Canada x Indo-Pacific 8th Ed. - Singapore Airshow Wows, South Korea Industrial Tie Ups Continue, Growing Urgency to Engage with India
26 January - 9 February
Thank you to the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada for the opportunity to moderate the roundtable “Defence (Industrial) Cooperation: Singapore and Canada” at the airshow, and to ST Engineering for hosting me for the Singapore Airshow’s aerial display.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Singapore Airshow becomes Indo-Pacific defence industrial marketplace as China projects presence, Russia is absent, and US engagement and sales continue. Japan election results in a majority for Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, announcement of Technology Transfer Agreement with Canada and North Wind 26 joint Arctic training occurs. South Korea hosts Secretary of State Fuhr and two dozen Canadian defence CEOs as Hanwha competes across submarines, space (Telesat and MDA partnerships), and steel signaling Korea’s multi-sector play for Canadian markets. Canada continues high-level security dialogue with India as India signs a major U.S. trade deal on the heals of a similar deal with the EU. Philippines escalates South China Sea diplomatic protests. Taiwan’s Defence Minister warns against complacency amid sustained PRC pressure and excercises. Australia deploys frigates region-wide as Canada’s HMCS Charlottetown also departs Halifax. Australia launches defence estate review as AIRmarket-CiTech MOU demonstrates growing Canada-Australia collaboration in critical infrastructure.
Summary of Critical Information & Key Action Items For Policy Makers and Industry Executives
Immediate (Next 30 Days)
Singapore momentum capture: Convert Singapore Airshow engagements into follow on, MOUs and opportunities. Watch for direction of Singapore’s new National Space Agency (launches April 1).
South Korea & Secretary of State Fuhr visit follow-through: Secretary of State Fuhr’s January 30–February 6 visit positioned as Indo-Pacific Strategy alignment. Watch for outputs from the CEO delegation meetings and Hanwha submarine competition. Watch for other tie ups given Telesat-Hanwha (Jan 26) and MDA-Hanwha space MOUs.
Medium-Term (2026)
Japan Equipment and Technology Transfer Agreement signed. Exercise North Wind 26 proves operational interoperability in Arctic conditions; will this be a focus area for Canada Japan cooperation?
India opportunity landscape shift: EU, and then U.S. trade deal (Feb 3) and growing investment drives urgency to secure market access for non-U.S. and European suppliers. High-level Canada-India security engagement (Feb 2026) occurs despite tensions, will this opens defence industrial channels? Watch the upcoming PM visit.
Strategic (2026+)
Great-power signaling at Singapore Airshow: China’s fighter flypast and platform marketing versus U.S. presence and prodding of J-35 capabilities. Russia’s continued absence from Asia’s largest airshow probably confirms arms-export sector constraints. Will Chinese presence translate into greater sales and engagement in the region?
Singapore as partnership & capability-building model: Deliberate “defence industry day” programming with Japan (unmanned, quantum, space focus areas) and Estonia (ST Engineering-Vegvisir teaming) and many others offering a model for diverse partnerships and engagements. Canada’s Asia Pacific Foundation roundtable shows presence and needs follow through.
SINGAPORE: Regional air & space hub showcasing deal making and innovation
Space Summit And National Space Agency Launch: Singapore announced the National Space Agency of Singapore, to be established April 1, 2026 under the Ministry of Trade and Industry—positioning space policy, regulation, and capability-building as a national economic/security enabler. Key items include ~70 space-related companies and ~2,000 employees in the ecosystem.
Singapore Airshow as Global Convening Point: The region’s flagship aerospace and defence event wrapped this past week pulling in 65,000 trade show participants, and strong representation from 40+ Canadian companies.
Great-Power Signaling On The Show Floor: China used the airshow to project both military and commercial aerospace credibility (including prominent platform marketing), and participation in the flying display.
while the U.S. footprint was framed as comparatively muted in narrative coverage except for Palmer Luckey’s (Anduril) measurement of an AVIC J-35. Russia was completely absent reinforcing perceptions of an arms-export sector under pressure and increasingly constrained access to major international fora.
Bonanza Of Industrial Engagement And Partnerships: A dense cluster of roundtables, “defence industry day” programming, and firm-to-firm tie-ups indicates Singapore’s deliberate strategy and reach. Key items include: Canada Singapore Defence Industrial Roundtable hosted by Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada; Singapore–Japan Defence Industry Day; Estonia–Singapore Defence Industry Day; RTX / Pratt & Whitney Canada investments; Shield AI + ST Engineering autonomy collaboration on autonomy and swarm/teaming optimisation concepts; CAE training push: positioning its Integrated Learning Environment for Indo-Pacific customers.
Watch: How visibly will China’s aerospace push at Singapore Airshow affects Southeast Asian procurement over the next 6–18 months? How much follow through will there be on various MOUs, industry days and other engagements?
