PM Transcripts

TRANSCRIPT OF NEWS COMPERRUCR, SASSY -OF AUSTRALIA, WASEINGTCH
WASHIMGT t 27 JUNE
E O R PROf lOF LY
PM: LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU WOULD LIKE ME TO
GIVE A VERY BRIEF INTRODUCTION, I'LL DO THAT AND THEN I AM OPEN
TO ANY QUESTIONS YOU WANT TO ADDRESS TO ME.
FIRST THING OBVIOUSLY THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SAY, AND SAY WITH
GREAT SINCERITY IS TO EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE AND THE GRATITUDE OF
THE GOVERNMENT, AND I THINK THE PEOPLE OF AUSTRALIA, FOR THE
EXTREME GENEROSITY IN KIND, SPIRIT AND COMMUNICATION WHICH HAS
BEEN EXTENDED TO ME, NOT ONLY BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES, BUT BY THE ADMINISTRATION GENERALLY. IT IS A MARK OF
THE STRENGTH OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OUR TWO COUNTRIES. WE
OBVIOUSLY HAVE COVERED IN OUR TALKS NOW A VERY WIDE RANGE OF
MATTERS, BILATERAL, REGIONAL, LOCAL. GOING FIRST TO BILATERAL
MATTERS, WITHOUT BEING EXHAUSTIVE ON THE SUBJECTS, CLEARLY AN
IMPORTANT ISSUE HAS BEEN THE QUESTION OF AGRICULTURAL TRADE. I
HAVE PUT STRONGLY TO THE PRESIDENT AND ALL RELEVANT MEMBERS OF
THE ADMINISTRATION, THE CONCERN THAT I AND MY COUNTRY HAS
ENTERTAINED, THAT TFR TIPAC' . USTRALIA POLIC__-OFTHE
UNITED STATES-I-WTHIS AREA-I HAVE ADHERED TO THE COMMITMENT
THAT I MADE BEFORE I LEFT AUSTRALIA, THAT WHILE PUTTING OUR
POSITION STRONGLY ON THIS ISSUE, I WAS NOT GOING TO ALLOW IT TO
BE A HURDLE OVER WHICH WE CANNOT JUMP IN TERMS OF GETTING TO THE
GREAT RANGE OF ISSUES ON WHICH WE HAVE AN IDENTITY OF INTEREST
AND OVERWHELMINGLY AN IDENTITY OF POSITION. THE PRESIDENT AND
OTHER MEMBERS OF THE ftf( I. STRATION HAVE CONCEDED THE FACT THAT
THERE MAY HAVE BEEN AN IMPACT, THAT WE HAVE THAT VIEW BUT WE
IMPORTANTLY, BOTH OF US, RECOGNISE THAT THE IMPORTANT THING TO DO
IS TO LOOK TO THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE. THAT HAS BEEN
FACILITATED BY THE FACT THAT WHILE WE HAVE SUFFERED IN THE PAST
LOOKING AT THE PERIOD AHEAD UNTIL THE END OF 1990, WE HAVE A
CONJUNCTION OF CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH MEANS IT IS PRODUCTIVE TO
CONCENTRATE ON WHAT WE CAN DO FOR THE FUTURE.

-2-
( PM CONT THOSE CONJUNCTION OF CIRCUMSTANCES INCLUDE THE FACT,
FIRSTLY, THAT BECAUSE OF THE LOW LEVEL OF STOCK AND RELATIVELY
HIGH LEVEL OF WHEAT PRICES, AUSTRALIA WILL NOT BE ADVERSELY
AFFECTED IN THIS PERIOD UP UNTIL THE END OF 1990. WE BELIEVE AS
IT HAS BEEN IN THE PAST AND IT IS IN THAT PERIOD PRECISELY THAT
WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY OF WORKING TOGETHER WITHIN THE URUGUAY
ROUND TO ACHIEVE A POSITION WHEREIN THE PRACTICE OF AGRICULTURAL
SUPPORT AND EXPORT SUBSIDIES CAN BE REMOVED. IN PARTICULAR, LET
ME SAY. THAT I AM VERY, VERY PLEASED INDEED AT THE POSITIVE
RESPONSE THAT WAS GIVEN TO ME IN THE SUGGESTIONS I HAVE MADE TO
THE PRESIDENT, CLAYTON YEUTTER AND TO OTHERS WITH AN INTEREST AND
RESPONSIBILITY IN THIS AREA, AS TO WHAT WOULD BE, IN MY
JUDGEMENT, AN APPROPRIATE WAY FOR THE UNITED STATES TO APPROACH
THE ISSUE OF THE ROUND IN TERMS OF HOW THEY DEAL WITH THE
PROPOSED 1990 FARM LEGISLATION. IN OTHER WORDS, I SPECIFICALLY
SAID THAT THE NEGOTIATING POSITION OF THE UNITED STATES WOULD BE
STRONGER IF, IN REGARD TO THAT LEGISLATION IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER,
AND THERE ARE ALTERNATIVES WAYS IN WHICH IT COULD BE DONE, THAT
THEY TREATED THE PROVISION WHICH WOULD MEAN THAT IN THE EVENT OF
A POSITIVE OUTCOME TO THE URUGUAY ROUND THEN THE PROVISIONS OF
THE FARM LEGISLATION WOULD IN FACT NOT COME INTO EFFECT. I
REGARDED THAT AS A CONSTRUCTIVE AND SENSIBLE SUGA'STION AND A
PROMISE TO GIVE FAVOURABLE, CONSIDERATION TO IT.
THE NEXT ITEM I WOULD MENTION OF COURSE, IS THE REGIONAL ECONOMIC
INITIATIVE WHICH I BEGAN IN SEOUL IN JANUARY THIS YEAR AND I AM
VERY PLEASED AT THE OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE RESPONSE THAT I HAVE
RECEIVED FROM THE PRESIDENT AND SECRETARY OF STATE BAKER TO THIS
INITIATIVE. YOU ARE AWARE OF THAT POSITIVE RESPONSE AND WE HAVE
AGREED THAT BETWEEN NOW AND THE POST-ASEAN MINISTERIAL COUNCIL
MEETING THAT WE WILL WORK TOGETHER TO TRY AND ENSURE THAT WE GET
A CONSENSUS ON THIS ISSUE WITH A VIEW TO HAVING, AS I HAVE HOPED
ALL ALONG, A MINISTERIAL LEVEL MEETING TO PROGRESS THIS ISSUE
BEFORE THE END oF THE YEAR. WE HAVE OF COURSE, SPENT A GREAT
DEAL OF TIME TALKING ABOUT THE TRAGIC DEVELOPMENTS IN CHINA AND
AS YOU WOULD BY NOW BE AWARE, THERE IS A BASIC IDENTITY OF
POSITION BETWEEN THE PRESIDENT AND MYSELF. THAT IDENTITY OF
POSITION IS FOUNDED UPON THESE PROPOSITIONS: FIRSTLY, or COURSE,
TUAT WE UNEQUIVOCALLY CONDEMNI AND DEPLORE THlE ACTION, NOT ONLY Or
THE FOURTH OF JUNE, BUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE THEN, THE
PERSECUTION, THE EXECUTION OF THE DISSIDENTS AND THOSE WHO HAVE
PRESSED FOR REFORM4ING CHINA, AND THE UNITED STATES AND AUSTRALIA
WILL CONTINUE TO BE AT ONE IN THAT CONDEMNrATION.

-3-
( PM CONT WE ALSO AGREE THAT THE LOGIC OF THAT CONDEMNlATION LEADS
YOU TO THE CONCLUSION INEVITABLY IN OUR JUDGEMENT THAT IT WOULD
BE AGAINST THE I NTE REST OF THE PEOPLE OF CHINA GENERALLY, AND
PARTICULARLY OF THOSE WHO HAVE HAD THE COURAGE TO PRESS FOR
REFORM., IF THE OUTSIDE WORLD WERE TO CLOSE OFF CONTACTS WITH
CHINA, D PARTICULARLY IN THE AREA OF ECONOMIC REFORM, TO REFUSE
ANY FO OF ASSISTANCE THAT WOULD GIVE--IMPETUS TO THOSE PROCESSES
OP' REFO . IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT IN THE STATEMENT WHICH
dAE0 FROM THE 24 JUNE, AFTER THE OFFICIAL MEETINGS In CHINA
THAT TM, SECOND POINT THAT THEY PUT OUT WAS A COMMITMENT TO
PURSUE THE PROCESSES OF ECONOMIC REFORM AND OPENING TO THE
OUTSIDE., WORLD. AND WE BELIEVE THAT IT IS PRECISELY WITH THE
PURSUIT, FURTHER PURSUIT, INTENSIFIED PURSUIT OF ECONOMIC REFORM
AND OPENINGS TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD THAT THE CONDITIONS ARE MOST
LIKELY TO BE CREATED IN WHICH THERE CAN BE SOME EFFECTIVE
RESURRECTION OF THOSE PRESSURES FOR POLITICAL REFORM WITHIN
CHINA. WE BOTH RECOGNISE THAT THIS IS A DIFFICULT LINE TO WALK
BUT WE BELIEVE THAT IT IS THE RIGHT LINE TO WALK.
THE PRESIDENT WAS GOOD ENOUGH IN A SESSION WE HAD TODAY; I AM
GOING TO GO TO ANOTHER ITEM; TO OUTLINE HIS POSITION IN REGARD TO
THE SOVIET UNION. AGAIN, IT IS A DECISION THAT I TOTALLY SHARE
WITH HIM AND THAT IS; THAT WE BOTH WELCOME UNRESERVEDLY, THE
INITIATIVES OF PRESIDENT GORBACHEV TO PURSUE BOTH ECONOMIC AND
POLITICAL REFORM WITHIN THE SOVIET UNION. A COMMITMENT ON THE
PART OF PRESIDENT GORBACHEV WHICH FORTUNATELY HAS BEEN REFLECTED
IN POSITIVE COMMITMENTS ON THE PART OF THE PRJESIDENT OF THE
SOVIET UNION TO ASSIST IN THE ALLEVIATION OF POINTS OF TENSION IN
VARIOUS SECTIONS OF THE GLOBE. FOR EXAMPLE, NAMIBIA, ANGOLA,
AFGHANISTAN, AND INDOCHINA. AND IT IS THE COMMITMENT OF
PRESIDENT BUSH THAT WITH APPROPRIATE CAUTION HE WILL PURSUE
CONSTRUCTIVELY, EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO BUILD UPON THAT ATTITUDE AND
THAT APPROACH OF PRESIDENT GORBACHEV. -AS I SAY, I AM AT ONE
COMPLETELY WITH HIS ATTITUDE ON THIS ISSUE. WE SPENT SOME TIME
ALSO TALKING ABOUT INDOCHINA. I WON'T GIVE AN ELABORATION ON
THAT, IF YOU ARE INTEU. ETED-IN PRESSING QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT, I
AM OF COURSE MORE THAN HAPPY TO DO SO, AND I MAKE THE SAKE
COMMENT ABOUT THE MIDDLE EAST. WE SPENT, NOT ONLY WITH THE
PRESIDENT, BUT PARTICULARLY WITH SECRETARY OF STATE BAKER, A
CONSIDERABLE AMOUNT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT THE MIDDLE EAST
SITUATION IN GENERAL AND ABOUT THE TRAGEDY OF LEBANON IN
PARTICULAR.

