SECRETARY CLINTON: Good afternoon, everyone. And it’s such a
pleasure, as always, to welcome the Indonesian Foreign Minister, and I
believe the largest delegation that has ever come from Indonesia, for
the purpose of our third meeting of the U.S.-Indonesia Joint Commission.
This commission is the result of a vision by our two presidents for a
comprehensive partnership, and the agreement to that effect was signed
in 2010. Thanks to this partnership, the United States and Indonesia are
working more closely than ever on a range of issues from global
security to clean energy and climate to regional trade and commerce.
And today, Marty and I had the chance to take stock of where our
teams have come in the time of the last year, because we had our meeting
in Bali a year ago. And I must say, I was very impressed. We covered a
great deal today.
But before I start, I’d like to say a few words about the protests in
several countries around the world. We have condemned in the strongest
possible terms the violence that has erupted from these protests. And as
I have said, the video that sparked these protests is disgusting and
reprehensible, and the United States Government, of course, had
absolutely nothing to do with it.
But there is no justification for violence, and I want to thank the
Foreign Minister and his government for speaking out against violence.
We have to look to reasonable people and responsible leaders everywhere
to stand up to extremists who would seek to take advantage of this
moment to commit violent acts against embassies and their fellow
countrymen.
Today’s meetings have highlighted the strong foundation that we have
built together. And one of our most important concerns is promoting
peace and stability in the Asia Pacific. Today, I’m announcing that the
Obama Administration has informed Congress of the potential sale of
eight AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopters to the Indonesian Government.
This agreement will strengthen our comprehensive partnership and help
enhance security across the region.
On growth and prosperity, we are increasing our trade relationship that
topped $26 billion last year. Investments in transportation, energy, and
infrastructure are creating jobs and supporting economic growth in both
countries. For example, the deal between Lion Air and Boeing alone
represents $21 billion in trade over the next decade. Indonesia’s
Government has announced half a trillion dollars in infrastructure
improvements, and we recently signed a memorandum of understanding to
make it easier for American companies to bid on these projects.
And yesterday, we signed an agreement for implementing our Millennium
Challenge Corporation Compact with Indonesia. Over the next five years,
the United States will invest $600 million in clean energy development,
child health and nutrition programs, and efforts to help make
Indonesia’s Government more transparent and open.
The United States is also looking forward to Indonesia hosting APEC
in 2013, and we are confident that Indonesia will come to this role with
a commitment to promote greater economic integration across the Asia
Pacific.
Both the Foreign Minister and I believe that strong education is
essential to compete in a modern global economy. That’s why the United
States has expanded the Fulbright Program and supported partnerships
between dozens of American and Indonesian universities. Academic
exchanges between our countries are up and applications from Indonesian
students to visit the United States have increased by one third. USAID
has recently expanded its basic education program to provide $83 million
for teacher training and literacy programs for young children. And
we’re providing $20 in scholarship funding for Indonesian graduate
students.
I also thanked the Minister for Indonesia’s leadership in ASEAN. The
Foreign Minister’s personal leadership has helped lay the groundwork for
diplomacy between ASEAN and China as it relates to the South China Sea.
And we continue to support ASEAN’s six-point principles, which we
believe will help reduce tensions and pave the way for a comprehensive
code of conduct for addressing disputes without threats, coercion, or
use of force.
Finally, Indonesia and the United States have stood together on a range
of global challenges, from democratic reform in Burma to combating
climate change, to working to end the violence in Syria. We are also
coordinating efforts to further develop south-south and triangular
cooperation, such as enhancing disaster preparedness in Burma and
convening a conference on women’s empowerment.
We believe that as the second and third-largest democracies in the
world, the United States and Indonesia have a special responsibility to
promote democracy and human rights. And for the last four years,
Indonesia has hosted the Bali Democracy Forum to promote peaceful,
democratic transitions through example and open dialogue. Last year,
more than 80 countries attended. And once again, the United States will
be sending a high-level delegation.
So, Minister, thank you for everything. Thank you for the great partnership we’ve had between us and between our countries.
FOREIGN MINISTER NATALEGAWA: Thank you very much, Madam
Secretary. I’d like to begin by, once again, before members of the
media, this afternoon to acknowledge and to thank you personally and as
well, of course, through you, the government and the – of United States,
and the delegations of the United States, for welcoming us in such a
fine manner here in Washington.