JAPAN: Election results & joint exercise
Landslide election victory strengthens Prime Minister Takaichi’s mandate: Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi secured a decisive victory in snap elections on February 8, 2026, winning 316 of 465 seats and achieving a historic two-thirds supermajority in the lower house. This overwhelming mandate strengthens the government’s position on defence and security policy and provides a solid foundation for advancing bilateral cooperation with Canada.
Joint winter combat training exercise North Wind 26: Canadian and Japanese forces participated in training rehearsals as part of Exercise North Wind 26 a US-Japan ex., demonstrating growing operational cooperation in cold weather environments.
Watch: With the election out of the way, what other avenues of engagement might be pursued? Is Exercise North Wind a sign of a potential focus area for cooperation? i.e., arctic and cold weather operations?
SOUTH KOREA: More tie ups and MOU’s in advance of a Team Canada trade mission
More Visits: Defence Procurement Secretary of State Fuhr announced an official visit to the Republic of Korea (January 30–February 6, 2026), alongside Canadian business delegation brings two dozen defence CEOs to Seoul, this all in advance of what appears to be a huge Team Canada trade mission.
More Industrial Tie Ups: Telesat and Hanwha sign strategic cooperation agreement covering next-generation space and marine technologies. This partnership expands bilateral collaboration beyond traditional defence sectors into dual-use technology areas. Meanwhile MDA Space and Hanwha signed a Memorandum of Understanding to pursue the Korean military constellation program, strengthening space-based defence cooperation. This MOU positions Canadian space technology companies to participate in South Korea’s military satellite programs. Algoma Steel secured a deal with Hanwha, expanding Korean investment in Canada’s industrial base with potential defence industrial implications.
Watch: Who else is Hanwha going to sign on with? How will Secretary of State Fuhr’s visit shape Canada’s approach to submarine procurement and other major defence projects? Will TKMS’ Canadian Defence & Dual Use Innovation Ecosystem CDDE be enough to counter this?
INDIA: Trade breakthroughs intensify competition and urgency for engagement
India unveils defence budget with increased allocations: India’s Ministry of Defence announced its budget allocation, signaling continued investment in defence modernization and capability development.
India announces major trade deal with United States: On the heels of a trade agreement with Europe, India announced a comprehensive trade deal with the United States on February 3, 2026, with India’s commitment to buy U.S. goods including petroleum, defence equipment, and aircraft.
High-level Canada-India security engagement takes place: Meeting was held between Canada’s Minister of Public Safety, Canada’s Deputy Clerk and National Security and Intelligence Advisor to the Prime Minister, and India’s national security leadership in February 2026. Formalizes cooperation on cybersecurity policy and information sharing.
Watch: How will India’s U.S. trade deal affect Canadian defence companies’ access to the Indian market? Will the high-level security engagement lead to renewed defence cooperation or industrial partnerships between Canada and India? What specific defence modernization priorities in India’s budget present opportunities for Canadian technology or equipment?
AUSTRALIA: Naval deployments, infrastructure review and a new critical infrastructure focused MOU
Navy ANZAC-class frigates depart for regional presence deployments: Australian Navy ANZAC-class frigates departed on February 3, 2026, for Australia’s first Regional Presence Deployments of 2026.
Australia launches defence estate infrastructure review: On February 4, 2026, Australia announced a comprehensive review of its defence estate infrastructure to support future capability requirements.
AIRmarket and CiTech sign MOU for drone defence applications: Canadian company AIRmarket and Australian firm Critical Infrastructure Technologies (CiTech) executed a Memorandum of Understanding on January 26, 2026, covering drone-enabled airspace management for defence and public safety use cases.
CANADA: Defence Industrial Strategy pending
Anticipation of National Defence Industrial Strategy (NDIS): Rumours intensified this week that the Carney government will officially launch Canada’s first comprehensive Defence Industrial Strategy as early as next week (mid-February 2026)
Other Regional Developments:
Philippines lodges firm representations with China over rhetoric escalation: On January 26, 2026, the Philippines filed formal diplomatic protests with the Chinese embassy over escalating rhetoric regarding the South China Sea
Taiwan defence minister cautions against becoming numb to China drills: Taiwan's Defence Minister warned on February 5, 2026, that Taiwan risks becoming desensitized to China's military drills and emphasized the urgency of the security threat
UPCOMING EVENTS
Space Summit 2026 | February 2-3 | Singapore
Singapore Airshow 2026 | February 3-6 | Singapore
Canada-in-Asia Conference 2026 | February 10-11 | Singapore
Subsea Security & Defence 2026 | February 10-13 | Singapore
DSA and NATSEC Asia | 20-23 April | Kuala Lumpur
Shangri-La Dialogue | May 29 – 31 | Singapore
Accelerated Procurement, Grants & Diversification Opportunity Tracker
Update Forthcoming in Future Editions…
Did we miss something? If so, let us know.