Doorstop, Colombo, Sri Lanka

SUBJECTS: Sri Lanka-Australia Defence relationship; Defence, Economic and Technology cooperation; Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement; Indian Ocean Security concerns; Education opportunities. 

JOURNALIST: So my question is now, as far as this cooperation is concerned, what kind of role do you expect Sri Lanka to play in that regard?

MARLES: Well, what we seek to do is simply to become closer to Sri Lanka. So it's really we see this in terms of opportunity. I suppose, to put it simply, from our point of view, an empowered and enabled Sri Lanka is in Australia's national interest. So, we want to more work more closely together to deepen our strategic relationship across the bilateral relationship, but including in areas like defence, where we can do more in terms of helping to build capacity within the Sri Lankan Armed Forces. But from an Australian point of view, the opportunity that presents is we become much closer to Sri Lanka. And so I think that works in the interests of both of our countries. I mean we share a desire to see the rules based order asserted in the Indian Ocean. When we have that, when the rules of the road are clear, that works in the interests of countries of our size. And there's just the obvious point to make, that a rules based order gives agency to middle powers and to smaller countries. A world which is simply based on power and might is a world where we lose agency in that. Sri Lanka and Australia have a shared interest, and we want to pursue the opportunity of pursuing that interest.

JOURNALIST: Yeah, when it comes to the future, along with defence cooperation, we may see tech cooperation as well, so with countries in the global south, with the growing need for tech cooperation going in parallel with defence cooperation, with regard to the evolving security and terrorism threats. How would Australia play a role? And how would Australia maybe play a role when it comes to the global south, including, like with countries with Sri Lanka?

MARLES: Do you mean economic cooperation? 

JOURNALIST: Absolutely, and tech cooperation. 

MARLES: Yes, sure. Look, I think that's right. I mean, in a sense, as the Defence Minister I talk a lot about defence but as the Deputy Prime Minister, you're absolutely right. Economic cooperation and greater technology cooperation is absolutely a field of endeavour and opportunity for our two countries. Look, I point to the growing educational relationship. What that is doing is twofold. In terms of providing the opportunity for more Sri Lankans to study in Australian universities. It's helping build the capacity of Sri Lanka, the educational base of Sri Lanka. But from an Australian point of view, education is a really important export industry, or export sector, making sure that our education sector is at world's best standard, and that's what we need to do if we want to see people take advantage of our education sector. That also drags us the technological ladder as well. It's a cooperative endeavour, and I think education is a perfect example of where what we are doing together helps both really economically, but very much technologically. And I think a whole lot of opportunity can come there in terms of technology research and sharing associated with that. The other obvious point to make is tourism. We're seeing a growth in Australian tourism to Sri Lanka. This is clearly a spectacularly beautiful country. I've remarked a couple of times today that I think the cricket tour here in January, not only did we get such a spectacular setting for those test matches, and somehow the drone photography captured that in a way that I hadn't seen before, but it is a beautiful ground. That's perhaps not news to Australians. We've always known that Sri Lanka is a very spectacular place. But what I think that that tour particularly did was really project into Australia, the fact that this is a country which is peaceful and stable, and so there is the opportunity for people to actually come and for many who have the dream of seeing this place. And so I think tourism is a great opportunity as well.

JOURNALIST: So with the trade war ongoing from the US and some other countries, are you going to sort of augment the RCEP, or something like that to deepen cooperation and trade in the global south? 

MARLES: I think the starting point there is, you know, we are an island trading nation, and a growing proportion of our national income is derived from trade. And so our national interest has always played in having an open global trading environment. And as a country, we've always been an advocate for an open global trading environment, and we continue to be that. We continue to engage in that advocacy to the United States, but we are doing our best to build greater trading relationships around the world. We've been doing that over the last three years. We've established a free trade agreement with the UAE, for example, but we are trying to do more in Europe, but definitely more in South Asia. RCEP is an important construct, and we're keen to see that develop. But in fact, all the trading relationships that we're in, all the trading constructs that we're in, it's a time to be seeing how we can see the most of that be attained and but we fundamentally see trade as profoundly important for Australia's national interest, and that's what we pursue. 

JOURNALIST: The Sri Lankan Government has a bit of a bind over the presence of Chinese surveillance and research ships in Indian Ocean, especially when they have ports of call in Colombo, the former government imposed a moratorium under pressure from India, because Sri Lanka had a delicate relationship of debt restructuring. The moratorium has continued, the moratorium ended, but the current government has continued with it. Do you share India's concerns about the presence of these Chinese surveillance ships? Or where is Australia's position as far as the presence of these ships in the Indian Ocean? 

