FOREIGN MINISTER CARR: Ladies
and gentlemen, it was Dr. Johnson who said, “Keep your friendships in
good repair.” And in that spirit, AUSMIN concluded in its meeting today,
very much in the spirit of business as usual, steady as she goes, no
new strategic content or announcements but a matter of consolidation. If
I draw your attention to page seven of the communique, you’ll see
reference to implementation of decisions that were announced last year,
the U.S. force posture initiatives in Australia that were welcomed by
President – Prime Minister Gillard when President Obama announced them
in 2011. We welcomed the success of the first rotation of U.S. Marine
Corps personnel to Northern Australia and look forward to the next
rotation in 2013.
The deepening of our defense cooperation through these initiatives
is, as we see it, a natural evolution of our existing longstanding
cooperation, maintaining and supporting long-term peace and stability in
the Asia Pacific. We discussed potential opportunities for additional
naval cooperation in a range of locations, including HMAS Stirling. All
these possible areas of cooperation would require substantial further
study and additional decisions by both cabinets.
We spoke about the South China Sea, and you’ll see references to that
in the communique. We’re united in seeking a peaceful resolution of the
territorial disputes. We share a common interest with other members of
the international community in the maintenance of peace and stability,
respect for international law, freedom of navigation, and unimpeded
lawful commerce. We don’t take sides on the competing territorial
claims.
We made comment to China’s rise. We want to continue to build
positive, cooperative, comprehensive relations with China, and that
means through strong economic engagement and encouraging progress on
human rights. There was no language of containment in this, but we both
welcome China’s role as a responsible member of the international
community.
I thank, again, our U.S. colleagues for their engagement in East
Asia, their involvement in the East Asia Summit, for their involvement
in Southeast Asia through the ASEAN Regional Forum. We thank them for
the number of visits they’ve given the region, their focus – the focus
they’ve (inaudible) on the region in which Australia exists and
prospers. Thank you.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, let me begin by thanking Foreign
Minister Carr and Defense Minister Smith for hosting these productive
sessions today and last night here in Perth. We couldn’t ask for better
partners. Our alliance is an anchor of peace and prosperity in the Asia
Pacific and around the world, forged in war but flourishing in peace.
And it has bipartisan support in both our countries under Democrats and
Republicans, Liberals and Laborites.
We hold these four-way meetings every year because our diplomatic,
economic, and security relationships are inseparable. That approach
drives America’s engagement across the Asia Pacific and Australia’s
strategy as well, as laid out in the government’s new white paper. But
if you look at what we’re doing – and Minister Carr gave a brief
overview – it’s quite extensive.
From the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Islands, American and Australian
navies protect the sea lanes through which much of the world’s trade
passes, and increasingly our cyber security experts collaborate to keep
our networks safe and online commerce flowing freely. Our diplomats work
side by side at regional organizations to address shared security
challenges and hammer out new economic agreements, and we congratulate
Australia upon becoming a new nonpermanent member of the Security
Council. Our growing trade across the region, including our work
together to finalize the Trans-Pacific Partnership, binds our countries
together, increases stability, and promotes security.
Today, Secretary Panetta and I congratulated our counterparts on a
major new achievement that exemplifies this integrated approach,
Parliament approving the new U.S.-Australian Defense Trade Cooperation
Treaty, and we will move forward together to implement it. This
agreement will boost trade, help our companies collaborate more closely,
and spur innovation. It’s a definite win-win.
We touched on many issues of regional and global importance. On Iran,
we agreed on maintaining unity in the international community to
prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons. I commended Australia’s
efforts to implement tough sanctions on Iran.
And secondly Syria, we agreed today that the formation of the new
Syrian Opposition Coalition is an important step forward and will help
us better target our assistance. Today, I am pleased to announce that
the United States is providing an additional $30 million in humanitarian
assistance to help get much-needed food to hungry people inside Syria
and to refugees who have fled to Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq,
which brings our total humanitarian assistance to $200 million.
Third, in Afghanistan, we honor the service and sacrifice of our
Australian allies. We are on track to transition full responsibility for
security to the Afghan Government in 2014, and we are also focused on
the economic and political transitions.
Fourth, we are preparing for the upcoming East Asia Summit, working
together on a shared regional agenda, including supporting the process
that ASEAN and China have begun on developing a comprehensive code of
conduct for the South China Sea, supporting continued reforms in Burma,
and pushing for the peaceful, verifiable denuclearization of the Korean
Peninsula.
So as you can see, there is a lot to do, but we could not be doing it
with partners in whom we have more trust and confidence. The length of
our agenda reflects the strength of our alliance, our partnership, and
friendship. So again let me thank the Foreign Minister and the Defense
Minister for their hospitality and partnership.