( PM CONT.) SO MY FRIENDS THAT IS CERTAINLY NOT AN EXHAUSTIVE LIST
OF THE SUBJECTS WE COVERED BUT SOME INDICATION OF THE RANGE OF
ISSUES OF SHARED CONCERN TO US AND AT THIS POINT I AN THEREFORE
OPEN TO ANY QUESTIONS YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS TO ME.
JOURNALIST: 2 DID YOU HAVE ANY REPONSE TO YOUR PROPOSAL THAT THE
LEGISLATION, THE FARM LEGISLATION WOULD BE CANCELLED OUT
DEPENDING ON HOW THE URUGUAY ROUNDS TURNED OUT?
PM: YES, I GOT A POSITIVE RESPONSE FROM EACH OF THE MEMBERS OF
THE ADMINISTRATION TO WHOM I SPOKE. POSITIVE IN THE SENSE THAT
THEY, AND I COULDN'T SAY YES, THAT'S WHAT GOING TO HAPPEN AS THIS
IS A MATTrER IN THE END FOR THE CONGRESS TO DECIDE, BUT WITH ALL
THOSE TO WHOM I SPOKE SAW MERIT IN THE POSITION, BOTH
INTRINSICALLY AS REPRESENTING A COINCIDENCE OF THEIR VIEWS ON
THESE ISSUES, THAT IS THAT IT IS THEIR VIEW THAT THE MTN ROUND
IDEALLY SHOULD PRODUCE A SITUATION WHERE THERE IS AN AGREEMENT TO
MOVE TO AN ABANDONMENT OF SUPPORT AND EXPORT SUBSIDIES.
THEREFORE, IT MAKES SENSE TO HAVE WITHIN THE LEGISLATION
INTERNALLY A POSITION WHICH CO-ENCODES WITH THAT INTENTION. AND
SgCONDLY OF COURSE IN A BARGAINING POSITION YOU ARE STRENGTHENED
IF, AS YOU GO INTO THOSE NEGOTIATIONS, WHICH ARE GOING TO BE
HARD, DETAILED AND SLOGGING BETWJEEN NOW AND THE END OF 1990, YOU
HAVE AN INTERNAL POSITION WHICH IS CONSISTENT WITH THE OBJECTIVE
YOU ARE PUSHING IN THOSE NEGOTIATIONS. SO THERE IS A VERY
POSITIVE RESPONSE TO THE CONCEPT THAT I HAVE ADVANCED.
JOURNALIST: WOULD IT BE ACCURATE TO CHARACTERISE YOUR TALKS AS
SAYING THAT YOU AGREE TO DISAGREE ON ONE, THE ANTARCTIC, AND TWO,
MILITARY ASSISTANCE TO CAMBODIA?
PM: I THINK THAT'S NOT AN UNF'AIR ANALYSIS# BUT I THINK I'D JUST
LIKE TO SAY A FEW WORDS TO FLESH THAT OUT. ON THE ANTARCTIC, IT
WAS CON VEYED) TO ME WHAT WE ALREADY KNEW, AND I SAY THIS WITHOUT
ANY LABOURING OF THE ,4T FOR THOSE WHO INTERPRETED THE POSITION
AS SOME SORT OF REBUFF TO ME, THAT I WAS NOT, IF I CAN PUT IT IN
THE GENTLEST TERMS, UNAWARE OF WHAT THE UNITED STATES POSITION
WAS BEFORE I CAME HERE. NEITHER WERE I OR MY GOVERNMENT UNAWAR~ E,
WHEN WE MADE THE DECISION WE DID, OF WHAT THE POSITION OF TIM
UNITED STATES WAS. IF THERE WAS ANY REBUFF INVOLVED IT WAS A
REBUFF BY AUSTRALIA TO THE UNITED STATES' POSITION BY ADOPTING
THE POSITION WE DID ON THIS ISSUE. ONE WOULD THINK AS A
FACT OBVIOUSLY NECESSARY TO MAKE THE POINT. NOW HAVING SAID
THAT, WE THEN PUT TO THE PRESIDENT AND THEN To THE ADMINISTRATION
THE REASON WHICH LIES BEHIND AT HAVING ARRIVED AT THAT POSITION.

( PM CONT) LET ME SAY THAT THERE WASN'T ANY REPUDIATION BY THE
PRESIDENT OR ANYONE ELSE Or THE INTEGRITY, IF YOU LIKE FROM OUR
POINT OF VIEW THE LOGIC OF WHAT WE WERE DOING. THEY,
NEVERTHELESS, HAVE A DIFFERENT POSITION. WE HAVE AGREED~ THAT IN
THE PERIOD LEADING UP TO THE TREATY MEETING IN OCTOBER THAT WE
WILL CONTINUE TO STAY IN CONTACT ON THIS ISSUE. NOW THAT DOESN'T
MEAN, AND I AM NOT IMPLYING, THAT AS A RESULT OF THOSE
DISCUSSIONS WE WILL BECOME THE SAME ON THIS POSITION. WHAT I AM
TRYING TO LEAVE WITH YOU IS THAT THIS IS NOT A POSITION OF
CONFLICT, PROGRESSIVE CONFLICT BETWEEN US. THERE IS A
RECOGNITION ON EACH SIDE OF THE INTEGRITY OF THE OTHER'S POINT OF
VIEW. THAT IS AS IT SHOULD BE ON THIS ISSUE.
9 I JUST WANTED TO CONCLUDE BY SAYING THAT AS FAR AS AUSTRALIA IS
CONCERNED WE WILL CONTINUE TO ADVANCE OUR POSITION STRONGLY
AROUND THE WORLD. NOW IN REGARD TO THE SECOND PART OF YOUR
QUESTION. THIS QUESTION oF THE PROVISION OF LETHAL AID TO THE
RON-KHMER ROUGE ELEMENTS OF THE COALITION. YES, IT WAS PUT TO
US, WITHOUT GOING TO ALL THE DETAILS OF OUR CONVERSATION, I CAN
CONVEY ESSENTIALLY THIS POSITION, I PUT TO THE PRESIDENT AND HIS
COLLEAGUES, IT WAS OUR JUDGEMENT THAT THERE WAS SO MANY POSITIVE
ELEMENTS STILL ON THE TABLE IN REGARD TO THE ACHIEVEMENT OF AN
ACCEPTrABLE OUTCOME IN INDOCHINA THAT, IN OUR JUDGEMENT, IT WAS
NOT APPROPRIATE TO PROVIDE LETHAL AID. WHAT DO I MEAN BY So MANY
ELEMENTS ON THE TABLE? LET ME BRIEFLY REFER TO THEM. THERE IS
OF COURSE, THE ASEAN SPONSORED JIM 1 JIM 11 PROCESSES. THERE IS
SUPERIMPOSED TO SOME EXTEN4T UPON THAT THE INITIATIVES OF PRIME
MINISTER SI'ITHI OF THAILAND. THERE IS THE DISCUSSIONS, THE--
BACKGROUND DISCUSSIONS OBVIOUSLY INVOLVED, THE ATTITUDE OF THE
SOVIET UNION AND VIETNAM IN THE NATURE OF SOM4E RESOLUTION OF THE
CONFLICT IN THE AREA. THERE IS NOW THE UPCOMING ROUND TABLE AND
THEN THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN PARIS COMMhENCING AT THE END
OF NEXT MONTH. OUT OF ALL THOSE STRANDS, IT IS OUR JUDGEMENT
THAT THERE IS SO MANY POSITIVE ELEMENTS WHICH JUSTIFY A GUARDEDLY
OPTIMISTIC ASSESSMENT OF THE POSSIBILITY OF A PEACEFUL RESOLUTION
THAT OUR JUDGEME. NT T-IS BETTER NOT TO INJECT THE ELEMENT
OF LETHAL AID.
JOURNALIST: MR HAWKE, YOU SAID EARLIER THAT THE PRESIDENT
CONCEDED THAT THE FARM TRADE PROGRAM HAD DONE HARM TO AUSTRALIA
COULD YOU ELABORATE ON THAT?

