TRANSCRIPT: JOINT PRESS CONFERENCE WITH JAPANESE MINISTER FOR DEFENSE SATOSHI MORIMOTO, TOKYO
TRANSCRIPTION: PROOF COPY E & OE
DATE: 25 September 2012
TOPICS: Australia-Japan defence cooperation; Defence White Paper; Defence budget.
SATOSHI MORIMOTO: [Speaks Japanese].
INTERPRETER: This morning, the Australian Defence Minister Smith and I just finished a bilateral ministerial meeting.
SATOSHI MORIMOTO: [Speaks Japanese].
INTERPRETER: The following items we discussed during our recent two-plus-two meeting, and our Defence Ministers meeting in Australia, and we have discussed what cooperation we can take toward our next level step.
SATOSHI MORIMOTO: [Speaks Japanese].
INTERPRETER: First, we discussed our cooperation in peacekeeping operation areas, such as our cooperation in UNMISS in South Sudan. We have confirmed our level of cooperation there. And in addition to that, we have discussed defence cooperation and defence exchanges, such as the information security agreement and ACSA.
SATOSHI MORIMOTO: [Speaks Japanese].
INTERPRETER: Furthermore, we discussed future bilateral defence cooperation such as capacity building and support projects, equipment technology cooperation, and consultations among services. We also exchanged views on trilateral defence cooperation among Australia, Japan and United States, including Japan, the US and Australia-US relations.
SATOSHI MORIMOTO: [Speaks Japanese].
INTERPRETER: This morning we had discussion on how to advance our cooperation especially on the equipment technology between our two countries. I have proposed establishing ad hoc vice-Ministerial meetings and to have - by utilising this framework, we asked a Minister to work on and discuss on the specifics for future potential cooperation.
SATOSHI MORIMOTO: [Speaks Japanese].
INTERPRETER: We also discussed capacity building cooperation in the Asia-Pacific, and what kind of cooperation we can work together between our two sides, and we also touched on the exchanges of staff between our two defence authorities. We are planning to receive an official from Australian Ministry of Defence, from beginning of next year, who will be working with us in this ministry.
SATOSHI MORIMOTO: [Speaks Japanese].
INTERPRETER: We have confirmed that our cooperation will lead to the next stage of cooperation between our two countries, and also we have expressed our hope that such cooperation will lead to the trilateral cooperation among Australia, Japan and the United States. And those are the substantial outcomes of this morning's meeting.
SATOSHI MORIMOTO: [Speaks Japanese].
INTERPRETER: Thank you.
STEPHEN SMITH: Minister, thank you very much for that. Thank you for your warm hospitality, and thank you for our productive meeting this morning. This is my seventh visit to Japan as a Minister in the Australian Government, and my first visit to Japan as Defence Minister. This afternoon, I'll take the opportunity of renewing acquaintances, meeting with former Foreign Minister Okada who is of course Acting Prime Minister, also seeing a number of members of the Diet including former Defence Ministers Ishiba, Kitazawa and Nakatani, and former Foreign Minister Maehara. So, good to catch up with some old friends in Tokyo. As Minister Morimoto has said our bilateral meeting this morning follows on our very successful two-plus-two meeting with our Foreign Ministers; Foreign Minister Carr and Foreign Minister Gemba in Sydney a couple of weeks ago. We discussed the range of areas where we were very pleased with our practical cooperation. The ACSA Agreement, our information sharing agreement, peacekeeping - particularly in South Sudan.
Minister Morimoto has drawn attention to those areas where we believe we can enhance our practical cooperation, particularly in the area of technology cooperation following on from Japan's change to the principles which apply to the export of technology. We've also discussed ways in which we can enhance our trilateral cooperation with our mutual ally, the United States. For some years, there have been trilateral strategic dialogues at Foreign Ministers' level. This year, for the first occasion, we had a trilateral strategic dialogue with Defence Ministers in the margins of the Shangri-La dialogue in Singapore. So we've discussed how we can seek to enhance our trilateral exercises that we do together with the United States. And we've also looked into enhancing the practical cooperation that we have with our friends and partners in the region through the ASEAN Defence Ministers Plus meeting arrangement which first met in Hanoi in 2010, and which meets in Brunei next year.
As I remarked at the two-plus-two meeting in Sydney recently, I don't believe that our practical cooperation has ever been better. But today we have looked at those areas where that can be improved, and that will particularly apply in the technology cooperation area.
INTERPRETER: [Speaks Japanese].
SATOSHI MORIMOTO: [Speaks Japanese].
JOURNALIST: [Speaks Japanese].
INTERPRETER: My first question goes to Minister Morimoto. During your last meeting you had raised [indistinct] interest on Japan-China relations. During this meeting - this morning's meeting, what kind of exchange of views were conducted on the Japan-China situation? And my second question goes to Minister Smith. How do you evaluate or assess the relationship between Japan and China, and how Australia, Japan and United States can work toward this situation?