DEFENSE MINISTER SMITH: I’ll be very pleased to join with
Foreign Minister Carr to welcome Secretary of State Clinton and Defense
Secretary Panetta to Australia, and obviously particularly pleased to
welcome both secretaries to Perth. In addition to the very productive
conversations last night and today, both Secretaries have had the
opportunity to see the lights of Perth, the University of Western
Australia, Matilda Bay, Kings Park, and subsequently later stopping in
Cottesloe. And Leon and I also had the opportunity yesterday of visiting
the SAS Regiment in Swanbourne to pay our respects and regards to the
very fine work done by the SAS, not just in Afghanistan but over a long
period of time.
As Foreign Minister Carr has said, this is very much a consolidation
AUSMIN, a business-as-usual AUSMIN. In terms of the global force posture
review initiatives that we have been dealing with the United States
since the Melbourne AUSMIN in 2010, we’ve been very pleased with the
progress and assessment of the 250 Marine rotations through the Northern
Territory. That went very well this year, including the potential for
regional humanitarian assistance and a vast array of exercises,
particularly warmly welcomed by Indonesian President SBY Yudhoyono.
We’ll have the same number in rotation next year. We’ve commissioned an
economic and social assessment study to see the potential to raise to
1,100 over the year 2014 with the ultimate ambition of 2,500 over the
next five to six years.
We’ve started a conversation on enhanced aviation and aerial access
to our Northern Territory airfields. That conversation has begun. And we
also started a conversation on the potential for enhanced naval access
to HMAS Stirling, our Indian Ocean port, but also to other naval ports.
We’ve commissioned a study, a joint study. As I’ve made the point
publicly in recent days, we see that very much as (inaudible) and a
number of years away. The importance of HMAS Stirling as an Indian Ocean
port will rise and increase as India rises in strategic influence in
the Indian Ocean and the Indian Ocean Rim also rises.
There are a couple of announcements so far as our cooperation on
space is concerned. We first began a conversation about space as early,
from memory, as the 2008 AUSMIN. The 2010 AUSMIN in Melbourne, Secretary
Gates and I signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work together on
space surveillance. We drew attention then to the particular problem of
space debris. Satellite communications are very important, not just from
a national security point of view but also fundamentally from a
commercial and social point of view. There is now so much debris in
space that being acutely aware of space debris is very important to all
nation-states, and we’re announcing today that the United States will
transfer a C-Band radar from the – from Antigua, from memory, to
Australia. We’ll set that up in the northwest of Western Australia at
our Exmouth facility, and that will add considerably to the surveillance
of space debris in our part of the world.
We’re also in discussions about the possibility of transferring from
New Mexico to Australia a space surveillance telescope for use for the
same purpose. And we’re in discussion about the best location of that,
but again, the expectation is that that would be in Western Australia,
to the midwest or the northwest.
That, I think, reflects the fact that we’re making in the modern
Perth a modern Western Australia, which has benefited from very
substantial United States investments so far as minerals and other
resources are concerned.
Australia’s analysis continues to be that the alliance has served us
very well for over 60 years and that the presence of the United States
in the Asia Pacific has been a force for stability, prosperity, and
investment, and we see that continuing. And the focus as we’ve seen on
the Indian Ocean, the Indian Ocean Rim, also adds to the importance of
viewing our part of the world not just as the Asia Pacific but also the
Indo Pacific.
We’re also dealing now under the alliance with modern issues: cyber,
very important; space, I’ve referred to that. These are the modern
challenges and the modern issues which we now deal with on a regular
basis in AUSMIN on an annual basis.
Secretary Panetta and I have also had conversations about Afghanistan
and the post 2014 transition presence in Afghanistan, and I, again,
very much welcome and appreciate his very strong and kind remarks about
the contributions Australian Defense Force personnel have made in
Afghanistan in the fine tradition of the Australian Defense Force
working closely with the United States counterpart since World War II.
SECRETARY PANETTA: I’d like to – would like to join Secretary
Clinton in thanking our two excellent hosts, Minister Carr and Minister
Smith, for their hospitality here in Perth. Minister Smith is not only
the Defense Minister for Australia, he’s also the head of the Chamber of
Commerce for Perth. (Laughter.) (Inaudible.)
The range of discussions that we’ve engaged in have discussed global,
regional, and alliance issues, and it once again confirms for me that
the United States has no closer ally than Australia. That reality has
been demonstrated again and again and again on distant battlefields of
Afghanistan, where Australian troops have fought and bled alongside
American troops for more than a decade. On behalf of a very grateful
nation, I want to express again my deepest appreciation to the
Australian Government and to the Australian people for the sacrifices
that they’ve made in our joint efforts in Afghanistan. When one of your
own is killed on the battlefield, I make it a point to pick up the phone
and call the Defense Minister to indicate my deepest sympathies for
that loss, because your loss is our loss as well.