-6-
PM: NOW LET ME PUT IT ACCURATELY. WHAT I AM SAYING IS THAT
THERE WAS A CONCESSION BY THOSE TO WHOM WE SPOKE THAT THER MAY
HAVE BEEN, MAY HAVE BEEN DAMAGE. THEY DIDN'T REPUDIATE THAT WE
WERE ENTITLED TO FEEL THAT THERE MAY HAVE BEEN SOME DAMAGE. THEY
DIDN'T SAY, YES, THAT HAS HAPPENED, THIS IS THE AMOUNT. BUT THEY
DID NOT REJECT THE POSITION THAT, FROM OUR POINT OF VIEW, WE MAY
ASSESS THERE HAS BEEN DAMAGE DONE.
JOURNALIST. WAS THIS THE PRESIDENT'S?
PM; WELL, THIS WAS IN TERMS OF THE PRESIDENT AND MR YEUTTER AND
OTHERS TO WHOM WE SPOKE. NOW, I AM NOT TRYING TO MAKE A GREAT
DEAL OUT OF THAT TO SAY THAT IS DIFFERENT FROM SOME OTHER
POSITION. I AM SIMPLY SAYING THAT, IN TERMS OF THE APPROACH WE
MADE, WE DIDN'T TRY AND HAMMER THIS ISSUE AND SAY THAT'S THE
FIGURES. WE GAVE AN INDICATION OF THE SORT OF DAM4AGE WE THOUGH4T
HAD BEEN DONE. BUT BECAUSE, AS I SAY, IN THE PERIOD AHEAD UP
UNTIL THE END OF 1.990, WE DON'T HAVE THE APPREHENSION OF A
SIMILAR SORT OF DAMAGE. WHAT MY MAJOR CONCERN IS AS I HAVE SAID,
IS TO SAY, HOW DO WE APPROACH THIS ISSUE NOW, BOTH IN TERMS OF
INTERNAL DECISION MAKING IN THE UNITED STATES AND IN OUR JOINT
APPROACH IN THE MTN ROUND. HOW DO WE APPROACH THIS ISSUE NOW TO
TRY AND GET THE OUTCOME WE BOTH WANT.
JOURNALIST: MR HAWKE, IN HIS SPEECH LAST NIGHT TO THE ASIA
SOCIETY, SECRETARY OF STATE BAKER INDICATED THAT HE SAW THREE
PRINCIPLES BEING NECESSARY TO BE INCLUDED IN A REGIONAL
COOPERATIVE ENTITY. THOSE PRINCIPLES SEEM TO GO QUITE A BIT
FURTHER THAN WHAT YOU WERE SAYING IN PROPOSING FOR THAT REGIONAL
ENTITY. WHAT' S YOUR REACTION TO THAT, WILL YOU EMBRACE THEM?
PM: THE IMPORTANT THING FROM OUR POINT OF VIEW, JEFF, IS THAT
THE SECRETARY OF STATE REFLECTING THE POSITION OF THE PRESIDENT
EMBRACES THE CONCEP% TMT WE -HAVE ADVANCED, AND HAS INDICATED HIS
INTENTION TO WORK WITH US TO ADVANCE THE CONCEPT. IN DISCUSSIONS
WE HAVE HAD TODAY WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT THE VARIOUS ELEMENTS THAT
WE WOULD NEED TO HAVE ON THE TABLE FOR CONSIDERATION. I DON'T
FEEL ANY DISQUIET ABOUT HAVING ALL THE ELEMENTS ON THE TABLE THAT
HE, OR FOR THAT MATrER, ANYONE OF THE OTHER PARTIES WHO WILL BE
INVOLVED IN THIS WANT TO PUT ON* THE TABLE.* THE IMPORTANT THING
IS THAT THERE IS AGREEMENT ON MY CONCEPT THAT THERE IS A NEED FOR
A CONFERENCE TO ADVANCE THE PRINCIPAL OF GREATER COOPERATION.
SECONDLY THAT THERE IS A NEED TO HAVE SOME ONGOING MECHANISM To
ENSURE THAT THIS 1S NOT MERELY SOME AD HOC MEETING THAT SAYS YES,
WE NEED TO COOPERATE MORE AND THEN LEAVE IT AT THAT.

( PM CONT) WE HAVE TO LOOK AT THE QUESTION OF A MECHANISM NOW. ON
THE ISSUE OF THE COMPOSITION OF THE GROUP AS TO THE ELEMENTS
THAT IT WOULD NEED TO DEAL WITH~ n ALL THOSE IN MY JUDGEMENT ARE
PROPERLYr ON THE TABLE. I THINK THE ONE ISSUE THAT I WOULD LIKE
TO MAKE CLEAR IS THAT ESSENTIALLY, ESSENTIALLY, THIS MUST BE AN
ECONOMIC ORIENTED BODY. AND THAT IS OBVIOUSLY BECAUSE THE ASEAN
GROUP PROPERLY REGARD THEIR INSTITUTION AS THE MAJOR POLITICAL
INSTITUTION FOR COOPERATION BETWEEN THE CORE COUNTRIES OF THE
REGION. AND, UNDERSTANDABLY, THEY DO NOT WANT TO SEE THE
EMERGENCE OF ANOTHER, AS IT WERE, POTENTIALLY COMPETITIVE
ORGANISATION IN A POLITICAL SENSE, AND I UNDERSTAND THOSE
SENSITIVITIES. JOURNALIST: AUSTRALIA, AT THE GATT MEETING IN MONTREAL, SAID THAT
IT WAS GOING TO WORK OUT ITS OWN LONG-TERM GRAIN AGREEMENT WITH
THE SOVIET UNION. ARE YOU MOVING IN THAT DIRECTION?
PM; WELL, WE HAVE, FOR SOME TIME NOW, BEEN ENGAGED IN NOT JUST
DISCUSSIONS ABOUT GRAIN. THE SOVIET UNION WANTED TO TALK TO US
ABOUT A FISHING AGREEMENT. WE SAID WE WERE PREPARED TO TALK ABOUT
THE FISHERIES AGREEMIENT, BUT NOT ALONE. WE WANTED TO LOOK AT
BROADER ISSUES, INCLUDING THEIR GRAINS, AND DISCUSSIONS HAVE BEEN
GOING ON WITH THEM W ITH IN THAT GENERAL FRAMEWORK. OF COURSE, WHAT
WE MAY OR MAY NOT DO, IN THAT OR OTHER BILATERAL AREAS, WILL TO
SOME EXTENT OBVIOUSLY BE AFFECTED BY THE OUTCOME OF THE
MULTILATERAL ROUND.
JOURNALIST: ARE YOU AWARE OF ANY DIFFERENCE OF OPINION WITHIN THE
AMERICAN ADMINISTRATION OVER THE EFFECTS OF P. E. T. ON AUSTRALIA,
FOR EXAMPLE, BETWEN VICE-PRESIDENT QUAYLE AND SECRETARY YEUTTER
PM; IF I WERE AWARE OF IT, I WOULDN'T REGARD IT AS HELPFUL OR
DIPLOMATIC TO EXPOUND ON IT.
JOURNALIST; DID YOU RECEIVE ANY ENCOURAGING MESSAGES OR WORDS
REGARDING STEEL DURING THE VISIT?
PM; YES, I HAD A DISCUSSION BRIEFLY LAST NIGHT WITH SPECIAL TRADE
REPRESENTATIVE CARLA HILLS ON THIS, AND ESSENTIALLY WHAT I SAID
TO HER WAS THIS: THAT OUR ' IRA, AS YOU KNOW, EXPIRES IN SEPTEMBER
OF THIS YEAR. I MADE THE POINT TO HER THAT OUR STEEL INDUSTRY IS
CHARACTERISED BY THESE THREE FEATURES. ONE, THAT IT' S PRIVATELY
OWNED. TWO, THAT IT'S NON-SUBSIDISED.

-a-
( PH CONT) AND THREE, THAT IT'S OPEN, WITHIN A RELATIVELY SMALL
TARIFF TO THE ORDER OF 9 OR 1.0 PER CENT, TO FOREIGN COMPETITION.
AND THAT THOSE CHARACTERISTICS OF OUR STEEL INDUSTRY
SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENTIATED IT FROM OTHER STEEL INDUSTRIES
AROUND THE WORLD, AND IN THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES IT WAS APPROPRIATE
THAT WE SHOULD BE CONSIDERED FOR DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT. SHE DID
NOT RESIST THE LOGIC OF THAT POSITION, AND SAID SHE WOULD TAKE IT
INTO ACCOUNT. I ALSO INDICATED TO HER THAT
WE WERE QUITE HAPPY ABOUT THE PRESIDENT'S EXPRESSED CONCERN AT
THE QUESTION OF TRADING PRACTICES WITHIN THE WORLD STEEL
INDUSTRY, THAT IT WAS APPROPRIATE FOR CONSIDERATION WITHIN THE
MULTILATERAL FRAMEWORK.
JOURNALIST: WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THE UNITED STATES AS AN EQUAL
PARTNER IN ANY PACIFIC FORUM, OR DO YOU ACCEPT THAT ONCE IN THEY
WOULD BECOM4E A PROMINENT PLAY?
PM: OH, THE INITIATIVE. THEY ARE AN EQUAL PARTNER. I DON'T KNOW
WHETHER THAT QUESTION, TO SOME EXTENT, GOES BACK TO AN
APPREHENSION THAT WE HAD, IN THE BEGINNING, SOUGHT TO
DIFFERENTIALLY TREAT THE UNITED STATES. THERE WAS NEVER ANY BASIS
FOR THAT, AND THAT'S ACCEPTED BY M4Y FRIENDS HERE IN THE
ADMINISTRATION. WE SIMPLY, WHEN I ADVANCED THE IDEA IN SEOUL IN
JANUARY OF THIS YEAR, WERE CONSCIOUS OF THE FACT THAT WITHIN SOME
OF THE OBVIOUSLY CORE COUNTRIES OF THE REGION, THERE MAY HAVE
BEEN SOME QUESTION ABOUT THE EQUAL RELEVANCE OF THE CONCE. PT OF
THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA. BECAUSE WE WERE AWARE THERE WAS A
POSSIBILITY OF THAT ATTITUDEr WE DECIDED THAT IT WAS APPROPRIATE,
IN THE FIRST PLACE, TO TALK TO THOSE CORE COUNTRIES. WHEN I TALK
ABOUT CORE COUNTRIES, I AM OBVIOUSLY TALKING ABOUT TEN.* THESE ARE
THE SIX ASEAN COUNTRIES, PLUS AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, JAPAN AND
KOREA. I WAS PLEASED, AS I SENT MY REPRESENTATIVE AROUND THESE
CORE COUNTRIES, THAT THE OVERWHELMING VIEW WAS THAT FROM THE2
BEGINNING, IT WAS A! P7R5? IATE FOR UNITED STATES AND CANADA TO BE
IN, THAT WAS OUR POSITION. IT WAS ONE THAT OVERWHELMINGLY WAS
ACCEPTED. AND NOW THAT IS A CONSENSUS POSITION. SO THAT MEANS
THAT AS WE PROCEED NOW, THE UNITED STATES WILL BE TOTALLY AN
EQUAL PARTNER FROM THE BEGINNING.
JOURNALIST: IS THERE A DIFFERENCE OF VIEW AT THIS POINT BETWEEN
THE AND AUSTRALIA UPON WHETHER THE WAY SHOULD BE LEFT OPEN
TO INCLUDE CHINA IN THE PACIFIC REGIONAL GROUP AND, IN
PARTICULAR, THAT THE OPTION INCLUDING CHINA SHOULD NOT BE CLOSED
OFF BY UNITING HONG KONG AND TAIWAN BEFORE THE ISSUE OF CHINA'S
HM ERSHIP IS RESOLVED?