MARLES: Well, I think a few points to make. The starting point with our relationship with China, more generally, is since we came to office back in May of 2022 we sought to stabilise our relationship with China after a significant period of no ministerial contact, and where quite a lot of our trade with China was suspended. We've got that trade back there. There's much more ministerial contact we're grateful for, and the relationship is in a better place. Of course, that said, China does represent an ongoing security anxiety for us. We've seen a very significant military build-up on the part of China. Now what we stand for is an assertion of the rules based order, as I said in my opening remarks, that’s got to be what's in the interests of a country like ours, which is deeply invested in a global rules based order as being the underpinning of how we connect to the world and how our economy works, but as a middle power, smaller country, in that sense, the rules based order gives us agency. Now we feel that's under pressure, and that's under pressure here in the Indo Pacific, it is under pressure we see in the Indian Ocean. And we've worked very closely with India to assert the rules based order here in the Indian Ocean, and we seek to do the same with Sri Lanka. I think that's that is very important. I would note the very important statement of the Sri Lankan government that it's not going to allow Sri Lankan territory to be used in any way to undermine India's national interest, national security interest. And we think that's a very important statement in terms of stability in the region and within the Indian Ocean. And that's something that we very much support. We work really closely with India in relation to this, and say we do have a security anxiety when it comes to China, what we want to see is clearly a peaceful world, but a world which is based on that rules based order when it comes to the high seas, the operation of UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. 

JOURNALIST: Deputy Prime Minister with the US deciding to cut down on international student numbers visiting the US for higher education is Australia planning to open the doors for most students, especially from the region, and also, what kind of defence cooperation are you expecting from Sri Lanka’s side when it comes to the Indo Pacific? So what kind of cooperation are you expecting from Sri Lanka alone, not from the region, but Sri Lanka alone when it comes to the Indo Pacific? 

MARLES: Yeah. Well, I mean, we do have caps in relation to our international students, and that continues. But having said that, international education is a really important part of our economy, and the education sector remains a very significant export opportunity for Australia, and we're very alive to them. It's 19,000 Sri Lankan students who are studying in Australia, and that's a very significant number, and they're very welcome. And those students study in Australia, they'll get an education, and that'll be great, but they also will be making friends, building connections, and that's as important. And we see that as a critically important dividend associated with that. In relation to the second question, it really goes back to what I said earlier, it's an opportunity for us and Sri Lanka, there's no expectation. What it is an opportunity for us to be closer together, to do more, and to share more. We both have an interest, for example, in seeing and having the greatest maritime domain awareness. We can cooperate more together to help us have a shared maritime domain awareness, which would be much higher than if we're acting individually. It is the opportunity that comes from working together, and so how that’s how we're approaching it. It's not that there's any expectations or any obligations. It's much more about the language of opportunity. We see this region as profoundly strategically important for us. We come here to take advantage of what we think the shared opportunities that exist for both of our countries, and that's the basis of what we're doing. 

JOURNALIST: There's a lot of support Australia gives to train Sri Lankan service personnel. Have you discussed potential expansion of that cooperation? 

MARLES: I think defence education is a really specifically important area of cooperation. And in fact, we have seen an expansion of that. We've now got four people at an officer level, training at our Staff College. Two at a major level, two at a colonel level. We are looking at working more with the National Defence College here. So as it's early on in its life, in seeing it grow into a really important institution for Sri Lanka, I think that is an area where we can look forward to exploring more and to build on what we've already done. As we were talking before over lunch, you know, to me, if you look at defence, defence education, maritime domain awareness and then what I really describe as defence policy, like shared experiences in terms of the way in which we have undertaken, views of our strategic circumstances and therefore of our defence forces. I think there's a whole lot of areas where we can cooperate in a really mutually beneficial way. I mean, I think where there's a lot that we can share and offer Sri Lanka in that but actually it's the same in reverse. I mean, as Sri Lanka goes through its own experiences of reshaping its defence force here, I think we will be deeply interested in the learnings that are ahead from that and taking advantage of that as well. So it is a mutually beneficial and very reciprocal relationship, and in that sense, I think what I take great heart from today is we've been talking about this. We've been received so warmly and so well. I think there really is an appetite here in Sri Lanka. We walk down that path together. Thank you.