The important steps we’ve agreed to here in Perth to increase
cooperation between our two nations will do much to ensure that this
very strong alliance remains an instrument of peace and prosperity for
Americans, for Australians, and for all people who reside in this
important region of the world.
To that end, the Memorandum of Understanding that we signed to
relocate the C-Band radar to Australia and the discussions that we’ve
had on relocating an Advanced Space Surveillance Telescope and a
Combined Communications Gateway that will bring together terminals that
will provide information, additional information on space issues – all
of that represents a major leap forward in bilateral space cooperation
and an important new frontier in the United States rebalance to the Asia
Pacific region.
We also took stock of the successful deployment of the first U.S.
Marine Corps detachment to Darwin as well as increased U.S. Air Force
rotations throughout Northern Australia. We agreed to continue to build
on that success, and we will. We also agreed to move forward with all
due deliberate speed in the further implementation of this important
initiative that fosters great cooperation between our forces.
As all of you know, part of our new defense strategy, we’ve made
clear that one of our key focuses is to rebalance to the Pacific. We
simply would not be able to do that effectively without allies like
Australia.
So let me, once again, thank our Australian hosts for a very
successful series of meetings and for their generous hospitality. I am
confident that the alliance that we share between the United States and
Australia will usher in a more secure and a more prosperous future.
Thank you.
FOREIGN MINISTER CARR: Thank you, Secretary of Defense Panetta. The first question is from Ian (inaudible) of Perth News Limited.
QUESTION: My question is to Secretary Panetta. Now sir, would
you like to see an ongoing role for Australian Special Forces in
Afghanistan beyond 2014? And, if so, what might that role be? And part
three of my question, were defense budget cuts discussed during your
meeting today, and are you concerned that (inaudible) might slow down
(inaudible)?
SECRETARY PANETTA: First of all, Minister Smith did indicate
an interest in the potential for a Special Forces presence in the – what
we call the enduring presence – in the post-2014 period in Afghanistan.
And I believe that that is worth considering. One of the missions that
we are going to have to deal with in the post-2014 Afghanistan is the
counterterrorism mission, the ability to continue to target al-Qaida, to
target those that would continue to try to conduct terrorism against
that country. And, therefore, I think as we design that post-2014
presence, I think we ought to consider the role not only of Australia,
but other countries, in providing the kind of Special Forces capability
that I think would be very important for the future security of
Afghanistan.
With regards to budget issues, obviously both of our countries are
facing budget constrictions. And there’s no question that we have to
take those into consideration as we design what the future is with
regards to our defense forces. We’re certainly doing that in the United
States, and I know that Minister Smith is doing that with regards to
Australia. We understand the constrictions we’re dealing with. But I
remain fully confident that, in light of what we’re confronting, that we
have the capability to maintain a strong national defense for both of
our countries and that we will be able to meet the threats that confront
us, not only in this part of the world, but elsewhere, as well.
FOREIGN MINISTER CARR: Question from Bob Burns, Associated Press.
QUESTION: Secretary Panetta, I have a question for you about
the General Allen matter, and, if I could direct the last bit of it
toward Secretary Clinton, if I might.
Mr. Secretary, in the last day or so, there’ve been suggestions that
you may have overreacted to this matter, based on what, so far, has been
quite vague descriptions. For example, overreacted by holding his
nomination and also by launching the IG investigation. For example, the
Defense Department has said that his emails might have been
“inappropriate.” Can you explain what “inappropriate” means in this
case?
And, for Secretary Clinton, you mentioned in your opening remarks
that the situation in Afghanistan is on track. Could you offer any
thoughts on whether this matter, the Allen matter, could damage U.S.
credibility in Afghanistan? Thank you.
SECRETARY PANETTA: As you know, after receiving information
from the FBI on Sunday regarding the emails, I felt it was important,
and my responsibility as Secretary of Defense, to refer the matter on
General Allen to the Department’s Inspector General so that the
Inspector General could determine the facts here. No one should leap to
any conclusions. No one should leap to any conclusions here.
General Allen is doing an excellent job at ISAF in leading those
forces. He certainly has my continued confidence to lead our forces and
to continue the fight. But his nomination has been put on hold, as a
prudent measure, until we determine what the facts are. And we will.
SECRETARY CLINTON: And General Allen is a distinguished Marine
and commander who’s been an important part of the NATO ISAF mission in
Afghanistan. I don’t have anything to add to what Secretary Panetta has
said about how this matter is being addressed. We have been in touch
with our NATO ISAF allies. The course in Afghanistan is set. We know
what the transition requires of us. We are proceeding with that
transition, and will do so on time.
QUESTION: (Off mike.)
SECRETARY CLINTON: There’s been a lot of conversation, as you
might expect, Bob, but no concern whatsoever being expressed to us,
because the mission has been set forth. It is being carried out.
