PRIME MINISTER:
Well good afternoon.
Prime Minister Lee, thank you so much for the great partnership you’ve shown with us as Chairman of ASEAN in making this Special Summit – a first for Australia and ASEAN – a resounding success
Not least your clear message to the SME Summit that we must all - government and business - build new pathways for trade and investment.
The meeting comes at a critical time in history. The pace and scale of change is utterly without precedent.
The Summit has given us an opportunity to confirm Australia’s steadfast commitment to ASEAN – the centrality of ASEAN and Australia as an all-weather friend, now and into the future.
ASEAN, as the region’s strategic convenor, is a vital partner in our efforts to enhance our security and prosperity. Over the past 50 years, ASEAN has used its influence to support and maintain the rule of law.
And this Special Summit has demonstrated that Australia is committed to backing ASEAN in this role. ASEAN’s leadership is very important to the development and maintenance of a prosperous region based on rules and norms that support peace and stability.
Today with the leaders of ASEAN – 10 of our most important neighbours – we’ve discussed the most pressing issues facing our region.
We’ve reaffirmed our commitment to the fundamental principles that underpin our security: to upholding the rules-based regional and global order, to international law and the peaceful resolution of disputes, and to strengthening the security architecture of our region with ASEAN at its heart.
We’ve reiterated our determination to work together to confront terrorism - to work together to keep our people safe. The safety and security of our people is, and always must be, our top priority.
The outcomes agreed at the Counter Terrorism Conference will do just that. They’re practical ones that ensure that we continue to address a threat that is constantly evolving. As leaders said this morning, nowhere is far away from anywhere when it comes to terrorism, and none of us can tackle this threat alone.
The threat is global, and technology in many ways has amplified the problem; the use of social media and encrypted messaging applications is a challenge for us all and one we must tackle together. The laws that apply offline must apply online.
And just as the terrorists’ networks are transnational, so must be our collaboration, and nowhere more so than in the sharing of intelligence.
The use of cyberspace by terrorists and criminals presents an increasing challenge for all our agencies – it was a key focus of our discussions.
And so, an important initiative of the ASEAN-Australia Counter-Terrorism Summit was the transnational agreement to share cyber intelligence and policing resources.
Our shared commitment to work towards a more secure and prosperous region together is set out comprehensively in our joint statement – the Sydney Declaration.
We’ve affirmed our joint commitment to respond strongly and resolutely in the face of grave concerns we share about North Korea’s reckless and illegal nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
We’ve committed to upholding international law throughout our region including in the South China Sea where we look forward to the conclusion of a binding code of conduct, and we’ve committed to enhancing our cooperation on maritime security, transnational crime and defence. The 10 year counter-trafficking program we’ve agreed can leave no doubt about our collective determination to address the threat of human trafficking and other cross border criminal activity.
We’ve also committed to deepen the integration between our economies, expand trade, resist protectionism, and uphold the rules-based multilateral trading system.
As I observed in our meeting this morning Prime Minister, there were no protectionists around the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit table. Our own Free Trade Agreement with ASEAN and between Australian, ASEAN and New Zealand, AANZFTA is regularly referred to as ASEAN’s most comprehensive and progressive free trade agreement, and we are all committed to ensuring we maintain the momentum that it has generated.
There was very strong support around the table for swift conclusion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership or RCEP. RCEP covers half the world’s population, and a third of the world’s trade. If we secure a good agreement, this would be, as one of our colleagues said this morning, “an antithesis to protectionism” - it would ensure, on the back of the TPP-11, that the Indo-Pacific continues to be the fulcrum of open and free trade.
We’re also all committed to strengthen further our already strong education and cultural links, continue to advance gender equality and women’s economic empowerment, and promote and protect human rights.
And the success of this Summit goes well beyond increased government to government cooperation, important thought that is - it has brought our businesses into the push for continued regional economic growth.
The countries of Southeast Asia are already of enormous economic significance to Australia – our bilateral trade is already more than $100 billion as of last year.
But the Business Summit has put the accelerator on Australia’s economic engagement with ASEAN.
I’m convinced that opportunities for Australia in our region are vast if we continue to engage proactively with the economies of the Indo-Pacific.
Today, nearly one million Australians claim Southeast Asian ancestry and more than 700,000 Australians speak one of the languages of ASEAN at home.
The countries of ASEAN are among our closest neighbours. They are our friends and increasingly our family as well.
Our shared geography and shared interests mean we also share our future.
