Brussels, 19 May 2004
Enhanced Cooperation with NATO in a New Security Environment
A speech by to the North Atlantic Council, Brussels
Secretary-General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, Mr de Hoop Scheffer. Permanent Representatives to the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
We - the community of nations represented by NATO and Australia - have been confronted head-on by a new security environment in recent years. At your Prague Summit in 2002 NATO members agreed that terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and failed states were among the defining security challenges of today. It is a view of the contemporary security environment shared by Australia.
Our experiences of these threats in our own regions may not be identical, but there are considerable comparisons to be made. We both fell victim to the atrocities of September 11.You have felt the horror of a mass-casualty attack in Madrid. We shivered with the same chill of revulsion when terrorists attacked Australians in Bali. In your region, Iran and Libya's revelations have reminded the world of the serious threat from WMD proliferation. In our region, North Korea's nuclear ambitions are destabilising.
The security risks posed by weak and failing states have been felt by us both. Such states - be they in the Balkans or the South Pacific - destabilise the wider region, and are vulnerable to those who seek to abuse their weakness, as we know from Afghanistan.
These developments - the rise of international terrorism, WMD proliferation and weak and failing states - add up to an international security environment vastly different from that which dominated NATO's first four decades...when the Soviet Union was the overwhelming concern.
We are now - and for the foreseeable future - in an environment where international security is indivisible. Where what happens in one region affects what happens in another. Where the old notion of security as the capability to defend one's territory is woefully outdated. And where we cannot shelter behind borders hoping to gain immunity from aggression. On the contrary, because the challenges to our security are global, global cooperation is needed to defeat them.
Contemporary NATO
Australia has watched with interest as NATO has evolved, as NATO's membership has expanded, and as its interaction with non-NATO members has increased, notably through the Partnership for Peace and the Mediterranean Dialogue. The Istanbul Summit next month - the first for the enlarged Alliance - will be an historic occasion. NATO's enlargement has anchored former members of the Warsaw Pact into the Western alliance...helping, along with the expansion of the European Union, to extend the area of peace, democracy and prosperity on the continent of Europe.
At the same time, NATO has retained its key role as the tie that binds the major powers across the Atlantic. NATO has also, quite rightly, extended its activities well beyond the Euro-Atlantic area.
NATO has taken over command and coordination of the UN-mandated International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. And in Iraq, it has supported Poland, a NATO member, in Poland's leadership of a sector in the multinational stabilization force.
An Australian Perspective
Just as NATO is evolving to address contemporary security threats, so too the changed environment has affected the way in which the Asia-Pacific nations - individually and collectively - have been addressing security issues. There are several threads that shape Australia's view of today's strategic environment in the Asia-Pacific, and I will touch upon a few of them.
China's growing economic and political weight, and the international maturation that has accompanied it, is the single most important strategic trend in the Asia Pacific region. China is taking seriously its responsibilities as a major power...through its accession to the WTO...its support for the war on terrorism...its role in the North Korea six party talks...and its restraint over the Taiwan elections.
China nowadays recognises that a sound relationship and economic engagement with the United States are crucial to its economy and to development of its international prestige and influence. Democracy has been on the march in the region over recent years. With a few notable exceptions, commitment to democratic processes in Asia has grown. Presidential elections in Indonesia are scheduled for later this year and elections in Thailand early next year...India - the world's largest democracy - has just elected a new government...Malaysia held elections recently, as did the Philippines...and in recent Indonesian parliamentary elections around 123 million voters cast their ballots in a peaceful and orderly manner.
Today market economics, democracy and good governance are largely unchallenged as guiding principles for the region, though implementation of these principles may be less than complete. Overall economic growth prospects for East Asia are good.
The lessons of the Asian financial crisis have been largely digested, with economic and governance reforms set in train... though some economies continue to face complex and serious economic development and governance challenges.
The Asia-Pacific region is home to a large Muslim population - indeed to the world's largest Muslim country, Indonesia. And we are aware of some radical Islamic elements within these communities who seek to spread their extreme and destructive messages to others - and not without some receptiveness. We know that terrorists - with connections to the likes of Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda - are active in our region. But these elements stand in stark contrast to the large majority of the Asia Pacific Muslim population. Recent regional election results - in Indonesia and Malaysia - show the overwhelming majority of people subscribe to mainstream Islam and secular politics.