FOREIGN MINISTER CARR: Ashleigh Gillon, Sky News.
QUESTION: Secretary Clinton, on China, you’ve written this
communique that you’d like to see China exhibit greater military
transparency, and you encourage that. How will that happen? And
considering Chinese state media reacted negatively to the Northern
Territory troop announcement, do you expect China will get uncomfortable
with the United States having an increased presence in the Indian
Ocean? And on that front, what exactly is America’s wish list when it
comes to (inaudible) and increased access to those northern airbases? Do
you have a timeframe on that?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, first, let me state the obvious, that
the United States and Australia have been close allies and friends for
decades, and we have not only security ties, but commercial ties,
personal ties, cultural ties. And our relationship between the two of us
is among the strongest of any two countries in the world.
By the same token, we both recognize that increased cooperation from
China is mutually beneficial. So this is not a zero-sum competition.
Rather, it is up to the United States and Australia to lead the way in
demonstrating that the strong relationship between us can also help
foster strong, healthy relations with China, because the entire region
will benefit from a peaceful rise of China. And, as I’ve said many
times, we welcome a strong and prosperous China that plays a
constructive and greater role in world affairs.
But we also want to see China act in fair and transparent ways that
respect international norms and standards, follows international law,
protects the fundamental freedoms and human rights of its people and all
people. And the Pacific is big enough for all of us. And we stand to
benefit from increased cooperation across the Asia Pacific region, as
long as there is a level playing field and everybody knows what the
rules are and everybody is held to the same standards.
With respect to specific questions, I think that the ministers,
particularly Minister Smith and Minister Panetta, have addressed those
questions. But we are very comfortable that our relationship is a
positive one that should contribute to greater peace and prosperity in
the region. And we want all nations to be part of that.
FOREIGN MINISTER CARR: I would just add that there is no news in this communique that will surprise China or any other nation in the region.
Next question, David Brunnstrom, Reuters.
QUESTION: Can you hear me, ma’am?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Yes.
QUESTION: Secretary Clinton, please. On Syria, I was just
wondering if there is any point at which the United States could follow
France in fully recognizing the Syrian coalition. I would also
(inaudible) perhaps in the future, to provide lethal aid. Are there any
conditions on that?
And on the Burma, I wonder if I could ask whether concerns have eased
to the extent that the United States can consider lifting more
sanctions, or they’re still worried, for example, about thier links with
North Korea and also on the Rohingyan issue. There are reports that
there have been organized killings of Rohingyas. Thank you.
SECRETARY CLINTON: First, with respect to Syria, we
congratulate and welcome the new Syrian Opposition Coalition on the
progress that they have made in Doha to broaden and unify the opposition
leadership to make it a more effective, representative body that will
truly reflect the aspirations of the Syrian people and have credibility
with those inside Syria who are doing the fighting and demonstrating,
the dying, and dealing with the continuing assault from the Assad
regime. We have long called for this kind of organization. The United
States was deeply involved in the work that went on leading up to and at
Doha.
Now we want to see that momentum maintained. Specifically, we urge
them to finalize the organizational arrangements to support the
commitments that they made in Doha, and to begin influencing events on
the ground in Syria. As the Syrian opposition takes these steps and
demonstrates its effectiveness in advancing the cause of a unified,
democratic, pluralistic Syria, we will be prepared to work with them to
deliver assistance to the Syrian people. So good beginning, highly
welcomed by us and others, and we want to see the steps taken that have
been promised. And we stand ready to assist this new opposition in
standing itself up and representing the Syrian people to the regime and
the international community.
Regarding Burma, I very much look forward to returning with President
Obama. When I first visited Nay Pyi Taw and Rangoon last December, we
pledged that the United States would respond to positive reform steps
that were taken by the government with steps of our own. And the
President’s visit next week speaks to how far we have come in this
action-for-action approach that we outlined. We have matched the reforms
taken by having full diplomatic relations, exchanging ambassadors,
allowing new U.S. investment in Burma, as well as the export of U.S.
financial services, and supporting assistance from the international
financial institutions.
And let me say that Australia has been an indispensable and strong
partner in this process. The reforms have a long way to go. The future
is not certain. But we are making progress, and we want to see that
progress continue. The President will have the opportunity to discuss
the path forward in detail. And, of course, one of the items on the
agenda will be the ongoing conflict in Rakhine State. We’ve condemned
that violence. We’ve called for calm and a meaningful dialogue to
address the legitimate needs that are at the base of these underlying
issues. And certainly we expect the Burmese authorities to ensure the
security and safety of all the people in the area, and to act
expeditiously, both to stop violence and investigate it, and bring those
responsible to justice.
So we have a lot to talk about when we visit with the President. We’re looking forward to it.
FOREIGN MINISTER CARR: Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.
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