act, the most popular Canadian newspaper obtained nearly 200 pages of Department of National Defense documents that revealed the military plans to establish bases in the Latin America and Caribbean region, on both sides of the African continent, in the area marked by conflicts in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and in Southeast Asia.

Last week, Canadian Minister of National Defense Peter Gordon MacKay said that one of those operational support hubs would be situated in Singapore.

"It is expected that the hubs will be capable of supporting a wide variety of operations, including combat missions, peace support operations, disaster relief, humanitarian assistance and non-combat evacuation," said a Canadian military briefing note obtained by the Star.

General Walter Natynczyk, chief of the Defense Staff of the Canadian Forces, ordered the search for bases in November 2008 to help the military to cut costs by storing equipment and supplies at overseas hubs.

Canadian military and foreign ministry officials were met by suspicions over Canada's intent in an East African country, believed to be either Kenya or Tanzania, and local officials had to be reassured that Canada only sought to "establish a capability that would be used when and if required," said a report by a Royal Canadian Navy captain.

By contrast, an unidentified West African government expressed enthusiasm about participating in joint exercises, training and operations with the Canadian military.

Canada currently has a base in Germany and another in Kuwait, which opened last year to support the Canadian mission in Afghanistan and allows for up to 3,000 Canadian troops to enter the country.

In April 2009, the Canadian Forces temporarily set up a small operational support hub at the US Air Force base at Spangdahlem, about 150 kilometers south of Cologne, Germany, to transport military personnel and supplies to Afghanistan.

However, Canada needed a more permanent operational hub following its military's expulsion in 2010 from the once-secret Camp Mirage military base near Dubai prompted by a dispute over landing rights for the UAE's two commercial airlines.

Canada chose the military side of Germany's Cologne Bonn Airport as its another base, which was established earlier this year despite protests from Cologne's mayor and the civilian chair of the airport management board, who complained that the airport is already too busy and too noisy since unrestricted night flying was allowed.

The overseas hubs are saving the government millions of Canadian dollars every quarter while only costing hundreds of thousands of dollars on their operation and maintenance, according to the Canadian military documents. However, Canada has set aside more than half a million dollars to set up bilateral agreements for the military hubs.