PRIME MINISTER:
Well, good morning everyone. It’s now time to start wrapping up this trip to North Asia and I think we can say that this has been a good and positive trip for our country, for the countries that have been visited and for the wider world. The themes of this trip have been prosperity and security and I think I can say that in Japan, in Korea and now in China we have agreed to measures which will help in both respects.
As you know, in Japan, negotiations were finalised for the Japan-Australia Free Trade Agreement or Economic Partnership Agreement. In Korea, the Korea-Australia Free Trade Agreement was signed and I think we have accelerated here in China towards a China-Australia Free Trade Agreement.
Of course, prosperity and security go hand in hand; you can’t have the one without the other and I think I can say that the already good and strong defence and security cooperation between Australia and Japan and between Australia and Korea has been deepened as a result of this trip. Here in China, as a result of this trip, I am now quite confident that we won’t just have high level meetings between our respective militaries but we will have exchanges and exercises between our respective militaries and also multilateral exercise in the months and years ahead and that’s got to be good for peace and understanding in our region and in the wider world.
Of course, security is not just about exchanges between different countries military, it’s about the depth and the quality of engagement between our peoples and this is where the New Colombo Plan is so important in deepening Australia’s long term engagement with our region and in each of the countries visited we have seen the progress towards putting the New Colombo plan into practice. We formally launched the New Colombo plan in Japan and the New Colombo plan will kick off in Korea and in China next year. In Japan, we've already got about 150 New Colombo Plan scholars and awardees and next year we’ll certainly have some hundreds of New Colombo Plan scholars and awardees in Korea and in China.
I think I can also say in conclusion that the personal relations at the senior levels of government have been very much enhanced by this trip. Obviously, every country has its national interests and all leaders are inevitably focused on the national interests of their respective countries, but it is in the national interest of Australia, it's in the national interest of Japan, Korea and China for there to be ever closer economic partnership between our countries; it's in the interests of all of our countries to promote peace and understanding in our region and I think that the relationship at the top is very important in making that not just an aspiration but a reality.
I probably should conclude by thanking the media members of the party because in the end nothing really happens in public life unless it is brought to the public's attention and that's exactly what you've done over the last week.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, when you talk about multilateral military exercises involving China and Australia, who else might be involved here?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we've already had an exercise involving Australia, China and New Zealand and that's the kind of foundation that I am looking to build upon in the months and years ahead.
QUESTION:
The US?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, look, I'm not going to speculate about what other countries might be involved, but obviously, thanks to the rotating elements of US Marines in Darwin, there's potential for multilateral exercises in Australia involving the United States.
QUESTION:
As someone who loves the outdoors, who loves running, who loves riding, what do you think of hundreds of millions of folk who have to live in a very sometimes awful atmosphere where you've got a particulate matter that stops you going out? What can Australia do to help places like China improve its air quality?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we don't just talk about a beautiful and clean environment in Australia, we actually have one and, in part, that's a function of our natural advantages and our relatively small population, but it's also, in part, a function of sensible environmental regulation going back many decades now and in part, a function of Australian businesses which have become very good over the years at clean, green technology.
I met with a member of Andrew Robb's trade delegation yesterday who is selling solar panel technology into China and I understand is on the threshold of a big commercial breakthrough. So I think the trade relationship between Australia and China has considerable potential over time to help with environmental issues in this country because obviously they do have them and from the top down the Chinese Government and people are aware of the need to address the issues that you raise.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, so is it your belief, therefore, on the basis of what you've just said that it will ultimately be market solutions here in China that the market will actually respond to this problem? Now, obviously these cities are growing at a rapid rate and that the emergence of China is an amazing phenomenon, but the air quality in cities like this on many days is just unbreathable. Is it your belief that ultimately it’ll be market forces that address that problem?
PRIME MINISTER:
It will be a sensible combination of good regulation and the use of market-driven technologies.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, going back to these military exercises with the Chinese, was that raised in discussion with either Premier Li or President Xi?
PRIME MINISTER:
As you know, Phil, it's my practice not to go into the precise details of the conversations that I've had, but these issues have been well and truly discussed in the course of this visit.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, on that issue you mentioned the Darwin rotation. When that was first announced with President Obama, there were concerns in China about US troops on Australian soil. How have you addressed those concerns in China? Do you think that the joint exercises can actually ease any worries about it?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, I think that was something that was then, not now and I think the issue then was not the rotation itself, but the fact that it came as a surprise to people. I think that once people were fully aware of what was happening their concerns fairly quickly dissipated and the point I've been making everywhere is that our security partnerships are not directed against anyone, they're directed for those universal aspirations for peace, harmony and the rule of law.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, can I ask you to give us an update if you’ve got any more information about MH370 and would you be able to give us a flavour of the discussion with you and President Xi last night about it?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well again Simon, if you look at the front page of the China Daily this morning you’ll see that at every level of the Chinese Government there's been appreciation of the efforts that Australia has been making and will continue to make. I had a conversation with Angus Houston not long before the discussions with President Xi last night and while we do have a high degree of confidence that the transmissions that we've been picking up are from flight MH370's black box recorder, no-one should underestimate the difficulties of the task still ahead of us. Yes, we have narrowed down – very considerably narrowed down – the search area but trying to locate anything 4.5 kilometres beneath the surface of the ocean, about 1000 kilometres from land is a massive, massive task and it is likely to continue for a long time to come.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, can I just ask without giving details if North Korea was raised last night with the President and if not, why not?