PM: I THINK IT IS FAIR ENOUGH TO SAY THAT THERE IS AN IDENTITY
OF VIEW: ULTIMATELY YOU CAN'T TALK ABOUT AN ASIAN PACIFIC
ECONOMIC COOPERATION GROUP WITHOUT THE INCLUSION OF CHINA. BUT I
THINK EQUALLY THERE IS A VIEW THAT IN TERMS OF THIS YEAR, THE
INVOLVEMENT OF CHINA IS UNLIKELY. THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
US THAT YOU CAN'T HAVE TAIWAN IN WITHOUT CHINA. YOU CAN'T SAY
BECAUSE WE HAVE GOT A PROBLEM WITH CHINA, WE WILL NOW HAVE TAIWAN
IN. THERE IS No DIFFERENCE BETWEEN US ON THAT.
JOURNALIST: WELL WHAT IS THE POSITION7
PM: WELL SIMPLY THAT WE WOULD NOT BE HAVING TAIWAN IN THE
ABSENCE OF CHINA. YOU SEE, THE POSITION THAT HAD BEEN REACHED
BEFORE JUNE FOUR WAS THAT THERE WAS A CLEAR VIEW HAD EMERGED, AS
MR WOOLCOTT WENT AROUND THE REGION, THAT IT MADE SENSE FOR CHINA
TO BE IN. AS YOU KNOW, MIR WOOLCOTT, ON MY BEHALF, WENT TO CHINA,
HE SAW PREMIER LI PENG, IN FACT, TRAGICALLY, JUST A MATTER OF
HOURS BEFORE THE DECISIONS WERE TAKEN THERE AND THE ATITUDE OF
PREMIER LI PENG WAS THAT A) THEY WANTED TO BE IN; AND B) THEY
BELIEVED, AND I PUT THIS IN SHORTHAND TERMS, THAT PROCESSES WERE
AVAILABLE WHEREBY TAIWAN AND) HONG KONG WOULD BE ABLE TO BE
ACCOMMODATED. NOW OF COURSE WHAT WE ARE DEALING WITH NOW IS A
QUITE DIFFERENT SITUATION. BECAUSE REALISTICALLY WE CAN SEE
THAT CHINA AT THIS STAGE, AND IN FACT I WOULD THINK ALL THE
COUNTRIES THAT HAVE BEEN VISITED BY MR WOOLCOTT IN THAT PRE JUNE
FOUR SITUATION, WOULD BE ADJUSTING THEIR IMMEDIATE POSITION-IN
LIGHT OF WHAT HAS HAPPENED THERE. BUT LOOKING DOWN THE TRACK, I
THINK IT IS A GENERAL VIEW PARTICULARLY THAT THE MORE CHINA MOVES
TO REFORM ITS ECONOM4Y THE MORE ANY ASIAN PACIFIC ECONOMIC
REGIONAL GROUPING WOULD NEED TO INCLUDE CHINA.
JOURNALIST: MR PRIME MINISTER THERE HAS BEEN VERY LITTLE PUBLIC
DISCUSSION OF ANZUS HERE IN WASHINGTON. I WONDER, DOES AUSTRALIA
CONTINUE TO SUPPOMTANMR I A S NEITHER CONFIRM NOR DENY NUCLEAR
POLICY? DO YOU NEED THAT POLICY FOR DOMESTIC REASONS AND DO YOU
THINK THE U. S. SHOULD MODIFY ITS POSITION TOWARDS NOT MEETING
WITH SENIOR NEW ZEALAND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS?
PM: WELL, THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION, MAY I SAY WITH RESPECT,
IS FAIRLY OBVIOUS IN TERMS OF PRACTICE.

( PM CONT) WE HAVE LIVED NOW, COMFORTABLY, WITH UNITED STATES
POLICY, AND WE TAKE A VERY SIMPLE AND, I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT, A
GLARINGLY OBVIOUS VIEW THAT IF YOU HAVE AN ALLIANCE RELATIONSHIP
AS WE DO, AND HAVE HAD NOW FOR MORE THAN 30 YEARS WITH THE UNITED
STATES, THEN YOU CAN'T HAVE AN ERSATZ RELATIONSHIP AND SAY, HERE
MATE WE ARE ALLIES, BUT DON'T BRING YOUR BLOODY SHIPS IN. IT
DOESN'T MAKE VERY MUCH SENSE. AND WE HAVE OPERATED ON THAT
BASIS. NOW YOU ADVANCE, UNDERSTANDABLY, THE QUESTION OF NEW
ZEALAND. AND OUR POSITION HAS BEEN EQUALLY AS CLEAR FROM THE
BEGINNING. WE THINK THAT NEW ZEALAND IS WRONG IN ITS POSITION.
WE RESPECT THEIR RIGHT TO BE WRONG AND WITH THE FULL
UNDERSTANDING OF THE UNITED STATES, WE HAVE CONTINUED A DEFENCE
RELATIONSHIP IN THE BILATERAL SENSE BETWEEN OURSELVES AND NEW
ZEALAND. 9
NOW AS TO HOW THE UNITED STATES CONDUCTS ITS RELATIONS WITH NEW
ZEALAND, I MERELY WANT TO SAY TWO THINGS. FIRSTLY, WE HAVE SAID
P'ROM THE BEGINNING TO THE UNITED STATES, WHO OBVIOUSLY WERE VERY
CONSIDERABLY OFFENDED BY THE DECISION OF NEW ZEALAND, THAT WE
DIDN'T WANT THE UNITED STATES TO PUNISH NEW ZEALAND IN ANY
ECONOMIC SENSE FOR THE DECISION THAT NEW ZEALAND HAD TAK( EN. WE
THOUGHT THAT WAS INAPPROPRIATE. AND TO THE GREAT CREDIT OF THE
UNITED STATES, ALTHOUGH THERE HAVE BEEN SOME WHO HAVE TAKEN THE
VIEW THAT WOULD BE AN APPROPRIATE COURSE OF ACTION, IT HASN'T
BEEN A COURSE OF ACTION THAT HAS BEEN FOLLOWED, AND WE THOROUGHLY
ENDORSE THAT ATTITUDE OF THE UNITED STATES.* AS TO HOW T HEY
CONDUCT THEMSELVES, AS TO WHETHER THEY MEET MINISTERS OR NOT,
THAT IS ABSOLUTELY A MATTER FOR DECISION BY THE UNITED STATES.
JOURNALIST: HOW IMPECCABLY HAVE WE OBSERVED OUR OBLIGATIONS
IN ANZUS, DO YOU FEEL LET DOWN BY THE FACT THAT THE BUSH
ADMINISTRATION IS CONTINUING THE SAME ATTITUDE AS THE REAGAN
ADMINISTRATION IN REFUSING TO SIGN THE PROTOCOLS FOR THE
RARATONGA TREATY? as
PM: WELL THIS HAS BEEN A MATTER I HAVE DISCUSSED WITH THEM ON
THIS VISIT, MILTON. I HAVE PUT VERY STRONGLY TO THEM THAT WE
THINK IT IS APPROPRIATE THEY SHOULD CHANGE THEIR POSITION. LET
ME JUST SPEND A MINUTE ELABORATING ON THAT. THE INTERESTING
POINT TO NOTICE, FIRSTLY, IS THAT THE UNITED STATES' PREVIOUS
ADMINISTRATION AND THIS ONE HAVE NOT, AT ANY POINT, QUESTIONED
THE INTEGRITY OF THE WAY IN WHICH WE DEALT WITH THIS IN TERMS OF
THE NON-IMPINGEMENT OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC NUCLEAR FREE ZONE TREATY
UPON OUR OBLIGATIONS UNDER ANZUS. THEY HAVEN'T QUESTIONED THAT.

