CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY EMBARGOED UNTIL DELIVERY
SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER
BANQUET SPEECH
BANGKOK 2 FEBRUARY 1989
Thailand and Australia have been close friends for many
years now. It is a friendship based on common international
Sinterests and on an expanding economic relationship.
Moreover, Mr Prime Minister, we have a shared commitment to
the democratic processes. Unfortunately we live in a world
where this cannot always be said with conviction.
Mr Prime Minister, it is because we can build still further
on that friendship and forge new ties between us, that I am
delighted to return once more to the great city of Bangkok
and the beautiful country of Thailand.
On my last visit in 1983, I paid tribute to the tremendous
changes that were taking place in Thailand.
Mr Prime Minister, if anything I had underestimated the
magnitude of those changes.
For Thailand's economic achievements since then have been
truly remarkable. Indeed on the basis of rapid
Sindustrialisation and with a recent annual growth rate of
around 10 per cent, Thailand is fast emerging as another
tiger in a region already acknowledged as the fastest
growing in the world.
Once again I congratulate you, Mr Prime Minister, and
through you the Thai people, for your energy,
resourcefulness and determination.
It is particularly gratifying that these developments have
been accompanied by an obvious and substantial increase in
the pace and quality of Thailand's relationship with
Australia.
2.
Two-way trade between us has more than doubled since 1983
and is now worth over A$ 600 million. In that time
Australian investment in Thailand has also more than
doubled. Yet it remains true that, given the potential depth of our
relationship, we have still only scratched the surface.
Mr Prime Minister,
The issues we discussed this morning, the friendly and
constructive nature of those discussions and the breadth of
the agreements that we reached make it clear that both our
Governments are determined substantially to expand our
relationship. Indeed, I believe we can claim to have put in place a new
framework for the future.
We agreed to start work on an Economic Co-operation
Agreement which will provide a formal channel of
communication between us across the entire spectrum of
our economic relationship.
We agreed to set a new target of A$ 1.3 billion in two-way
trade by the end of 1991 an ambitious but achievable
target which reflects our confidence in the future.
For Australian's part we see mutual benefit in expanding our
economic and technical co-operation to encompass new and
more productive activities, such as power generation and
distribution, as well as communications, railways,
education, and agro-industry.
We agreed to negotiate a concessional finance agreement to
facilitate further links between us.
We are to renew negotiations on a double taxation agreement.
We have reached an understanding on energy co-operation.
And, not least significantly, we have agreed to a new focus
for Australian development assistance, broadening its
emphasis to encompass support for private sector growth and
the development of public infrastructure and utilities.
This not only includes new areas of Australian expertise; it
also represents our recognition that Thailand's
needs are changing as it grows. I
Mr Prime Minister,
The mutual respect, the practical endeavour and the fruitful
co-operation of our relationship is well illustrated in the
pressing field of law enforcement, particularly in tackling
the international trade in narcotics and in combatting
organised criminal networks.
I would like to pay a special tribute tonight to the men and
women in both our countries who work tirelessly to frustrate
the efforts of those who seek profit from the suffering and
misery of others.
I am pleased that during my visit, I will be able to inspect
the Royal Crop Substitution Program. This project stands as
a testament to His Majesty's commitment to assisting
disadvantaged groups in your country, particularly those
rendered vulnerable through their poverty.
Mr Prime Minister,
Australian-Thai relations, which are so strong at the
official level, are reinvigorated on a daily basis by the
significant numbers of our people who travel between our two
countries. Thousands of Thai students are studying in
Australian educational institutions, and they are welcome
among us. At the same time, increasing numbers of
Australian tourists are visiting Thailand for business and
holidays. An Australian Parliamentary delegation returned recently
from Thailand and its chairman has already reported
to me on the useful and positive talks that he and his
colleagues held with their Thai counterparts.
All these exchanges help build those intangible but vital
links which are the soundest of all foundations for friendly
international relationships.
Mr Prime Minister,
The impressive bilateral co-operation that has characterised
the Thailand-Australia relationship has been complemented by
our joint efforts internationally through the Cairns Group,
and in other forums, to create a fairer trading environment.
I pay tribute to the Thai contribution to this fundamentally
important mission.
For, without a more equitable global trading system, the
goals which we both seek for our peoples could be
jeopardised.
The failure of the Montreal Review to make progress on the
issues of vital concern to us was very disappointing. It
highlights the need for a still more determined effort by
the Cairns Group in the lead up to the Geneva meeting, and
beyond. The major economies of the United States, the European
Community and Japan need to have sheeted home to them the
fact that, without agricultural reform, there can be no
equitable or meaningful reform of the international trading
Ssystem. I am very pleased that in our discussion today, Mr Prime
Minister, you expressed considerable interest in ideas for
enhanced consultation. Our two Governments have agreed to
explore this matter further, leading to an assessment of
possible more formal intergovernmental arrangements than
presently exist in the region.
