PM: Well can I say it is great to be back in Singapore and good to be here on my first visit as Prime Minister of Australia. Singapore and Australia have a shared past. Singapore and Australia have very much a shared future. And that is what this visit to Singapore today is all about.
This morning I had the opportunity to lay a wreath at Kranji, where we see the tombs of literally thousands of Australians who made the supreme sacrifice. And together with others here in defence of the island republic in 1941 and 1942, this is etched deeply into the souls of all Australians.
Singapore therefore occupies a special place in the hearts of the Australian people. Memories of what occurred back then, many of our veterans still alive, many still coming back, many to visit the graves of their mates.
Later today, building on what has been a strong military relationship between Australia and Singapore, I am also anticipating the opportunity of issuing a new memorandum of understanding with the Government of Singapore on defence cooperation. This in turn will underline the strength and depth and breadth of the existing security policy cooperation between our two armed forces and our two Governments.
We look forward to the continuation of that cooperation into the future. And this memorandum of understanding provides a fresh framework for doing that.
This is an important economic relationship for Australia as well and that is another reason why I have taken the opportunity of being here to spend breakfast around the table with senior representatives of the Australian business community.
This is a good relationship for Singapore, a good relationship for Australia and through the Free Trade Agreement, and building on that Free Trade Agreement into the future, we are looking for further opportunities to broaden and deepen our economic engagement.
Later today I will also have the opportunity to deliver the Singapore lecture, and I would thank very much the Government of Singapore for extending that invitation to me, that honour to me to deliver what is a most prestigious lecture.
The other thing I have been doing here in Singapore today where I think those of you, ladies and gentlemen of the press have already been as well, and that is here at the Australian International School. This is a fantastic school and it brings I think into sharp focus, the absolute importance of education as a bridge between our two countries, our two cultures and our two economies.
But also, apart from that, seeing all these young Australian kids out here in the earliest days of their educational experience, exposed to another culture, learning another language, in many cases and being very much pioneers in what will be Australia's increasing economic integration with the great economies of the Asia Pacific region.
Education is a core part of the Australian Government's economic policy platform for the future. But education equally is a core part of building bridges of common understanding between Australia and the countries of the region.
As I said before, the challenge that we face for Australia for the future is making Australia into the most Asia literate country across the Western world. I believe we have made a good start on that. We have got much more to do.
Our national Asian language and studies program in Australian schools, literally teaching tens and hundreds of thousands of young Australian kids back home, the principle languages of Asia: Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian as well as Korean - but also importantly giving them an introduction to the principal languages, principal cultures of the region as well.
This is part of our long term mission statement of placing Australia in a position as the ‘go to' country across the Western world, with the best understanding of the economies and cultures of this part of the world, here in the Asia Pacific region. I am happy to take your questions.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: Well, is this to be broadcast in Mandarin is it?
JOURNALIST: Yeah that is right.
PM: Ok, here we go, this is to your audience here in Singapore is it? Well the Olympic opening was an extraordinary event and I think it says a lot about China's recent achievements and my wife and I had the opportunity to attend the opening ceremony, together with many other Western heads of government. And we were honoured to do so. It was also good to see huge teams of athletes from right across the world, building further bridges of common understanding between different cultures and different countries.
PM SPEAKS IN MANDARIN
JOURNALIST: Mr Rudd yesterday you announced a free trade agreement with Korea, at the same time your Government has been saying it wants (inaudible). Was yesterday an admission that ultimately free trade agreements are (inaudible)?
PM: I think it is important to put it in this way and this is exactly the policy direction of the Australian Government. And that is, you can walk and chew gum at the same time when it comes to free trade negotiations. We are absolutely vigorously committed to the successful prosecution of the multilateral trade liberalisation round through Doha, through the World Trade Organisation.
We are a member of the G7, a group of negotiating countries led by Trade Minister Simon Crean. And we haven't given up yet. In fact it has been a feature of my discussions elsewhere in the region, including with the Chinese, about how we can still close the gap between the final negotiating positions reached in Geneva only a week or two ago. Multilateral trade liberalisation is the best for the world because the rules then don't discriminate against any country.
And that is the best way to enhance global economic growth. Secondly, simultaneously, there is evidence by the posture we have taken domestically towards bilateral free trade agreements, right back to the American FTA, we have indicated both as an Opposition party and as a party now in Government, that we will prosecute those agendas vigorously as well.
Hence, the decision in Seoul yesterday, in my discussions with President Li of the Republic of Korea, that we have agreed on the principle of a free trade agreement between the two countries. Secondly, our officials will meet in September, October to engage in pre negotiations. And thirdly, in my discussions with the heads of the four major business conglomerates, or peak industry organisations as we call them in Australia, in Seoul last night, there is strong, across the board support for bringing such a free trade agreement into fruition.
So my answer to your question Patricia is, walk and chew gum at the same time. That is what we intend to do. And with vigour.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: Well ASEAN remains the absolute core of the region's architecture. ASEAN is a great success story across the Asia Pacific region. If you turned the clock back 40 years to when ASEAN was started in 1967, think about what the world, what the region was like then.
