PRIME MINISTER:
Ladies and gentleman, this morning as you know I had a meeting with the METI Minister and also with the Leader of the Opposition. In relation to my discussion with the METI Minister we canvassed in some detail the extent of the economic and trade relationship between Australia and Japan. I said to him that in trading relationships as in personal relationships, old friends are the best friends and Japan is an old trading friend and partner of Australia and I've indicated the priority I place on the relationship between Australia and Japan, as recently as in my address to the Lowy Institute and that attitude will be reflected in the discussions I have later today with the Prime Minster of Japan Mr Junichiro Koizumi. We will talk about the current state of the trade relationship and possibilities of further expanding it. It is a very healthy relationship and even if there were no further expansions but I am sure there will be, it would remain a very strong relationship. Japan remains our best customer as has been our best customer now for several decades, and one that we value very greatly. We talked about the recent negotiations concerning resource supply, we both agreed that matters of price and related issues were things to be determined by companies in commercial negotiations, and it wasn't the role of either government to intervene. Obviously the two governments are interested in and remain involved in the overall character of the relationship, but when it comes to individual issues then prices, and supply arrangements, and so forth are matters for individual companies. I can simply report to you, that in the two discussions I have had and naturally the most substantial discussion is yet to come, the relationship is close and strong, not only in relation to economic and trade issues but also political issues, there is appreciation on both sides of Japanese politics, for the decision that Australia has taken to deploy troops to the Al Muthanna province, to provide a secure environment for the Japanese forces that are operating there. Do you have any questions?
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard if you were a betting man what do you think the chances are of free trade negotiations going ahead?
PRIME MINISTER:
I don't get into that sort of game on something as important as that, we will talk about that matter tonight.
JOURNALIST:
[inaudible] Prime Minister, no agriculture, no deal?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I am not going to get into those sorts of games either, look we haven't even had our talk yet, I believe that there is merit what might be involved in a free trade agreement, I will be discussing that matter with Mr Koizumi tonight and we'll see what comes out of that but I am, even if we have an optimist result on that front, I am not going to start saying, what's in and what's out. Let's have a look at what might be involved in such a discussion. We are not talking here about inaugurating a free trade negotiation, we're talking about an examination, a scoping study, a feasibility study, whatever way you want to describe it, but as I said when I was in Beijing, the relationship is strong and even if nothing comes, it's still an extraordinary strong relationship and we should look, and you've heard me say this before, but it does bear repeating, we should look at the substance of these bilateral relationships not the modalities and the formal language and the framework, the architecture, the ambience, what really matters is what we buy from Japan and what we sell to Japan and how reliable we are, how loyal is the custom, how long is the association, and on all of those counts, Australia has no better trading partner in the world, not just in the region, but in the world, than Japan.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, on the question of the troops, the deployment, do you expect to be discussing with the Prime Minister or any other Minister here the details about deployment, in particular the prospective duration of the Japanese engineers' stay in Iraq?
PRIME MINISTER:
That could come up, I don't expect the military aspects of the deployment to be discussed, I'd prefer to leave that to the military in Australia, I think they are well across that, I am well satisfied from what I was told in Darwin that our troops are well trained, ready, they expressed great satisfaction to me about the equipment and I spoke to the Commanding Officer, and I said to him before I left, if you want anything more, will you please let me know, I would not want any Australian soldier in that deployment to feel that their equipment was inadequate and I made that comment and that request to Lieutenant Colonel Noble, he expressed to me great satisfaction with what had been provided and certainly in my discussions with the troops, individually, they expressed that satisfaction. But I'll keep that issue, and Senator Hill will keep that issue under very close scrutiny but I wouldn't think that the movements and so forth are going to be the subject of detailed discussions tonight.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister in your discussions with Mr Koizumi, do you plan to canvass Japan's support for Australia's presence at the East Asia Summit coming up later this year and also will you be talking to him about how Japan has seen its way clear to sign the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation given its close links, security links, to the United States?