-11-
( PM CONT) THEIR CONCERN, RATHER, HAS BEEN THE POSSIBLE IM4PACT OF
THEM BECOMING SIGNATORIES TO THE PROTOCOLS, THE POSSIBLE IMPACT
OF THAT IN OTHER PARTS 0F THE WORLD, PERHAPS JAPAN AND NORTHERN
EUROPE. NOW, WE HAVE TAKEN THE VIEW THAT THIS IS NOT A
COMPELLING REASON AND I HAVE REPEATED THAT ON THIS VISIT. BUT I
HAVE ALSO SAID THAT WE ARE LOOKING-AT A SOUTH PACIFIC REGION
WHICH NOW, AS WE COME TO THE END OF THE 1980' S, IS CONSIDERABLY
LESS STABLE THAN IT WAS IN THE BEGINNING OF THE 19801S. OUR
COLLEAGUES IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC FORUM SEE A SITUATION IN WHICH
CHINA AND THE SOVIET UNION ADHERE TO THE PROTOCOLS, BUT A
SITUATION IN WHICH THE UNITED STATES, UNITED KINGDOM AND FRANCE
HAVE NOT. AND THEY MAKE THEIR JUDGMENTS ABOUT THAT POSITION. I
HAVE SAID TO MY FRIENDS HERE IN THE UNITED STATES THAT I THINK,
IN MY JUDGEMENT, THAT IT IS AGAINST THE INTERESTS OF THE UNITED
STATES TO FOLLOW THIS COURSE OF ACTION AND PRODUCE AN ADVERSE
RELATIVE JUDGEMENT BY THE COUNTRIES OF THE REGION AGAINST THE
UNITED STATES. I HAVE PUT THAT POSITION STRONGLY, AND ALL I CAN
SAY IS THAT THEY HAVE LISTENED TO WHAT I HAVE TO SAY AND HAVE
SAID THAT THEY WILL HAVE A LOOK AT THEIR POSITION. BUT THEY
HAVE SAID THAT WITHOUT ANY COMMITMENT THAT THEY WILL CHANGE, BUT
THEY HAVE AGREED TO HAVE A FURTHER LOOK AT IT.
JOURNALIST; YOU SAID TO PRESIDENT BUSH TODAY THAT IT HAD BEEN
YEARS SINCE AN AMERICAN PRESIDENT HAD VISITED AUSTRALIA. DO YOU
THINK THIS IS A SIGN THAT THE AMERICANS EITHER TAKE US FOR
GRANTED, OR DON'T TAKE US SERIOUSLY? DID YOU DISCUSS WITH
PRESIDENT BUSH TODAY ANYTHING SPECIFIC ABOUT HIM COMING TO
AUSTRALIA? PM; I THINK I SAID 23.
JOURNALIST: YOU SAID OVER 23 YEARS EITHER TAKE US FOR
GRANTED OR DON'T TAKE US SERIOUSLY AND DID YOU DISCUSS WITH
PRESIDENT BUSH TODAY ANYTHING SPECIFIC ABOUT HIM COMING TO
AUSTRALIA. 40
PM: I DON'T THINK IT IS THAT IT CAN SUSTAIN THE CONCLUSION TO
TAKE US FOR GRANITED. I MEAN WHAT WE HAVE GOT TO FACE IS THE
SIMPLE FACT, AND I HAVE NEVER AVOIDED IT, THAT THE UNITED STATES
IS A GLOBAL POWER, WITH GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITIES AND WITHIN THAT,
WHILE WE ARE AMONGST THE STAUNCHEST OF THEIR ALLIES, WE, THE
POPULATION OF SOME NEARLY 17 MILLION PEOPLE, DON'T LOOM AS LARGE
IN ECONOMIC TERMS AS OTHERS. I DON' T FEEL ANY SENSE AT ALL FROM
THAT FACT THAT WE HAVE BEEN TAKEN FOR GRANTED. AND ALL THE
EVIDENCE, SURELY, OF THIS VISIT AND THE PREVIOUS VISITS I HAVE
MADE HERE, WOULD REPUDIATE SUCH A SUGGESTION.

-12-
( PM COI4T) WE GET FAR BETTER TREATMENT THAN A COUNTRY WHICH IS
TAK9N FOR GRANTED. HOWEVER I HAVE SAID IT WOULD BE, I THINK,
VERY GOOD FOR THE RELATIONSHIP, FOR THE PEOPLE OF AUSTRALIA AND
THE UNITED STATES, IF THE PRESIDENT WERE TO COME AND, IN THAT
SENSE, I HAVE DISCUSSED THE MATTER IN SOME DETAIL WITH HIM AND
THE POSITION IS THIS, PUT SIMPLY, THAT THE PRESIDENT HAS
EXPRESSED AN UNEQUIVOCAL DESIRE TO COME TO AUSTRALIA AND HIS
PROGRAM IS GOING TO BE EXAMINED TO SEE WHEN THAT IS POSSIBLE.
BEYOND THAT I HAVE NOTHING TO SAY. OVER TO YOU.
JOURNALIST; DID SUGAR COME UP IN YOUR DISCUSSIONS, YOUR
COMPLAINT AGAINST THE WHAT WERE THE RESULTS FOR THOSE
DISCUSSIONS, WHY DID YOU FEEL THAT YOU HAD TO RAISE THAT OUTSIDE
THE URUGUAY ROUND?
PM: 014, WELL YOU HAVE GOT A SITUATION WHERE WE HAVE JUST
RECENTLY HAD A GATT DECISION WHICH HAS SUPPORTED THE ACTION WHIC1F
WE TOOK. AND I SIMPLY RAISED THAT WITH THE RELEVANT MEMBERS OF
THE ADMINISTRATION. THEY ACCEPTED THE FACT OF THE DECISION IN
THE OF COURSE, IT WAS OPEN TO US TO INSIST UPON A
BILATERAL RESOLUTION OF THE MATTER NOW. THEY EXPRESSED THE VIEW
THAT THE COURT COULD BE SETTLED WITHIN THE MULTILATERAL FRAMEWOER
WITHOUT AN ATTEMPT TO USE THAT AS A BUYING OFF PROCESS,
ACCEPTING THE OBLIGATION WHICH IS UPON THEM AS A RESULT OF THE
GATT DECISION, AND THAT IS HOW IT HAS BEEN AMICABLY LEFT. IT WILL
BE A MATTER FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION BETWEEN OUR OFFICIALS.
JOURNALIST: DID YOU OR K. IM BRAZLEY DISCUSS THE GROWTH OF INDIAN
MILITARY POWER AND, IN PARTICULAR, THE NEW DEVELOPMENTS OF THE
INDIAN ICBM PROGRAM NOT THE IRBM PROGRAM?
PM: INDIA DID COME UP RECENTLY IN THE DISCUSSION AND I WAS ASKED
FOR MY IDEA ABOUT THE RELEVANCE THERE. I DIDN'T SPECIFICALLY
TO THAT DEVELOPMENT. RATHER, THE QUESTION WAS RAISED IN TERMS OF~
THE RELATIONSHIP REGION AND THE BUILD UP OF ITS ARMED
CAPACITIES.

1 1, -13-
( PM CONT) I EXPRESSED THE VIEW TO THE PRESIDENT AND M BAKER,
FLWING FROM THE DISCUSSIONS I HAVE HAD WITH MY FRIEND RAJIV
OHANDI IN FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR THEY WERE LENGTHY DISCUSSIONS
THAT AS IT WAS PUT TO ME BY PRIME-~ MINISTER GHANDI WHO HAD A VERY
FRUITFUL, AS HE SAW IT, VISIT TO CHINA AND HE THAT NOT ONLY THE
OF THE VISIT BUT, MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE MECHANISMS
THAT HAD BEEN SET IN PLACE AS A RESULT OF THAT VISIT TO TRY AND
ACHIEVE A RESOLUTION OF THEIR BORDER DISPUTE, WAS SUCH AS TO
LEAVE HIM, PRIME MINISTER GHANDI, AN OPTIMISTIC ASSESSMENT OF
FUTURE RELATIONS BETWEEN CHINA AND INDIA. SIMILARLY, HE TOLD ME
THAT HE HAD ESTABLISHED VERY GOOD, HE THOUGHT, FRIENDLY,
CONSTRUCTIVE RELATIONS WITH PRIME MINISTER BENEZIR BHUTT'O OF
PAKISTAN. AND HE PARTICULARLY THOUGHT THAT AFTER THE NEXT INDIAN
ELECTIONS, TO BE HELD THIS YEAR OR EARLY NEXT YEAR, THERE WAS
THE OPPORTUNITY POR A CONSTRUCTIVE RESOLUTION OF THEIR BORDER
PROBLEMS. HIS OVERALL ASSESSMENT THEREFORE, FLOWING FROM THE
CONCLUSION VIS A VIS CHINA AND PAKISTAN, WAS THAT INDIA WOULD BE
IN A POSITION TO REDUCE ITS MILITARY EXPENDITURE AND POSTURE.
NOW THESE DAYS, ON SO MANY ISSUES, THAT WAS PRE JUNE THE FOURTH.
PRE TIANANMEN SQUARE. HOW PAR THOSE EVENTS ARE GOING TO CAUSE A
REASSESSMENT BY PRIME MINISTER GHANDI AS TO THE CONFIDENCE HE MAY
HAVE ABOUT FUTURE RELATIONS IS A POINT ABOUT WHICH I CAN'T SPEAK
WITH AUTHORITY. BUT IF THAT IS NOT A COMPLICATING FACTOR, THEN I
HAVE THE FEELING FROM THE DISCUSSIONS I HAD WITH RAJIV GHANDI
THAT WE CAN EXPECT SOME RELEVANT *..,( INAUDIBLE)... AND TO A
FURTHER POINT I MADE WAS THAT IN THE DISCUSSIONS I HAVE HAD WITH
PRIME MINISTER BHUTTO AND PRIME MINISTER OHANDI, I HAD SAID THESE
THINGS.* FIRSTLY, THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE REGULAR ANNUAL
BASIS OF CONSULTATIONS BETWEEN US ON DEFENCE ISSUES.-THEY HAVE
AGREED TO THAT SO WE ARE NOW IN A POSITION WHERE WE ARE GOING TO
BE ABLE TO STAY REGULARLY IN TOUCH WITH THEM ON THEIR THINKING IN
THESE MATTERS. MOST IMPORTANTLY, I SAID TO THEM BOTH, THAT WE
WERE CONCERNED FRQL-. MREIONAL POINT OF VIEW ABOUT THE POTENTIAL
ESCALATION OF NUCLEAR CONFLICT BETWEEN THEM AND SUGGESTED
POSSIBLE MEASURES WHICH COULD LEAD TO A REDUCTION OF TENSION IN
THAT AREA. AND WE WOULD LIKE THEM TO BECOME PARTNERS TO THE NPT
TREATY AND WHETHER THEY WILL OR NOT I DON ' T KNOW BUT I HAVE GIVEN
THE UNDERTAKING TO THE ADMINISTRATION HERE THAT WE WILL, FROM
AUSTRALIA, CONTINUE TO PRESS THAT POSITION WITH THEM.

