DAVIS: Julia Gillard thanks for your time. What has this summit achieved?
PM: I think this summit has achieved a series of things. First and foremost, of course, it has formally agreed that from next year the US and Russia will join the East Asia Summit, that means we have now achieved an important goal, where there will be a forum each year that talks about strategic and political matters, economic matters and defence matters, which involves the US, China and the countries of our region, so that's an important development.
This summit has also had a series of discussions about economic matters, we continue to be in a fragile global economy and of course views from this summit about trade liberalisation, about finance reform, about IMF reform will feed into the G20, which is not that long away.
It's also been an opportunity for us as a nation to come, participate in the summit, talk to leaders in our region and to make some important announcements. I made some announcements about increasing funds for disaster management, we're a disaster prone region unfortunately and also increasing funding to support work about pandemics and infectious diseases, as well as announcing 7,500 scholarships that will bring students from countries in the region from ASEAN countries, East Asian Summit countries, to Australia to study.
DAVIS: How do you see Australia's role in Asia? Paul Keating said that we were part of Asia, is there a Gillard doctrine on Asia?
PM: I'm not sure I'm going to quite pontificate about a doctrine, but obviously being part of this region, making our way in this region, participating in regional discussions, is one of the key pillars of our foreign policy approach. And so to have the opportunity to come here and see this summit develop into one that brings the US, as a standing feature of the summit from next year on, is an important development.
DAVIS: Are you worried by the rise of China? I guess if you're not worried, then why does the US need to be part of the summit?
PM: I think when we're looking at our relationship with China, we should remember of course that China is a participant in the meetings that the world has, it's a participant in the G20, it's a participant in the UN, it's a participant in all sorts of regional discussions, including the East Asia Summit.
We have a good relationship with China, they're now our biggest trading partner. So we work productively with them. We've got our long standing and pivotal alliance with the United States, but we think it's important that there is a forum, a piece of architecture, that brings the two together with the countries of our region: Korea, Japan, Indonesia and the list goes on.
DAVIS: It's been compared to trying to ride two horses travelling in opposite directions, trying to be friends with the US and trying to be friends with China at the same time. Do you think there ever will come a time though that we'll have to pick sides?
PM: Look, I think that dichotomy is over put, the US is striving to have good relationships with China, China is striving to have good relationships with the US and the world. There are a series of issues on which we will work very collaboratively together, I point particularly to the work of the G20, in the global financial crisis response, where what China was doing with economic stimulus was supporting what the US was doing with economic stimulus, was supporting what we were doing with economic stimulus, as everyone tried to get the global economy to recover. So there's far more work and collaboration, than I think those kind of phrases suggest.
DAVIS: And are you taking credit, or some credit for the United States joining the summit?
PM: This was worked on hard, particularly by former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who had a vision of having a piece of regional architecture that would bring these big players together. So it's certainly something that the government's worked on very hard.
DAVIS: You're going to be travelling to Indonesia and Malaysia over the next few days, do you think you're going to receive any support from both those countries on your proposal for a regional processing centre for asylum seekers?
PM: I, of course, will be talking to Indonesia and to Malaysia about this question. Interestingly at the summit here today a theme of discussion was about transnational crime and what that means for us in a globalised world. Of course people smuggling, human trafficking, these are manifestations of transnational crime and that was one of the things raised by a number of countries, the impact of transnational crime.
So, I will, when I go to Indonesia and to Malaysia be directly raising the regional protection framework and regional processing centre and the discussions will continue at officials level and with the Minister for Immigration, who's already been travelling the region talking about people smuggling and people movement.
DAVIS: But has there been any support within this summit for your proposal?
PM: There is certainly more countries than just Australia raising transnational crime, human trafficking, people movement, concerns about people smuggling, so when we look at these issues they require regional solutions because by definition they impact more than one country.
DAVIS: Prime Minister thanks for your time.
PM: Thank you.