SATOSHI MORIMOTO: [Speaks Japanese].
INTERPRETER: On situations surrounding Japan in East Asia, from my side I have briefly mentioned on the future of Japan-China relations and how we can work toward a long-term perspective, and what kind of Japan-China relationship [indistinct]. But I didn't go into detail about that.
STEPHEN SMITH: Well Australia obviously wants China and Japan to have a positive and constructive relationship. And at Sydney I was very pleased to hear Foreign Minister Gemba and Defence Minister Morimoto say they were absolutely committed to a positive and constructive relationship with China - that's most important, and a very good thing. As Minister Morimoto has said, we touched upon, as we did in Sydney, the current array of maritime or territorial disputes which we find both in the South China Sea and the East China Sea. Australia's contribution in this area is to make the following points, which is we don't take sides in these disputes, but it is absolutely essential that these matters are resolved amicably in accordance with international law, in accordance with the law of the sea, including United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
From time to time these issues, if not handled calmly and with restraint, can be cause of potential for concern, and that's why we welcomed very much Foreign Minister Gemba's comments in Sydney about the East China Sea. And I saw when I arrived late last night and this morning, the remarks by the Prime Minister that these matters need to be dealt with in accordance with the rule of law and with calm and restraint. That's a very sensible contribution. So Australia like very many countries in our region is a maritime nation. And so abiding by international law, abiding by the Law of the Sea, providing for a free and safe navigation, providing for secure sea lines of communication – is very important to Australia and very important to our region economically. So we simply urge that such matters be resolved peacefully, amicably and in accordance with international law and the Law of the Sea.
JOURNALIST: A double-barrelled question for you, Minister Smith. Tony Abbott has made his pitch of defence and security credentials. He wants to buy UAVs to patrol the north, deliver a white paper in 18 months, pull further savings out of the Defence bureaucracy, and has an aspiration to grow Defence spending by three per cent a year, or at three per cent a year. Can that be achieved? And my second question relating to the China-Japan tensions in the East China Sea, does that put Australia on the horns of a dilemma in terms of following our main defence partners, US and Japan, or our main trading partner, China?
STEPHEN SMITH: Well, let me deal with the second question first, because that more directly relates to my visit. And I'll deal with briefly with domestic matters, but only briefly. Australia doesn't take sides when it comes to maritime or territorial disputes. The view we express is that it's essential that these matters are resolved amicably, peacefully, and in accordance with international law and the law of the sea. More generally, there's nothing inconsistent with Australia's longstanding friendship and partnership with Japan, a military alliance with the United States, and a comprehensive relationship with China. We don't have to make choices between those relationships. It's not a matter of a zero-sum game. It's win-win for all concerned.
So we engage China, because we wanted to have a positive and constructive relationship with China, and we want China to be a positive and constructive member of the international community. But let me deal with your domestic question by making a point that I made in the course of our discussions earlier today - we are of course preparing a White Paper which will be delivered in the first half of 2013. I've indicated to the Minister Morimoto that Australia will consult Japan as we move down the track of publication of a white paper in the first half of next year. I also made the point earlier today to some Diet members that we are living in what Secretary of State for Defense Leon Panetta said at Singapore at the Shangri-La Dialogue was the new fiscal reality.
So he has the job for example of taking out of the United States Defense budget over the next 10 years some $497 billion, I have reduced the Australian Defence budget over four years by $5.5 billion. He is on course to take out half a trillion dollars over the next decade. So whether it's Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, comparable countries face these same challenges, and we have to approach them in a mature and sensible and careful way. That's one reason for example why you see the NATO Secretary-General talking about smart defence, countries getting together, sharing platforms, and sharing technology. That is in part driven by the new fiscal demands. And that potential may well be there down the track in terms of technology cooperation and transfer between Australia and Japan, the conversation that we've just started. So whilst we're currently going through a difficult but manageable period, we are protecting our overseas operations, protecting our core capability, and protecting our military numbers.
So we are dealing with these issues between now and the publication of our White Paper. We're dealing with them seriously. What Mr Abbott has said this morning is uncosted, no timetables of any real definition, and described as aspirations, not concrete, practical policy proposals to take to the next Australian election.
So these so-called aspirations are not well founded in the fiscal and other challenges that we face. Indeed, I would describe them more as magic pudding than as aspirations.
Mr Abbott needs to apply some more judgment in this area- national security is not something for press releases.
INTERPRETER: [Speaks Japanese].
STEPHEN SMITH: Thank you.
SATOSHI MORIMOTO: [Speaks Japanese].
STEPHEN SMITH: Thank you, thanks.