-14-.
JOURNALISTt PRIME MINISTER, THIS MORNING PRESIDEN4T BUSH USED TI
WORD UNIQUE TO DESCRIBED AUSTRALIA'S RELATIONSHIP WITH CHINA.
HAS THAT LED TO DISCUSSION ON ANY PARTICULAR ROLE AUSTRALIA MIGF
PLAY AND SECONDLY, HOW USEFUL DO YtOU THINK YOUR PARTICULAR
RELATIONSHIP WITH CHINA HAS BEEN DURING TALKS WITH THE AI4ERICANSE
PM: WELL, NO PARTICULAR INITIATIVE HAS BEEN SUGGESTED BUT THE
PRESIDENT WAS KIND ENOUGH AS WELL AS PUBLICLY AND PRIVATELY TO
ACKNOWLEDGE THE STRENGTH OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN OUR TWO
COUNTRIES. THE STRENGTH OF THAT RELATIONSHIP rA~ INDICATED BY
THE FACT THAT THE CHINESE THEMSELVES RECENTLY SAñ D WELL AT THE
END OF LAST YEAR I THINK IT WAS THAT NOT ONLY IN RELATIVE
TERMS, BUT IN ABSOLUTE TERMS, THERE WAS A GREATER LEVEL OF
MINISTERIAL INTERCHANGES BETWEEN CHINA AND AUSTRALIA THAN BETWEEZ
CHINA AND ANY OTHER COUNTRY. WHICH IS A REFLECTION OF THE PACT
THAT EARLY IN THE PIECE THERE WAS A RECOGNITION BY PRIME MINISTEI
WHITLAM, THAT CHINA, AND TO THE CREDIT OF PRIME MINISTER FRASER,
THAT WAS CONTINUED AND CERTAINLY HAS BEEN STRENGTHENED UNDER MY
PRIME MINISTERSHIPS. SO THERE IS No DOUBT ABOUT THE UNIQUENESS 01
THE RELATIONSHIP BUT IT DIDN'T FLOW FROM THAT ANY SUGGESTION
ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY FOR ANY PARTICULAR INITIATIVE. BUT, GOING
TO THE SECOND PART OF YOUR QUESTION, THE PRESIDENT AND MR BAKER
WERE INTERESTED FROM THE BASIS OF THAT PARTICULAR KNOWLEDGE THAT
WE HAVE OF CHINA AND THEIR LEADERS, AND OF OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH
THEM-TO TRY AND GET OUR ASSESSMENT OF HOW WE THOUGHT FUTURE
DREVEL OPMENTS WOULD TAKE PLACE. AND WHILE THERE IS, AS I SAY NO
SUGGESTION OF ANY PARTICULAR INITIATIVE, WE HAVE AGREED TO STAY
IN CONSTANT COMMUNICATION ON THIS ISSUE AND TO SHARE EXPERIENCE,
KNOWLEDGE AND VIEWS IN THE HOPE THAT BY SUCH SHARING WE MAY BE
ABLE, WITH OTHERS, TO HAVE INFLUENCE, BENIGN INFLUENCE UPON THE
DIRECTION OF THE FUT URE POLICY WITHIN THAT COUNTRY.
JOURNALIST; BACK' 0R TO GATT DID YOU RAISE ANY OTHER SPECIFIC
PROPOSAL. S WITH THE PRESIDENT AS TO HOW THE U. S. COULD HELP STEER
THE GATT NEGOTIATIONS TO A SUCCESSFUL OUTCOME, AND THE SECOND
QUESTION BACK ON CHINESE SANCTIONS. DID YOU ALSO RAISE THE
QUESTION OF THE AUSSAT SATELLITE WHICH OF COURSE GOT CAUGHT UP IN
THE U. S. SANCTIONS ON THE FORTIFIED TECHNOLOGY?
PM: YES. WELL THAT AGAIN, NO REALLY TWO THINGS. THE SPECIFICS
THAT I HAVE TAL = E ABOUT AS TO APPROPRIATE COURSE OF ACTION IN
REGARD TO THE WAY IN WHICH THEY APPROACH THE. 1990 FARM BILL.

-Is-
( PM CONT) SECOND) LY, JUST A DISCUSSION ABOUT THE ABSOLIMUTERGEkiC
AND FUNDAMENTAL IMPORTANCE OF ATTEMPTING TO GET A POSITIVE
OUTCOME FROM THE GATT NEGOTIATIONS.* WE ARE AT ONE ABOUT THAT.
MEAN, THIS IS NOT SOME MERE FORMAL LIP SERV ICE WE ARE PAYING T
THESE PROCESSES. WE HAVE AGREED THAT WE NEED To APPLY OUR VERY
BEST ENDEAVOURS INDIVIDUALLY, AND IN OUR CASE, WITHIN THE CAIRN.
GROUP, TO SECURE A POSITIVE OUTCOME AND HAVE UNDERTAKEN TO STAY
IN CONSTANT AND CONSTRUCTIVE COMMUNICATION WITH ONE ANOTHER
BETWEEN NOW AND THE END OF THE ROUND TO SECURE THAT OUTCOME.
JOURNALIST; AUSSAT?
PMa I'M SORRY, AUSSAT. THERE IS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT BY US THAT THE
SATELLITE IS CAUGHT UP IN THE MUNITIONS DECISION. WE UNDERSTANL
THAT. WE HAVE AGREED THAT WE WILL STAY IN COMMUNICATION ON THAT
ISSUE AND THAT WILL BE DONE AT OFFICIALS LEVEL. I MAKE THE POIW
THAT WE, AUSTRALIA, HAVE UP UNTIL JULY OF NEXT YEAR TO MAKE A
FINAL DECISION ON THAT MATTER. AND SO WE WILL STAY, AS I SAY IN
CONTACT AT THE OFFICIAL LEVEL TO SZE HOW THE SITUATION W ITH IN
CHINA DEVELOPS, THE ATTITUDE, WHAT OUR SHARED VIEW IS AS TO THE
APPROPRIATE ATTITUDE ON THIS ISSUE AND) IF WE, AS AUSTRALIANS HAV.
TO THEN, IN THE LIGHT OF DEVELOPMENTS CONTEMPLATE ALTERNATIVES.
JOURNALIST: MR HAWKE, I WONDERED IF YOU HAD ANY FURTHER UPDATED
INFORMATION ON THE WHEREABOUTS AND SAFETY OF ZHAO ZIYANG SINCE
YOU HAVE BEEN HERE?
PM: WE UNDERSTAND THAT ZHAO ZIYANG IS STILL IN A SITUATION OF
HOUSE ARREST AS IT WERE. THAT HE HAS NOT BEEN ILL TREATED. WE
WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE SITUATION AND TRY AND BE AS WELL
INFORMED AS WE POSSIBLY CAN. I THING ONE WOULD HAVE TO SAY THAT
TH ERE IS A SLIGHTLY SINISTER, CERTAINLY WORRISOME OVERTONE IN THE
STATEMENT, THAT HAM~ G CONDEMIED HIM IN THE FAIRLY EXTENSIVE WAY
THEY HAVE FOR HIS IN INVERTED COMAS CRIMES THAT THEY ARE GOING To
LOOK FURTHER INTO THE ISSUE. IT WOULD SEEM.., THAT THIS CARRIES
POSSIBLE SERIOUS OVERTONES AS TO FURTHER ACTION. OF COURSE, IT
MAEIN A SENSE, SIMPLY A WARNING....
JOURNALIST: WOULD AUSTRALIA BE A CONTACT IN THE To LOOK
AFTER THE 7

4. S -16-
PM: I HAVE ALREADY DONE THAT. I MEAN THE LETTER THAT I WROTE
LI PENG fIN VERY CLEAR TERMS, I SPELT OUT THAT IN THAT PARAGRAPH
THAT THERE SHOULD BE A HUMANITARIAN AND DECENT APPROACH SHOWN T
THOSE INCLUDING THOSE IN LEBAD ERSHIP POSITIONS WHO HAD DIFFERED
FROM THOSE IN CUJRRENT AUTHORITY. THAT WAS CLEARLY INTENDED TO
COVER THE CASE OF ZHAO ZIYANG AND WOULD HAVE BEEN SO INTERPRETE
JOURNALIST; DID YOU DISCUSS THE ROLE OF THE JOINT FACILITIES It
AUSTRALIA MONITORING NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT AND IS THERE ANY
PROSPECT OF THAT BEING EXTENDED?
PM: NO WE DIDN'T DISCUSS IT BECAUSE THERE WAS NO NEED TO. I
MEAN, AS YOU KNOW WE HAVE RECENTLY A TEN YEAR EXTENSION.
THOSE FACI LITI ES, THAT APRRANGEM4ENT AGREEMENT IS IN EXCELLENT
SHAPE. THERE WAS NO NEED ON EITHER SIDE TO FURTHER DISCUSS IT.
JOURNALIST: IN YOUR DISCUSSIONS ON CAMBODIA DID YOU GET ANY
SENSE THAT THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION WAS BACKING OFF ITS PLAN TO
AID THE NON-COMMUNISTS?
PM: IS BACKING OF FROM?
JOURNALIST: IS BACKING OFF FROM PLANS TO AID THE NON-. CObOMUISTS.
PMs TO PROVIDE LETHAL AID YOU MEAN?
JOURNALIST: YES,
PM: NO, I DON'T THINK IT WOULD BE FAIR TO SAY THAT THEY GAVE AN
IMPRESSION THEY WER" BACKING OF. THEY WERE VERY INTERESTED TO
GET MY THINKING ON IT. I DRAW ANY CONCLUSIONS FROM THAT, THAT
THAT MEANS THEY A~ tfOtTEMPLATING BACKING AWAY, BUT ARE CERTAINLY
INTERESTED TO HEAR A QUITE DETAILED LENGTHY EXPOSITION ON THIS
MATTER WHICH I, AT THEIR REQUEST, PROVIDED THEM. I THINK, REALLY
WHAT YOU HAVE GOT TO SAY ABOUT THE SITUATION, VERY VERY BRI EFY
IS THAT, AS I SAID THERE ARE LOTS OF PROMISING ELEMENTS ON TIM
TABLE. I THINK THERE IS REASON FOR OPTIMISM.
( TAPE INAUDIBLE, CHANGING TAPES)
THIRDLY, HOWEVER, YOU HAVE GOT TO HAVE THIS SERIOUS QUESTION MARK
ABOUT WHAT WILL BE THE IMPACT OF THE RECENT EVENTS IN CHINA UPON
THE ATTITUDE THAT CHINA WILL ADOPT.