I welcome the fact that you will be discussing this with
your ASEAN partners and we too of course will be consulting
with them.
Mr Prime Minister,
In recent years we have seen an improvement in superpower
relations leading to a greater degree of optimism than has
been justified for many years. We must grasp the
opportunities this presents to resolve problems in our own
part of the world, and to work together in building a more
peaceful, stable and prosperous region.
It was towards this end that I announced, in June last year,
a regional chemical weapons initiative which is intended to
complement the development of a global chemical weapons
convention. An expert team from Australia is currently
visiting South-east Asia to continue the dialogue which has
already commenced within our region.
This is not an isolated example of close consultation
between our Governments on international political and
security issues. Over the years a habit of close and wide
ranging dialogue has developed, of benefit to both sides. I
We value, too, our dialogue status with ASEAN, an
organisation that has an enviable record in building
regional peace and prosperity.
Perhaps on no issue have we been in closer and longer
contact than on the resolution of the problems in
Indo-China.
Last November, Mr Prime Minister, at the Foreign
Correspondents Club of Thailand, you spoke of transforming
Indochina from a war zone into a peace zone, linked with the
rest of South-East Asia through close ties of trade,
investment and modern communications.
Shose comments echo my own sentiments and they truly reflect
the aspirations of Australians.
We very much welcome the new approach that you personally
have brought to Thai policy towards Indo--China by building
ties with Vietnam and Laos.
Vietnam must be encouraged to see that its future lies not
in being an island of stagnation in a sea of progress, but
in participating in that regional prosperity which is now so
obvious here in Thailand. There are signs that Vietnam's
leaders now appreciate that fact.
The peaceful resolution of the conflict in Cambodia is a
crucial issue. This has now been a source of regional
tension for more than ten years and must be resolved and put
behind us if our region is fully to realise its potential.
The Jakarta informal meeting process, the discussions
between Prince Sihanouk and Hun Sen, and improvements in
SSino-Soviet relations give cause for more hope than at any
time in the recent past. Your own initiatives, Mr Prime
Minister, which have involved dialogue with Vietnam, Laos
and all the Khmer factions and, indeed, throughout the
region have played a most valuable part in the drive towards
a peaceful solution.
Many problems, however, remain, not the least being
agreement on transition arrangements leading to elections
and the creation of a neutral, independent and sovereign
Cambodia. There is also the need to ensure that Pol Pot and
those of his barbaric regime have no role in Cambodia's
future.
Australia stands ready, as part of the region, to play its
part in any restoration of peace in Cambodia.
It is significant, Mr Prime Minister, that the Government of
Thailand and Laos have recently agreed on the
desirability of building a bridge between your two
countries over the Mekong River.
Accordingly, in response to your request to me this morning,
I am pleased to say that Australia is prepared, subject to
further consultations and agreement with yourselves and the
Government of Laos, to take on the design and construction
of this project.
We see it as an important physical link that can play a
valuable role in the region's economic growth. Perhaps just
as importantly, bridge building is a welcome symbol of the
transformation of Indo-China from a war zone into a peace
zone.
We also strongly support the efforts of your Government and
others in the region to examine realistic and humanitarian
options for dealing with the continuing exodus of people
from Indochina, and in working towards an international
conference on this issue.
Australia's record in resettling refugees, including from
Indochina, is second to none. It is a record of which we
are proud. Aside from Aboriginal Australians who can
proudly claim to have resided in our continent for at least
40,000 years, every Australian can trace his or her roots
back to immigration at some point during the past 200 years.
We are indeed a nation of immigrants.
Although in the past our immigration selection procedures
were conducted in a discriminatory fashion, I can assure you
that since the early 1970s every trace of discrimination on
grounds of race, and every last vestige of the outdated
White Australia policy, has been expunged.
I can give you my commitment that such practices will stay
in the history books where they belong. Australia will not
reverse that.
To do so would be, as I have said in the Australian House of
Representatives, not only morally repugnant but also
economically insane.
It would be to deny the active and equal membership of the
Asian-Pacific Region towards which successive Australian
Governments have worked and through which our economic
future undoubtedly lies. So this is something on which
there will be no compromise.
Mr Prime Minister,
Australia is not selectively committed to the affairs of
this region. We are totally committed to them.
So I am grateful, Mr Prime Minister, for the warm reception
I have received in your country and for the hospitality that
the Royal Thai Government has extended to me and Hazel.
I am particularly pleased that, we have been able to
establish on a personal basis such a friendly and positive
dialogue.
SIn doing so, we have reaffirmed the warm Thai-Australian
friendship and continued the close dialogue that has, for
many years now, characterised our bilateral relationship.
But let us look forwards, not back.
Australia and Thailand share a future of enormous scope and
potential. It is a future offering virtually limitless
benefits to our people and to the people of our region.
Let us together seize those benefits and secure that future
in a spirit of friendship, co-operation and diligence. 1