PRIME MINISTER:
Japan's position in relation to the East Asia Summit is already very well known. I will say to him that I appreciate the support that he has expressed. I don't know that we're going to talk about the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, we will in due course, in the context that I've already laid out, have a look at that.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, given your recent visit to China and your talks there, do you intend to volunteer any view or observation about the current disagreement between Japan and China over World War II issues and the UN?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I don't think it's something that I'm going to sort of list on the formal agenda. But in the nature of a discussion of an informal kind, two people who now know each other quite well would have, over dinner, I would not be surprised if some of those issues came up, but just as they came up informally in my discussions with the Chinese Premier over dinner. But the bilateral relationship between China and Japan is not something that I give lectures to either country on, I'm obviously interested, I'm obviously keen to see the bilateral relationship being strong and positive but I don't offer gratuitous advice in relation to that, any more than I would appreciate gratuitous advice being offered by either of those countries concerning a bilateral relationship between Australia and one other country.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, there's a suggestion there might be a scope for greater coordination or cooperation on regional security policy between Australia and Japan, what's your view on that?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we already have a security dialogue, that was inaugurated some years ago and it involves Japan, Australia and the United States. It's a departmental secretary level and it's a very good dialogue and we have found it very valuable and it's something I know the Japanese appreciate.
JOURNALIST:
Is there any scope to work more closely together (inaudible) regional security issues?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well there's always scope when you have the platform and the platform is there in the dialogue and there's always scope.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, back on the East Asian Summit, you've spoken to the Chinese leadership, you're going to speak to the Japanese leader tonight. Have you asked and will you ask them to perhaps use their good offices with South Korea so that you've at least got the "plus three" supporting Australia...
PRIME MINISTER:
Well if I thought views should be put to South Korea I would have those views put directly because South Korea is a good friend of Australia's. It's not a country that we have difficulty when it comes to our discussions and if there were further things to be done on that front then I would do it directly.
JOURNALIST:
It would be kind of handy though wouldn't it?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I think in some respects it's not handy if you have a good relationship with a country and you feel unable to directly raise something with that country and you use an intermediary, I don't think that's handy at all, it can be seen as a bit awkward and I mean far be it from me to pretend great excellence in these diplomatic matters Mr Farr but I would have thought the diplomatic thing to do would be to speak directly, particularly to another country in north Asia which has been a good and loyal customer and friend of Australia's over a long period of time.
JOURNALIST:
In your discussions today with Mr Okada and business people at lunch, are there any specific business or commercial issues that you're raising or that you have on your agenda?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, I don't come here plugging particular deals, I come here recognising that Australian companies have long-standing, mature, effective, close business relationships. I'll see a lot of Australian businessmen and women in Aichi tomorrow, quite a lot of them will be there, people like Leigh Clifford of RTZ and others, Alf Moufarrige who has been very successful in his service companies in Japan and elsewhere in the region. But I see my role as encouraging and in a broad way facilitating and contributing at a head of government level to keeping the relationship strong. But governments and prime ministers should not get into the business of negotiating deals, they're not very good at them, I can assure you.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, we've heard what other countries think about us joining the East Asian Summit, how significant is it for you for Australia to be there at the first meeting?
PRIME MINISTER:
It would be a good thing, but it's not the most important thing, if it happens it won't be the most important thing that's occurred in our relations with the region. I regard in the last few years the restoration to full strength and even more the relationship between Australia and Indonesia as being far more important; the achievement of the growth that we have seen in the relationship with China; the maintenance of our strength with Japan and North Korea; the capacity of Australia to contribute along with Japan to the three IMF rescue packages in the Asian economic downturn. I mean all of those things were far more important. But having said that, we would be pleased to be part of that and we think it's sensible and logical given Australia's involvement in the region. But we're not, what's the diplomatic word, demandeurs? We're not begging to go there, we don't ever do that, we don't need to, because whether we're there or not we're still significant. But I think there's advantage and I hope it occurs.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, is the deployment of 15 troops to Sudan a preliminary deployment? Are there going to be more?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I wouldn't rule out more but equally by saying that I'm not concealing the fact that we have already decided to send more. You get my meaning? You've got to be careful with these things.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, do you think that the new Pope being 78, there's a broader sign there about the time, or people should take up new jobs?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well let me put it this way, he has channels of communication that are not available to other mere mortals. But let me say, I have never held the view that age is a disqualifying factor, capacity is the thing that counts and capacity is found in different quantities, in different people, at different stages of their lives, both in the church and also in those who seek to render unto Caesar what is Caesar's due.
JOURNALIST:
So it's not just the case that in religion and also in politics that patience is a virtue?
PRIME MINISTER:
I think patience is a great virtue, not only in politics and the church but also in personal life. Patience is a commendable virtue and something to be wholly praised.