-17-
( PM CONr) TO SAY THERE IS CONFLICTING VIEWS BEING EXPRESSED BY
PEOPLE, AS WHEN I WAS TALKING TO THE FRENCH FOREIGN MINISTER LAST
WEEK, HE SAID THEY HAD A LETTER FROM THE THAI PRIME MINISTER,
PRIME MINISTER SITTHI, THAT THEY THOUGHT THERE WOULDN'T BE ANY
CHANGE IN THE CHINA POSITION, BUT THEN THEY HAD JUST HAD THAT
MORNING A CABLE FROM THEIR OWN AMBASSADOR SUGGESTING A DIFFERENT
POINT OF VIEW. MY OWN HUNCH IS THAT IF IT HAY BE THAT THERE WILL
BE A TOUGHER LOOK AT THE CHINESE POSITION NOW. I'M SIMPLY SAYING
THAT WHEN YOU TAK( E ALL THOSE VARIOUS STRANDS TOGETHER, I STILL
HA9 A DEGREE OF OPTIMISM, AND I SPEAK FOR THAT REASON THAT I WAS
SAYING THAT I THINK IT WOULDN'T BE A POSITIVE ELEMENT TO
INTRODUCE AND I THINK THAT SOMETHING, HOPEFULLY, WILL BE TAKEN
INTO ACCOUNTr THAT I CAN' T IN ANY SENSE, SAY WHAT THE OUTCOME OF
THEIR CONSIDERATION OF WHAT I SAY OR CONSIDERATION OF THE VARYING
VIEWS THAT HAVE BEEN EXPRESSED WITHIN CONGRESS AND SO ON WOULD BE
ON THEIR FINAL DECISION.
JOURNALIST: YOU SAID THAT YOU WOULD COME BACK TO THAT POINT
ABOUT AMERICAN ASSISTANCE FOR THE REGIONAL GROUP, AND WENT BEYOND
THE ECONOMIC ISSUES
PM: WELL, I'M SIMPLY SAYING THAT THERE IS A VIEW ON THE PART Or
MR BAKER THAT THERE IS ROOM FOR A BROADENING OF THE CHARTER AS IT
WEf OF SUCH A GROUP, TO: 0O TO, WHAT IN THE BROAD SENSE OF THE

c WORD MIGHT BE DESCRIBED AS POLITICAL CONSIDERATIONS. NOW MY VIEW
ON THAT IS THAT ONE HAS TO BE EXTRAORDINARILY SENSITIVE, AS I SAID
BEFORE GEOFF, OF THE ASEAN POSITION AND THEN THEY HAVE COME TO A
POSITION WHERE THEY SUPPORT, AND HAVE EXPRESSED THEIR SUPPORT TO
US, THE CONCEPT THAT I HAVE ADVANCED. BUT THEY HAVE DONE THAT
WITHIN SAYING TO MR WOOLCOTT WHEN HE LED MY TEAM THAT'S GONE ROUND
THE REGION. THEY MADE IT QUITE CLEAR THAT THEY ATTACH, IN A
POLITICAL AREA, A PRIMACY TO THE ASEAN GROUPING AND ITS ROLE AND
FUNCTIONS. NOW MY VIEW SIMPLY ON THAT ISSUE IS THAT WE HAVE TO
RESPECT THAT SENSITIVITY AND I'M CERTAINLY NOT GOING TO SUPPORT
ANY POSITION WHICH, BY PUSHING POLITICAL TYPE ISSUES, COULD
UNDERMINE THE SUPPORT WHICH THEY EXPRESSED FOR MY CONCEPT.
JOURNALIST: REGARDING CHINA. YESTERDAY IN YOUR SPEECH, YOU SAID
SOMETHING ABOUT THE STUDENT LEADERS HAVE NOT BEEN EXECUTED, BUT
THOSE EXECUTED HAVE BEEN WORKER'S REPRESENTATIVES AND THOSE
INVOLVED IN THE SHANGHAI TRAIN INCIDENT. DID YOIU MEAN TO IMPLY
THAT THEY ARE LESS VALUABLE THAN THE STUDENT LEADERS
PM: NO, NO, NOT AT ALL, I MEAN, I DON'T THINK ANYONE, ANYWHERE
AROUND THE WORLD HAS BEEORE EXPLICIT AND CONDEMNATORY THAN I
HAVE IN REGARD TO WHAT THEY HAVE DONE. I WAS SIMPLY SAYING, IT IS
A FACT THAT AT THIS POINT THERE DOESN'T SEEM TO HAVE BEEN THE
PURSUIT TO THE POINT OF EXECUTION, THE PURSUIT THEN IS APT IN A
SENSE A QUESTION MARK WHICH IS HANGING; WHAT ARE THEY DOING, WHAT

ARE THEY THINKING ABOUT THAT. AND I WAS SIMPLY SAYING THAT IF
THEY ARE GOING TO LAUNCH INTO A FURTHER WAY OF EXECUTION, THAT
THEY COME TO SOME CONCLUSION ABOUT THAT, THAT WOULD OF COURSE,
RAISE VERY SERIOUS QUESTIONS AS TO HOW, WITH WHAT CONFIDENCE YOU
COULD CONTINUE THIS POSITION OF SAYING WELL WE DO WANT TO CONTINUE
A FORM OF ECONOMIC COOPERATION FOR THE WELFARE OF THE PEOPLE OF
CHINA ITSELF. I'M SIMPLY SAYING THAT THAT IS AN UNARGUABLE FACT
THAT FURTHER COMPLICATES THE ISSUE. SO ITS A VERY DIFFICULT LINE
TO SAY, AND I WELCOME THIS ONE.
JOURNALIST: HOW DO YOU RECONCILE THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE
HUMAN RIGHTS AND ECONOMIC SANCTIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA AND HUMAN
RIGHTS ABUSE IN CHINA?
PM: 1 DON'T SEE ANY PROBLEM OF RECONCILING THAT POSITION. AS
WHAT YOU'VE HAD IN SOUTH AFRICA IS, IE. A POSITION WHERE THERE HAS
BEEN A CONTINUING, AND IN FACT ONE MIGHT SAY, AN ESCALATING DENIAL
OF HUMAN RIGHTS UNDER THE ABHORRENT SYSTEM OF APARTHEID. ITS NOT
AS THOUGH YOU'D HAD SOME RAY OF LIGHT AND A CHANGE OF DIRECTION,
YOU'D HAD, AND I REPEAT, NOT ONLY A CONSISTENT PRACTICE OF
APARTHEID BUT IF ANYTHIN,_ OVER RECENT YEARS, AN
INTENSIFICATION. SO THE CAST OF POLICY OF AUSTRALIA AND THE
COMMONWEALTH WAS ONE WHICH WAS RELEVANT TO THAT SITUATION. AND
MIGHT I SAY, AS I SAID AT THE PRESS CLUB YESTERDAY, LET NO ONE, NO
ONE ARGUE THAT THOSE SANCTIONS HAVE NOT HAD AN EFFECT. I REMIND

a a YOU OF WHAT THE THE GOVERNOR OF THE RESERVE BANK SAID ON THE
9 MAY, AND HIS EXACT WORDS WERE THAT INTERNATIONAL PRESSURES,
PARTICULARLY FINANCIAL SANCTIONS HAD CRIPPLED SOUTH AFRICA'S
ABILITY TO DELIVER SUSTAINED ECONOMIC GROWTH AND THAT TREND.. HE
SAID, COULD NOT BE REVERSED WITHOUT QUOTE,. " ADEQUATE PROGRESS IN
THE FIELD OF POLITICAL AND CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM". SO THATIS THE
FRAMEWORK THERE AND AGAINST THAT YOU HAVE A POSITION IN CHINA
WHERE THERE HAS BEEN SIGNIFICANT CHANGE UNDER THE EXISTING
STRUCTURE OF LEADERSHIP WHICH HAD INVOLVED BOTH ECONO1MIC REFORM
AND A GRADUAL CONTEMPLATION IN THE PROCESSES OP POLITICAL CHANGE.
NOW WE HAVE HAD THE TRAGEDY OF THE FOURTH OF JUNE AND A SITUATION
WHERE THERE IS NOW AN UNCERTAINTY ABOUT THE FUTURE. THERE SHOULD
BE HOPE IN THE WORLD THAT WE MAY BE ABLE TO GET BACK IN CHINA,
BOTH TO A RESUMPTION Of ECONOMIC REFORM, WHICH THIS NEW STRUCTURE
SAYS THAT THEY ARE STILL COMMITTED TO. AND WITHIN THAT FRAMe, I
THINK WE ARE ABLE TO HAVE A CONTINUATION OF ECONOMIC REFORM, AND
OPENING TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD THE CREATION OF CONDITIONS IN WHICH
THERE CAN BE A RESUMPTION OF THE PROCESSES OF PRESSURE FOR
POLITICAL CHANGE. NOW YOU ONLY NEED THAT EXPOSITION TO UNDERSTAND
THAT YOUR ANALOGY IS SIMPLISTIC AND LEADS TO NO CONCLUSION.. OTHER
THAN TO ENDORSE THE COURSE OF ACTION IN CONCEPT THAT HAS BEEN
EMBRACED BY THE PRESIDENT AND MYSELF.
JOURNALISTs SIR, DID THE ANTARCTIC CONE UP TODAY IN THE WHITE
HOUSE AND AS FOLLOW UP TO THAT, DO YOU FEEL THAT YOU HAVE RUN INTO
A BRICK WALL WITH WASHINGTON, FURTHER TO YOUR POLICY THERE?