I concur with you fully in your description of the state of
Indonesia-U.S. relations. It is, as it is often described, a
comprehensive partnership, comprehensive – underscore the fact that our
relations is a very broad ranged one covering many areas and sectors and
fields of endeavor and cooperation. And throughout this morning, and of
course throughout the year, as a matter of fact, the working groups
established for the purpose of promoting our comprehensive partnership
have precisely done that. They have worked very hard and we have heard
just now, throughout our meeting this morning, the kind of progress –
concrete, real, progress has been made in the areas of common concern,
whether it be on trade, on education, on promotion of democracy and
human rights, and many other fields – including, especially, and not
least, in the defense and security area as well.
What remains for us now is, based on the discussion that we’ve had
today, to ensure the working groups and the Joint Ministerial Commission
continue to be enhanced, continue to sustain the pace of its work so
that once we meet again next year in Indonesia, we can similarly enjoy
and raise witness important progress in the promotion of our bilateral
relations.
The point that I wanted to make at this occasion, Madam Secretary, is
to reinforce and recall and reaffirm the fact that the importance of
Indonesia-U.S. relations extends beyond the bilateral. Our two countries
now have worked very closely in a very productive and very mutually
beneficial way, not only bilaterally, but increasingly within the
regional setting as well.
Just now, Secretary Clinton was so kind enough to acknowledge the
kind of efforts Indonesia is trying to make in trying to create an
environment in our region that is peaceful and stable and thus,
therefore prosperous, as well. But is a process, it is a common endeavor
by all of us, and I have to say that over the recent years, the United
States engagement in the Asian Pacific have truly been part of that
creation of such a benign, peaceful and stable environment.
But much work remains ahead of us. We have, of course, the New York
United Nations meeting coming up this coming week. No doubt Indonesia
and the United States will continue to work very closely. During the
course of our discussion today, both in the plenary and especially in
the more tete-a-tete setting, we discussed many a global issues,
regional issues as well, whether it be in Southeast Asia, in East Asia,
Asia Pacific, as well as, for example, in the Middle East, including the
developments in Syria. What I wanted to say, basically and essentially,
is that the strength of our bilateral relations is one that is becoming
even more evident and it is a relations that is not only beneficial to
the United States, beneficial to Indonesia, but no doubt I am sure
beneficial to the region as well.
Thank you very much, Secretary Clinton, for welcoming us to
Washington, and I look forward to continuing our strong partnership.
Thank you. Thanks very much.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you so much, Marty. Thank you very much.
MS. NULAND: We’ll take two questions today, we’ll start with Ros Jordan of Al Jazeera English.
QUESTION: Thank you, Madam Secretary, Mr. Foreign Minister.
Madam Secretary, my question is about the ongoing investigation into
last week’s attack at the consulate in Benghazi. You are meeting this
afternoon with members of Congress to discuss the progress and the
concerns that they understandably have. First, there is the federal
mandate to establish an accountability review board. Have you done so?
Who would you like to see chair it? Are there certain questions that you
desperately want to have answered in order to safeguard the safety of
Foreign Service Officers around the world?
And related to this, given the political instability and the
successes of the past year and a half, are you satisfied that in light
of those political changes, enough was done to protect those working in
the Middle East and North Africa? And then finally – and this is perhaps
going into the area of rumor and speculation – but there is at least
one report suggesting that Ambassador Stevens felt that he was on a,
quote, “al-Qaida hit list.” Is this a scurrilous rumor? Is this gallows
humor when one is working in a period of difficulty and great challenge,
or is there something more to what he allegedly – and I stress that
word – said?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, first, let me say I’m looking forward
to the opportunity to go up to the Congress today.
I will be briefing
in two separate sessions, the House and the Senate, in a classified
setting, along with my interagency colleagues, as we continue to work
together, and with governments around the world, to ensure that our
people and our facilities are safe. I will be joined today by the
Director of National Intelligence, General Clapper, by the Deputy
Secretary of Defense, Ash Carter, by the Vice Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, Sandy Winnefeld, along with experts from the FBI, the
State Department, and elsewhere in the government.
Now, I anticipate that this briefing will cover our security posture
before and during the events, and the steps we have taken since to do
everything we can with host governments to protect our people and our
embassies and consulates. The Director of National Intelligence will
speak to the intelligence issues surrounding these events in Libya.
