AFP, WASHINGTON: The United States and Canada have agreed to extend the North American Aerospace Defense Command's (NORAD's) aerospace warning function to support missile defense, the US State Department said Thursday.
The agreement allows NORAD information on incoming missiles to be used by the US missile defense program, the department's spokesman Richard Boucher told reporters.
But it does not require Canadian forces to participate in the actual missile defense programs or actions, Boucher said.
The two neighbours have been partners for more than a decade in the defense of North America and “we look forward to continuing this longstanding defense cooperation” through the command, he said.
The new deal “formally assigns” to NORAD the responsibility for providing the threat information under the missile defense mission, Boucher explained.
He also said that Canada would determine at a later date whether to participate in US missile defense efforts.
Washington has been pressing Ottawa for more than a year for a decision on whether Canada will join the US ballistic-missile-defence system.
NORAD was formed in 1958 during the Cold War to protect the US homeland.
