Fisher: F-35 debate so far missing the point

The notion that Canada may one day need stealthy F-35 fighter jets to help counter a threat from China has hardly been discussed in the raucous, mostly uninformed debate over whether Ottawa should acquire the fifth-generation warplanes.

The few times that the possibility has been raised that China and Canada might be at odds in 2030 or 2040 it has usually been ridiculed. After all, with so many shared economic interests, there is every reason for the two countries to be friends. It is why Prime Minister Stephen Harper finally went to Beijing in February.

But China is a potential adversary as well as an important trading partner and it is foolish to think otherwise. Cyber warfare has suddenly leaped to the top of Canada's security concerns.

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