Deputy Secretary Carter will brief on the superb support we have had
from the U.S. military in the wake of these events, and we are at the
very early stages of an FBI investigation. The team from the FBI reached
Libya earlier this week. And I will advise Congress also that I am
launching an accountability review board that will be chaired by
Ambassador Thomas Pickering.
I will also talk about the importance of the broader relationships
with these countries in light of the events of the past days. There are
obviously very real challenges in these new democracies, these fragile
societies, but as I said last week, the vast majority of the people in
these countries did not throw off the tyranny of a dictator to trade it
for the tyranny of a mob. And we are concerned first and foremost with
our own people and facilities, but we are concerned about the internal
security in these countries because ultimately, that puts at risk the
men, women, and children of these societies on a daily ongoing basis if
actions are not taken to try to restore security and civil order.
And let me just conclude by saying that there can be no doubt where
the United States stands. We continue to support those who are fighting
for universal values – values that we see at work in Indonesia – the
third largest democracy in the world. We believe that these values of
universal rights, of justice and accountability, of democracy, are there
for every person regardless of where that person might live. So I will
look forward to having a chance to talk with members of Congress.
As to your final question, I have absolutely no information or reason to believe that there’s any basis for that.
QUESTION: Thank you.
MS. NULAND: Last question. Victoria Sidjabat from
Tempo Magazine, please.
QUESTION: Yes. Madam, thank you. My question is: Starting
today, U.S. Embassy and Consulate are closed in Indonesia as the Muslim
movie become wild fireball, which could be designed as a weapon to
attack U.S. by raising sentiment anti-U.S. from the countries which has
Muslim majority population like Indonesia.
Madam Clinton, how do you see this threat as on the long run? If it’s
continuing happen, it’s – obviously could give impact to the
implementation of (inaudible) program in Indonesia. What is the reason
U.S. Government closed the Embassy and Consulate in Indonesia? What is
your expectation from Indonesia Government, for my Minister Marty
Natalegawa? How Indonesia Government respond to the closing of this
Embassy and Consulate, it’s starting today? Is U.S. – Indonesia
Government has capability to protect U.S. Embassy and Consulate. So the
(inaudible) program implemented – could be implemented successfully in
Indonesia. Thank you.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, let me begin by saying how grateful
we are for the excellent cooperation we have received from the
Government of Indonesia, and in particular, from the law enforcement and
security institutions in Indonesia. We are very grateful for not only
the cooperation and protection that has been provided to our facilities,
but also to the strong statements condemning violence from the
President, the Foreign Minister, and others.
In consultation with the Government of Indonesia, we have
temporarily, for tomorrow, closed our facilities. We want to be sure
that law enforcement in Indonesia has the ability to do what it needs to
do to make sure that there is no disruption of civil order and
security. So we are cooperating completely, and we’re very grateful for
the strong leadership provided by Indonesia.
FOREIGN MINISTER NATALEGAWA: Hello, (inaudible), if I may just
also respond. Precisely as the Secretary had said, the decision by the
United States Government to close temporarily its embassies and
consulates tomorrow in Indonesia is a decision that’s been made based on
communication and conversation between the authorities in Indonesia and
the United States as well. So in other words, it is an informed
decision, a decision that is not intended to show any unfriendly intent
on the part of anyone, but it is what it is, and it’s quite some – it’s
the kind of step that governments actually carry out when situations
requires it, even in our case. Some of our embassies abroad, when the
situation requires us to have a temporary closing of the embassy, we do
that as well. So it is something that is quite regular and something
that is actually coordinated as well.
But if I may just broaden the subject matter, I think as our
President had said in the past, Indonesian Government – the Indonesian
people, even, obviously cannot and would not condone the – any acts of
violence against diplomatic premises, against diplomatic personnel,
because that is, truly – would be a challenge to the efficient and a
proper conduct of relations among states. So that’s our point of
departure.
At the same time, of course, beyond the immediate issue of protection of
the embassies, we have still ahead of us the challenge of how to
prevent the kind of situations where we are now at in terms of the kind
of incendiary and the kind of statements or, in this instance, films
that cause – that is now we have all deplored and condemned for these
kind of activities not to be repeated. So we have a lot of homework to
work towards in the future as well.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you all very much.
FOREIGN MINISTER NATALEGAWA: Thank you.
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