This Summit has helped shape and chart our future together: more security and stability; more prosperity and more opportunity.
Our national interest is our collective interest.
And so I now invite our good friend Prime Minister Lee to deliver his remarks.
HIS EXCELLENCY MR LEE HSIEN LOONG, PRIME MINISTER OF THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE:
Thank you Malcolm.
Prime Minster Turnbull, ladies and gentlemen.
I’d like on behalf of all my ASEAN colleagues to thank the Governor General, sir Peter Cosgrove and Prime Minister Turnbull for their hospitality over these last few days.
This special summit reflects the longstanding and multifaceted strategic partnership between ASEAN and Australia. Australia was ASEAN’s first dialogue partner and it has been an active and steadfast contributor to the region, to the open and inclusive regional security and economic architecture.
These two days at the special summit have been fruitful, the themes security and prosperity is timely. Given ASEAN’s priorities this year to strengthen our resilience and innovation capacities.
We adopted the Sydney declaration which reflects ASEAN and Australia’s shared commitment to our strategic partnership. We witnessed the signing of the MOU between ASEAN and Australia on cooperation to counter international terrorism yesterday.
The SME Conference and business Summit saw in depth discussions on how we can further promote trade and investment between ASEAN and Australia.
We also discussed how to strengthen the regions resilience on security issues, including cybersecurity which is timely because Australia and ASEAN are working towards closer digital connectivity.
I’m also pleased that we are agreed to cooperate on smart city development. There are clear synergies within the ASEAN Australia smart cities initiative and ASEAN’s own smart cities network.
We look forward to working with Australia and its businesses on these initiatives to improve the life and livelihood of our people.
We are also keeping up efforts to foster trade liberalisation and regional economic integration. We strongly believe that a free, open and rural space multilateral trading system is key to the region’s growth and prosperity.
We are committed to do our best to conclude a forward looking and mutually beneficial RCP, which we hope to sign this year. Which will send a clear signal to ASEAN’s external partners and all other countries of our commitment to promote international trade, oppose protectionism and keep the regional architecture open and inclusive.
We also discussed significant regional issues, including the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the region as well as ASEAN’s centrality and unity.
On the Korean Peninsula we have noted reports of North Korea's commitment to denuclearisation and its pledge to refrain from further nuclear and missile test during this period. And we’ve also noted the recently announced plans for President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jon-un to meet in the near future. We are cautiously encouraged by these developments. The situation on the Korean Peninsula is a complicated problem, which will take time to resolve and we hope these recent steps will contribute towards lasting peace and stability.
On the South China Sea ASEAN and Australia reiterated our support for rules based regional order, to resolve disputes peacefully in accordance with international law including the 1982 UN Convention on the law of the Sea. The South China Sea is a vital waterway through which flows a large volume of international trade. All regional countries have a fundamental interest in the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea and more broadly in the peace and stability of the region. We therefore look forward to the early conclusion of negotiations on a code of conduct in the South China Sea. The negotiations have in fact are in fact commencing this year.
On Rohingya State we are faced with a complex intercontinental situation which dates back more than half a century. In fact, if you trace it back maybe several centuries. It’s of concern to all ASEAN countries and yet ASEAN is not able to intervene and to force an outcome.
But we are working together in consultation with Myanmar to provide humanitarian assistance so that the affected communities can rebuild their lives. ASEAN’s approach is the humanitarian one and we are mobilising the ASEAN coordinating centre on humanitarian assistance on disaster management to help all of the affected communities in Myanmar. ASEAN will continue to support efforts by all the parties to achieve a long term and a viable solution.
Overall is has been a very successful meeting, we thank Prime Minister Turnbull for the initiative. We appreciate his strong commitment to furthering the strategic partnership and we look forward to meeting again and having an ASEAN-Australia Summit on the next occasion.
Thank you very much.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you, thank you so much.
So we have some questions, a couple, who is first?
JOURNALIST:
Lisa Murray from the Australian Financial Review. What concrete actions will Australia and ASEAN take to address China’s conduct in the South China Sea?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the commitment from ASEAN is to progress – which we strongly support – is to progress to a binding code of conduct, in respect of the South China Sea, there is a – I think a strong consensus around the table. I’ll ask the Chairman of ASEAN to speak for ASEAN but I think the – there is a strong consensus to ensure that the tensions are brought to an end by an agreement to a code of conduct, biding code of conduct that will enable freedom of navigation, freedom of overflight to be maintained and of course economic development to be undertaken.