You had a lot of conflict in South East Asia, Indo China war, Vietnam, Cambodia, as well as the recent history of conflict involving Indonesia as well, not to mention the Malaysian insurgency. Put all of those things together 40 years ago, it was not a happy set of security circumstances. 40 years later, ASEAN's great contribution has been to bring about, not just the habit of security policy cooperation, but the reality of a genuinely peaceful, secure environment.
And that has helped provide the platform for economic growth. So, as for an Asia Pacific community, what I have said is, the rest of the wider Asia Pacific region should learn from ASEAN's success. And build on the success which ASEAN has achieved. ASEAN, always remaining at the core, but looking at how we can take that idea, that habit, that culture, that institution of cooperation across politics, across security and across the economy and other areas of cooperation, into a concept for the wider Asia Pacific region, involving the United States, Japan, China, India, etc.
That is very much where I see ASEAN's role. A benchmark of success within South East Asia, a continuing central role in the evolution of the concept of an Asia Pacific community as well.
JOURNALIST: Mr Rudd, do you expect that (inaudible)
PM: This matter is before the courts and before the judicial processes in this country. And consistent with my attitude to similar such cases in the past, I would not raise them because they are currently before the judiciary.
JOURNALIST: But Mr Rudd on a general level, Peter Lloyd is (inaudible)
PM: As I said before, this matter is before the courts. It is before the judiciary in this country. And consistent with the policy I have adopted elsewhere, I would not comment on a matter currently before the courts and that applies in this case as well.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: Probably not is the answer to that, but go on.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible)
PM: Well my answer to your question relates to my answer to the earlier question about an Asia Pacific community. There are two possible scripts for the future of the wider Asia Pacific Region. One is, a possible script, which heads in the direction through complacency, possibly, heading in the direction of the possibility of non cooperation, even conflict.
That is one possible trajectory. I don't think any of us want to see that because we have seen the enormous prosperity which has come off the back of stability, enabling economic growth to proceed at such a pace, as we have seen over the last quarter of a century. And ASEAN has been critical in that connection as well.
So that is one possible path. The other possible path, building on the ASEAN example, is to in fact consolidate the habits and the institutions and the practice of cooperation, including in the security policy sphere.
And that is one reason why I have advanced the concept of an Asia Pacific community. APEC does a great job within its current framework. Its mandate is restricted to economic policy matters. I think it would be good, long term, and the Asia Pacific Community vision, is long term, it's 2020, would seek to broaden the mandate of a wider regional institution to enable the discussion of, dialogue on and cooperation in, the spheres of political cooperation as well as security policy cooperation as well as the economy as it does presently.
That is, I think the best course of action. And that's why we should learn from the great experience of our friends in ASEAN and how they have built that culture of security cooperation here in Singapore. Here in ASEAN, where Singapore has led so much of the debate about South East Asia's regional architecture.
JOURNALIST: (inaudible) two Australian soldiers have been injured in Afghanistan, can I get your reaction to that (inaudible)
PM: On the facts concerning the injuries which have been sustained in Afghanistan I would rather not comment. I would rather allow the Chief of Defence Force staff to make full, a full public statement on those details because I don't wish to be misleading in any way.
On the fact that this attack has occurred and Australians have suffered injuries as a result, then the view of the Australian Government, as stated in the past is that we are always deeply concerned about the security and well being of all of our men and women in uniform, in whatever theatre they are engaged and that includes Afghanistan.
Afghanistan is difficult and dangerous work and therefore our thoughts are always with the troops. But I know Angus Houston, the Chief of Defence Force staff, is also continues to be in the business of ensuring our troops have everything that they need in order to ensure that their security is best obtained on the ground in what is a very difficult environment.
Our thoughts and prayers are of course with the families of those who have been injured and I am confident the defence force family and community are in active contact with those families as we speak.
JOURNALIST: (Inaudible)
PM: Well first of all I am not quite sure what you are referring to. I understand there is a freedom of information request, is that right, on this matter. I understand it has been handled in the normal matter. But I would defer the comment back home on that because I don't have all of those details before me.
JOURNALIST: (Inaudible)
PM: Well I think one of the things I am looking forward to discussing with the Prime Minister today is taking this memorandum of understanding on defence and security policy cooperation as the new framework. What we now do within that framework by way of an intensification of the cooperation between for example, our armed forces. Singapore Armed Forces are a highly trained and effective organisation. And the Australian Defence Force has worked closely with the Singapore armed forces over a long period of time. There is a high degree of mutual respect between these institutions, as there should be.
The practical questions which the Prime Minister and I will address is how is this then taken further on the ground. What I am signalling, certainly to my Singaporean counterpart is, we at our side, on our side are more than committed to embracing a deeper and broader defence and security relationship with Singapore. It is in good shape now, I would not criticise anything that has happened in the past. I think we can however, make it deeper and broader into the future. That is in our interests and I think it is in Singapore's interests as well.