PRIME MINISTER:
Again, I don't want to go into the details of what was raised with whom, but perhaps one thing I should indicate is that China has been a restraining influence on North Korea. There is considerable concern in the region and around the world about a potential fourth nuclear test by North Korea and it is very much the view of well-informed people in this region that China is working pretty hard to ensure that that doesn't happen.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, on that point, if there were to be a fourth nuclear test – and North Korea’s been warned time and time again about that sort of behaviour – if there were there fourth nuclear test, what do you see or what do you think the international response should be? North Korea clearly doesn’t [inaudible]… so what should happen if they do proceed?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, Simon, again, I'm not going to speculate on various scenarios, that would be, I think, a big mistake; but I think the outlaw regime in Pyongyang has well and truly got the message that it would be in no-one's interest, including theirs, for this to take place.
QUESTION:
When you sat down with the President, how would you describe your working relationship with President Xi?
PRIME MINISTER:
We had a very warm and constructive discussion last night and I'm looking forward to the continuation of those warm and constructive discussions. I'm looking forward to coming to Beijing for the APEC meeting in November and then I'm looking forward very much to President Xi’s trip to Australia. First of all to participate in the G20 discussions and then for a bilateral and I think in many ways for us the high point of that bilateral visit is going to be an address by President Xi to both Houses of the Australian Parliament.
QUESTION:
Just ask you some questions about MH370. Yesterday in Shanghai you said that Australia were very confident that the signals detected are from MH370. Could you give us more details about that? And could I ask, what’s the plan [inaudible]?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, thank you so much for that question. There have now been numerous transmissions from the black box, or from what we are confident is the black box, that have been picked up by the various devices which Australia is deploying. As you know, we've got a black box detector that is being deployed from the Australian naval vessel Ocean Shield and patterns of sonar buoys have been dropped by Royal Australian Air Force Orion aircraft in the search area. So we're very comprehensively deployed; very sophisticated equipment in the search for the black box recorder. There’ve been numerous, numerous transmissions recorded which gives us the high degree of confidence that this is the black box from the missing flight. What we're now doing – given that the signal from the black box is rapidly fading – what we are now doing is trying to get as many detections as we can so that we can narrow the search area down to as small an area as possible. Once that's been done –and I don't want to speculate on when that might be – once that's been done it's our intention to then deploy the submersible which will conduct a sonar search of the seabed and based on the sonar search attempt to get a visual on wreckage. So that's what will happen and obviously you’ll get regular updates from Air Chief Marshal Houston who is the coordinator of the joint agency centre in Perth.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, can I ask you, you mentioned the fact that the signals are rapidly depleting, have you been given any indication – and forgive me if this has already been reported back in Australia, I haven’t seen today’s updates – but have you been given an indication of how many days or weeks there are left of that signal being transmitted?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, I haven't.
QUESTION:
Mr Abbott, has anyone here in China raised Australia's closer military links with Japan with you and do you think that the close military links with China should mitigate any of those concerns?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, there's a clear understanding right around the region of the security relationships that we've got and I think there's a clear understanding in all of the capitals of our region that we want to deepen all of those relationships. One of the, I think, refreshing aspects of this trip is the way everyone has operated with a clear understanding of the relationships that each of us have. The point I keep making is that you don't strengthen one friendship by weakening another; you don't make a new friend by losing an old friend and I think that's a very good basis on which to go forward.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, what approach have you taken to the plight of Stern Hu who’s been locked up in jail now for quite some time. Have you raised this with the Chinese Government?
PRIME MINISTER:
As I've said in connection with other cases, I don't think it helps if there is public discussion of individual consular cases, but there were some consular matters raised, but the point that I also make is that, in the end, the justice system of each country is a matter for that country and different countries have their own standards and we have to be respectful of the standards of every country, while at the same time pleading the case as appropriate for Australian citizens who have got into difficulties overseas.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, just on the topic of China-Australia military cooperation. What can you tell us about the discussions around the impact of these exercises and the possibility of China working with [inaudible] Australia?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, again, I don't want to go into specific detail, although I understand there has already been some involvement of China in those exercises, and without going into specific detail, express the hope and the confidence that there can be greater and deeper involvement in the time ahead.
QUESTION:
Mr Abbott, when you were opposition leader you expressed support for John Howard's human rights dialogue – the one that was established in 1998 with China. Do you still see that as an appropriate forum for discussion with the Chinese and did you raise any human rights concerns with President Xi last night?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, this was a typically far-sighted initiative of Prime Minister Howard and it's initiatives like that which did so much to put the relationship with China on a very good and secure long-term footing. So these human rights matters are matters for the human rights dialogue. They are not normally matters for discussion between Prime Ministers and Premiers or between Prime Ministers and Presidents.
QUESTION:
Is it safe to say you didn't raise that matter last night with President Xi?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, we have an ongoing human rights dialogue and it's a very constructive way of dealing with these issues and look, I should observe again that China's system is very different from ours. Everyone understands that. But I think we would have to say that from an Australian perspective the issues that you raise are dealt with better in China now than in the past and that's a good thing.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister, given the enormous level of interest in MH370 here in China and this is your last opportunity to take questions from the press here. Do you think that you will have any updates today before you leave tonight that you might be able to pass onto the Chinese side during the course of today or is that a matter for a later date?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I will make contact with Air Marshal Houston today and ask if there has been any material change since yesterday and if there is I will pass it on. What I've tried to do ever since the search moved into Australia's search and rescue zone and Australia took leadership of the search and recovery effort, what I've tried to do is to keep the principal foreign leaders updated whenever there's been a significant change and obviously Prime Minister Najib of Malaysia is the person who has principal responsibility for the flight and therefore I've kept him very regularly updated; but I've also kept China's leadership regularly updated because they had the majority of the people on the plane. I think there's been a very considerable appreciation of the efforts that Australia has made at every level, not just the professionalism and the commitment that we've brought to the task, but the transparency and the candour that we've brought to the task and I think it's to our country's credit that we've approached it this way.
Thank you.
[ends]