PRIME MINISTER OF THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE:
Well, ASEAN countries all have broad and substantial relationships with China cooperating over many issues in many areas. For many of the countries China is in fact their biggest trading partner. The South China Sea is an issue for specific ASEAN countries which are claimant states, in particular that means Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Philippines. It’s an issue for the rest of the ASEAN countries too because this is a security and stability question in Southeast Asia which will affect all ASEAN countries if it goes wrong.
I would say that the parties have been working towards discussing this issue and making progress on it. Last year we agreed on the framework for the code of conduct between ASEAN and China and this year we have agreed to commence negotiations on the code of conduct. This is an issue which we can manage, which we can help prevent from escalating, but it is not an issue which can in a definitive way resolve in any short period of time. We have to accept that and work together in good faith and to the utmost ability which we have in order to maintain a stable situation and gradually to make progress. Which is what we are doing.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister’s Tim Lester from the Seven Network. Was Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib correct when he said that the Rohingya refugee crisis is now developing as a security threat for the whole region? And specifically Mr Turnbull what are you going to say to Aung San Suu Kyi about the crisis when you get the chance to address her on it?
PRIME MINISTER OF THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE:
Well I think this is a question which you should address to Prime Minister Najib because he made the comment and I’m sure had reasons for doing so.
All of us in the region we are - we will be anxious if there’s any instability or any trouble in any of our member countries. We are also concerned as human beings that there's a humanitarian situation which has developed and people’s welfare and lives and safety are at stake, and we do our best to help the governments to re-establish stability and tranquillity in this situation.
I think we - I do not have any specific intelligence on what's happening in Rohingya State and whether there are terrorist groups as has been suggested. These are possibilities which you cannot rule out and which you have to keep on being on the watch out for.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you, Prime Minister.
We discussed the situation in Rohingya State at considerable length today and Aung San Suu Kyi addressed the matter comprehensively and at some considerable length herself. As Prime Minister Lee said it's a very it's a very complex problem. She seeks support from ASEAN and other nations to provide help from a humanitarian and capacity building point of view. We all, everyone seeks to end the suffering that is being occasioned by the, you know the events, the conflict, the dislocation, the displacement of persons. So our goal is to support a peaceful and speedy resolution of the humanitarian problems - humanitarian disaster truthfully - that has resulted from the conflict. But it was certainly an issue that's been discussed, I think it would be fair to say Prime Minister, very constructively in our meeting.
PRIME MINISTER OF THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE:
I think is an issue which the leaders will talk about, and we will exchange views and frankly express some concerns and considerations we have is an issue which is also in the public attention and as one of those where intense public attention sometimes makes it more difficult to solve. That’s just in the nature of the matter.
JOURNALIST:
Good afternoon Prime Ministers, this is Kenneth from Today in Singapore. First there are three parts to my question.
PRIME MINISTER:
That’s another way of saying that you have three questions.
[Laughter]
JOURNALIST:
Three related parts. First are you satisfied broadly with the outcomes that have been reached at this Summit?
And second for Prime Minister Turnbull on the initiative and smart and sustainable cities, is the $13 million investment enough for the projects that both sides will undertake?
And third a large focus of this Summit has been cooperation to counter terrorism with the signing of the landmark agreement yesterday. But Southern Philippines has been a hotspot, did the absence of the top Filipino leader affect discussions on the issue of terrorism?
Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well thank you.
In answer to your questions in respect to the first, yes.
In respect of the second, $13 million will go a long way. But the issue with smart cities really are sharing experience and awareness, it’s about building capacity and knowledge. As Prime Minister Lee has said we all learn from each other's successes and mistakes and we should all shamelessly plagiarise each other's successes and avoid each other's mistakes.
But the important thing is working together and learning. And I just say this as somebody who came into politics relative – you know later in life at the age of 50 after a career in business - the business world is much more globally connected than the world of policy. It is, businesses tend to know exactly what is going on in their field around the world. Governments are less aware and policy makers less aware so it’s very important to use platforms and forums and organisations like ASEAN and our engagement to make sure that we're learning from each other because basically we're all grappling, so you take smart cities. We’re all grappling with exactly the same problems, there are some differences but they're essentially the same problems. So the important thing is to know what everyone else is doing, the experiments others are trying, whether they work, whether they don't and if they have made mistakes don't keep on making them again and again.
