Minister defends Canadian navy ship’s visit to Cuba with Russian vessels in port | Newz9

The choice to ship a Canadian naval vessel into the port of Havana to sit alongside Russian warships this week was authorized by Defence Minister Bill Blair following a request from the Canadian army, the minister mentioned Monday.

“This was a direct result of a request that was made to me by the commander of joint operations command and the admiral in charge of the Royal Canadian Navy,” Blair mentioned.

“The port visit was carefully planned at Canada’s request and it was announced by the military in advance.”

Blair mentioned Monday that the Harry DeWolf-class offshore patrol vessel HMCS Margaret Brooke, which arrived in Havana on Friday, heads again to Canadian waters Monday. 

The minister defended the deployment after Newz9 reported the Canadian ship shared an anchorage with Russian naval vessels over the weekend.

Blair mentioned Monday that he was conscious Russian warships could be in the port of Havana when he gave the navy authorization to request permission from Cuba to ship the HMCS Margaret Brooke into its waters.

“The Canadian ship visited Havana to demonstrate Canada’s presence, naval capability and commitment to safe and open waters in the Americas,” he mentioned.

“This was a military mission. They asked for my authority to do that and I gave it.”

Cuba helps Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warfare on Ukraine and Cubans have been preventing alongside Russian troopers in that nation.

Monitoring the Russian naval flotilla

Last week, the HMCS Ville de Québec, the U.S. destroyer USS Truxton and the U.S. Coast Guard cutter USCGS Stone shadowed a flotilla of Russian warships as they crossed the Atlantic towards the Caribbean. 

During the crossing, the Russian ships held missile workouts utilizing Moscow’s new Zircon hypersonic missiles. Blair mentioned the flotilla poses “no immediate threat” to Canada.

Canada additionally deployed CP-140 patrol plane to monitor the flotilla because it moved down the japanese seaboard, Blair mentioned. 

“As they entered into Cuban waters, we were able to continue into the Havana harbour. That was part of the job,” he mentioned.

The Russian ships are anticipated to go away Cuba on Monday and head for Venezuela. The Nicolas Maduro authorities in Venezuela is one other main backer of Putin and the warfare in Ukraine.

Blair mentioned the Canadian army will proceed to monitor the actions and actions of the Russian ships after they go away Havana. 

Canada is “committed to maintaining a credible military presence in the sea and in the air around our continent,” Blair mentioned.

“Any foreign actors coming into our neighbourhood can expect to see our armed forces fulfilling their mission to protect Canada’s interests,” he added.

James Bezan, the Conservative Party’s nationwide defence critic, advised a House of Commons committee Monday that he was “completely disgusted” by the choice to ship the HMCS Margaret Brooke to Havana.

He later issued an announcement saying that with Canada’s navy underneath monetary pressure, “it’s incomprehensible and bewildering that Trudeau spared no expense to send a Canadian naval ship to honour a communist dictatorship alongside the Russian navy.”