PM: OR AN ICEBERG. YeS, WE DISCUSSED IT TODAY, BUT V'VE ALREADY
ADDRESSED THIS ISSUE HERE, I THINK WE HAVE ANSWERED A QUESTION ON
IT. IT IS A PERFECTLY FRIENDLY, AMICABLE DIFFERENCE OF OPINION.
I'VE PUT MY VIEWS ABOUT IT, INDICATED WHAT WE WILL BE DOING, AND
IN THE GENTLEST OF TERMS THE UNITED STATES ADMINISTRATION HAS PUT
THAT IT HAS A DIFFERENT PERCEPTION. AND ON THIS ISSUE WE ARE, AS
I SAY, QUITE AMICABLY AGREED TO Go OUR DIFFERENT WAYS, BUT TO
CONTINUE TO CONSULT ON THE ISSUES.
JOURNALIST: YOUR RESPONSES ON THE QUESTION OF CHINA ARE BASED ON
A TEST CASE SCENAR10, LOOKING DOWN THE ROAD IN HOPES THAT PERHAPS
THERE WOULD BE A RESPIRATION OF PROGRESS FOR ECONOMIC REFORM AND
THEN EVENTUALLY POLITICAL REFORM, WHAT IF THAT IS NOT THE
COURSE? WHAT IF, TAKING ALL THE EVIDENCE, AND SEEING A HARDLINE
FACTION BEING CONSOLIDATED AND LEADERSHIP OF THE PRC THAT IT
CONTINUES FOR A PROTRACTED PERIOD A POLICY OF REPRESSION AND
PERIOD OF REPRISALS AND SO FORTH? ARE CONTINGENCY PLANS BRING
DEVELOPED IN THAT REGARD, WERE THERE ANY DISCUSSIONS OF
CONTINGENCY PLANS WITH THE ADMINISTRATION HERE?
PM: NO DISCUSSION OF CONTINGENCY PLANS OTHER THAN THAT WE HAVE
AGREED THAT WE ARE GOING TO STAY IN CONSTANT COMMUNICATION AND
CONSULTATION ON THIS ISSUE. LET ME MAKE THIS POINT, I MEAN, DON'T

SIMPLY SAY THAT IN REGARD TO WHAT HAS HAPPENED THERE THAT YOU'VE
GOT THE HARDLINE GROUP TO SAY THAT IS MONOLITHIC IN TERMS OF THEIR
PERCEPTIONS. EVERY INDiVIDUAL IN THAT LEADERSHIP GROUP THERE THAT
THERE IS A MONOLITHIC UNIFIED POSITION ABOUT WHAT THE FUTURE
SHOULD BE. NOW THAT'S NOT THE CASEO WHAT YOU HAVE GOT TO
UNDERSTAND, IF YOU UNDERSTAND ANYTHING ABOUT CHINA IS THAT THERE
HAS BEEN, OVER A PERIOD NOW SINCE 1978, A VERY SUBSTANTIAL
CONFLICT BETWEEN DUNG ZAO PING AND MANY OF THOSE PEOPLE THAT HE'S
NOW HAD TO TURN TO IN THE IMMEDIATE PRE-JUNE THE FOURTH SITUATION
AND POST-JUNE FOURTH SITUATION. AND THERE IS NO IDENTITY OF VIEW
AT ALL BETWEEN DUNG ZAO PING AND MANY OF THOSE LIKE CHUNG YEN AND
OTHERS AS TO WHAT THE APPROPRIATE COURSE IS. THERE IS NO DOUBT
THAT DUNG ZAO PING, AS HE HAS BEEN SINCE THE END OF THE SEVENTIES,
IS COMMITTED TO A CONTINUATION OF ECONOMIC REFORM. THERE ARE MANY
AROUND HIM NOW THAT HE HAS HAD TO CALL IN AID AND WHO ARE NOW
ESTABLISHED AS PART OF THE LEADERSHIP. M4ANY OF THOSE WHO SIMPLY
DO NOT SHARE HIS PERCEPTIONS IN THIS REGARD. SO WE ARE NOT
LOOKING AT AS A SIMPLISTIC QUESTION, AT A MONOLITHIC CONCEPTUAL
LEADERSHIP THERE. THAT BEING THE CASE, AS IT IS, IT IS IMPORTANT
IN MY JUDGEMENT, A JUDGEMENT SHARED BY THE PRESIDENT, MAY I SAY,
BY THE LEADERSHIP IN FRANCE AND THE UNITED KINGDOM, WITH WHOM I
HAVE BEEN RECENTLY TALKING, THAT ITIS IMPORTANT THAT THOSE WHO
SEEK TO NAVE A CONTINUATION OF ECONOMIC REFORM SHOULD BE
ENCOURAGED BUT TO THE EXTENT THEY WANT TO HAVE OPENINGS UP WITH
THE WEST AND THAT SHOULD, THAT OPPORTUNITY SHOULD BE THERE. BUT
THAT IT SHOULD BE DONE IN WAYS WHERE ALL OF US CONTINUE TO MAKE
CLEAR TO THE LEADERSHIP OF CHINA THAT WE WANT TO SEE A SITUATION

NOT ONLY OF CONTINUeD ECONOMIC REFORM BUT AN END TO PERSECUTIONS
AND EXECUTIONS. IT WOULD BE A TOTAL MISREADING OF THE SITUATION
TO LOOK AT THE LEADERSHIP OF CHINA AS ONE UNIFIED GROUP. THERE IS
SIGNIFICANT PHILOSOPHICAL AND CONCEPTUAL DIFFERENCES WITHIN THAT
GROUP AND THE, ONE OF THE BIG ISSUES IS GOING TO BE OBVIOUSLY THAT
FACED WITH A DUNG ZAO PING, WHO IS IN HIS DECLINING YEARS AND
OBVIOUSLY IN LESS THAN VIBRANT PHYSICAL CONDITION AS TO WHETHER
HIS COMMITMENT TO ECONOMIC REFORM AND OPENING UP TO THE WEST IS
GOING TO BE THE VIEW THAT PREVAILS. WE CAN MAKE NO PRESUMPTION
THAT IT WILL AND TO THE EXTENT THAT THAT IS IN BALANCE AS IT IS,
THEN IT MAKES $ 0 MUCH MORE IMPORTANT, IN MY JUDGEMENT AND THE
JUDGEMENT OF THE PRESIDENT AND OF OUR FRENCH COLLEAGUES AND
BRITISH COLLEAGUES, THAT WE SHOULD DO WHAT WE CAN TO ENSURE THAT
THAT THRUST RATHER THAN THE THRUST OF THE CONSERVATIVE ECONOMIC
HARDLINERS PREVAILS.
JOURNALIST: ON THE QUESTION OF FIJI. HOW ARE AUSTRALIA'S
S RELATIONS PROGRESSING IN LINE OF LIGHT OF FIJI'S WORKING POLITICAL
CONSTITUTION? PM: WELL, I THINK, LET'S PUT IT THIS WAY. WE HAVE MADE A
DECISION WHICH HAS BEEN COMPLETELY ADHERED TO OF CUTTING OFF
MILITARY ASSISTANCE. THAT'S BEEN DONE. WE MADE THE JUDGEMENT
THAT IT WAS SENSIBLE TO CONTINUE THE PROVISION, IN A SOMEWHAT
MODIFIED WAY, BUT A PROVISION OF ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE, PARTICULARLY

THAT FORM OF ASSISTANCE WHICH WE COULD IDENTIFY WOULD B3E GOING TO
THE BENEFIT OF ORDINARY FIJIAN CITIZENS AND WE HAVE DONE THAT. We
HAVE MAINTAINED COMMUNICATIONS WITH THEM. WE HAVE, FOR INSTANCE,
I SENT A GROUP OF PEOPLE THERE, LABOUR EXPERTS, AS A RESULT OF
DISCUSSIONS I HAD WITH PRIME MINISTER RATU MARA, WHO SAID ONE OF
THEIR FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS WAS FIJIAN YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT. I SENT
PEOPLE FROM AUSTRALIA WHO HAD EXPERIENCE IN THAT TO MAKE
SUGGESTIONS TO THEM SO THAT, IN OTHER WORDS, WE HAVE TRIED TO KEEP
THE FOCUS ON DOING WHAT WE CAN TO HELP FIJIAN FUNDAMENTAL
PROBLEMS OF ITS PEOPLE. WE ARE NOT CONFIDENT THAT OUT OF THE
PROCESSES OF CONSULTATION THAT ARE GOING ON AT THE MOMENT IN
REGARD TO THE FORM OF THE CONSITUTION BUT THERE WILL BE AN
OUTCOME, WHICH IN DEMOCRATIC TERMS, CAN BE SEEN TO BE TOTAL
ACCEPTABLE. THOSE PROCESSES ARE STILL GOING ON AND WE WILL HAVE
TO CONSIDER OUR POSITION IN THE LIGHT OF THE FINAL COM4PLETION THEY
COME TO ON THOSE BENEFITS.
ENDS 2121D