Now finally you asked about the President of the Philippines. President Duterte was never coming to the Summit, he made that clear. But his Foreign Secretary Cayetano was here and made a really very, very valuable constructive, very informed contribution and I want to thank him for it. President Duterte has been very ably represented by Secretary Cayetano.
PRIME MINISTER OF THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE:
I think just briefly on the first two questions, I'm very happy with the outcomes from this summit meeting. The purpose of the summit is to focus our minds, give our civil servants the impetus to complete specific projects and at the same time to have top level exchange of views and a review of where we stand in the relationship and that we have achieved.
On the Smart Cities, I would not argue whether you need more money or less money. The challenge with Smart Cities is not finding the money, the challenge with Smart Cities is to make the implementation and to change the way in which our cities and our administrations operate to make full use of the technology. And in this case, jointly, to be able to work together to interoperate and to share approaches and have compatible ways of doing things which will widen the footprints for our residents, our citizens, to be able to use the facilities across borders. And for the administrations to be able to learn from each other's experiences. So I'm very happy that the Australian Government is pursuing this and I'm quite sure that if specific, as and when specific attractive projects come up, which will happen, those projects will find no difficulty getting funded.
JOURNALIST:
Good evening. Business Indonesia, and my first question is what regulation are policies did the Australian Government have prepared to facilitate the operation with the ASEAN in terms of counter-terrorism? Is there any, will there be special policies in addition to several in the White Paper - White Paper Foreign Policy that was published last November? And the second on is about the Sydney declaration, is it the result of the meeting – the ASEAN-Australia Summit 2018? Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER:
In terms of counter-terrorism, the key, the key measure is greater cooperation and collaboration. We obviously learn from each other in terms of regulation and law, you know law reform. We've made, we have enacted many tranches of national security legislation in respect of answering the terrorist threat here in Australia and obviously all countries, we all learn from each other. Just as we do with Smart Cities, we learn in terms of security legislation. But by far the most important step is getting all of those agencies and their heads together, ensuring that they continue to build on that platform of trust, that they share information.
As I was saying at the counter-terrorism conference, you know what may appear to be an inconsequential piece of information in the hands of one police service or one security service, may be the piece that solves the jigsaw in another country. And so sharing is critically important. I mean, we have been able to disrupt very, very serious threats to security in Australia. Serious terrorist plots because of a piece of information that has come from overseas, just a small piece of information. So sharing is really important and that's why it was terrific to have Tony Sheehan our Commonwealth Government coordinator general, coordinator of counter-terrorism, to bring this meeting together.
I talked earlier about the convening power of ASEAN. This is why it's so powerful because you bring all these agencies together under the authority of their leaders and building on that trust is vitally important. The more they trust each other, the more they share, the safer they keep our people.
PRIME MINISTER OF THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE:
I agree completely with that.
I think the legal framework depends from country to country depends on history, political climate, the attitudes of your population. But the intelligence which needs to be shared, the techniques which need to be shared and even the technical assistance which can be very, very valuable. I think these are things which go on quietly and which are essential if we're going to work together internationally in order to deal with a transboundary threat, which this really is. And I can say that we're doing, Singapore in Australia and many other ASEAN countries too, there is a lot of cooperation going on in counter-terrorism. The conference yesterday gives it a symbolic presence and recognition and is an impetus to our people on both sides. Let's do more and work even more closely together.
PRIME MINISTER:
Okay well thank you very much. Before we go Prime Minister, I want to make some remarks about the fires in Victoria and south-west Victoria and in New South Wales and the ACT.
There is particularly fierce fires burning, as you know, in south-west Victoria around Cobden, Terang, Port Campbell. I’ve spoken with Dan Tehan, who is the Federal member, about the fires just before I came in here. Our thoughts and prayers are with all of those who have been affected.
At this stage Dan advises me around 10 homes have been destroyed by fire. Obviously it's very dynamic situation. There is no reports at this stage of casualties but there are thousands of hectares have been burnt and a very large number of, very large number of stock, of sheep and cattle have been destroyed as well.
I want to thank all of the state emergency services, the firefighters, the volunteers who are working tirelessly to ensure the safety of all those affected. I urge everyone to follow the advice and direction of the emergency management authorities. Your safety is their first priority. So, we are in close contact via Dan and of course our emergency minister, Angus Taylor, with the Victorian authorities and ready to provide federal assistance as soon as it is called upon.
So thank you all very much and thank you, Prime Minister, for your great collaboration and partnership in the summit.