In the South West Pacific, Australia has for some time been concerned at the decline of effective governance and institutions and declining law and order, the result of years of public underinvestment, mismanagement, corruption, and neglect. In some cases it is because these countries lack the critical mass necessary to sustain all the functions of a sovereign government. These problems have brought some of our Pacific neighbours dangerously close to state failure. Such are the factors that are shaping the security environment in the Asia-Pacific, and that have shaped Australia's foreign and security policies accordingly. We are - unashamedly - taking a more hands-on, activist approach to the region and the challenges confronting it.
We continue to play a major role in peacekeeping and nation building in East Timor...Australia was at the forefront of the military effort required to quickly deploy INTERFET to stem the violence that followed the 1999 ballot...and we remain focused on assisting East Timor achieve stability and prosperity.
In efforts to bring peace and stability to Bougainville in Papua New Guinea, Australia has provided more than 4,000 civilian and military personnel to peace monitoring teams.
In Solomon Islands, Australia was the genesis and driving force behind the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands, or RAMSI as we call it. Implemented with the strong support of the region, RAMSI has prevented Solomon Islands' inexorable slide towards state failure. A policing operation, with military back-up, it aims also to implement much needed economic and governance reforms. RAMSI, together with our Enhanced Cooperation Partnership with Papua New Guinea and a new agreement on assistance to Nauru, mark a significant shift in Australia's dealings with the South Pacific in an effort to halt decline in our immediate neighbourhood.
Many of the other challenges we face in the region are also variants of the challenges NATO members face...and among these, international terrorism remains a serious problem. We have made progress in disrupting the work of Jemaah Islamiyah - the Islamic terrorist group most active in our region - and some of the links between it and al-Qaeda. But while JI has been weakened, it retains the capacity and willingness to act, and it continues to plan and plot for future operations. Our response has been to focus on building the frameworks for practical, working-level cooperation with our neighbours to disrupt terrorist networks. Our nine counter-terrorism memoranda of understanding with regional countries, and targeted capacity-building, are crucial to our efforts. Including by facilitating better information sharing...strengthening law-enforcement capabilities... and improving the links between operational agencies at the front-line in the fight against terrorism.
Our cooperation with Indonesia has been particularly strong. In the aftermath of the Bali bombings in 2002, Australian police worked successfully with their Indonesian counterparts to pursue the perpetrators - 33 individuals have since been convicted. Earlier this year, I co-hosted with my Indonesian counterpart - Dr Hassan Wirajuda - a regional ministerial meeting on counter-terrorism attended by over 25 countries and international organisations. And Australia and Indonesia have agreed to establish a law enforcement cooperation centre in Indonesia to provide operational support and advice to regional police forces.
Asia Pacific regional architecture is also playing an important part in the war against terrorism. APEC - previously a forum for the discussion of economic issues - now has security issues on its agenda, and has developed important counter-terrorism mechanisms. The ASEAN Regional Forum and the Pacific Islands Forum are both developing mechanisms to improve regional counter-terrorism cooperation, including in the important areas of border and transport security.
Australia recognises that the campaign against terrorism must also be fought on the battleground of ideas. The world must understand that Al Qaeda and their kind are not seeking a bargain or a compromise... they are seeking to impose ruthlessly their will and their impoverished, fundamentalist, pre-modern world view by whatever means they can.
Australia is encouraging the Muslim mainstream to reject the terrorist agenda of a fanatical few - as many have been doing - and to condemn terrorism without reservation. In this context, Muslim populations in our own countries - moderate, secular, peaceful and embracing of the values of co-existence - have a key role to play.
Like NATO members, Australia is deeply concerned by the threat posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems. The possibility that terrorists might acquire WMD has added a new urgency to dealing with this threat. This year we are stepping up our counter-proliferation-related activities, with a focus on assisting regional countries.
Through our diplomatic relations with North Korea, we have been underlining to its leaders that the North's security will only truly be enhanced by the dismantling of its nuclear programs...and that only then may it reap the benefits of full international engagement. Though it would be premature to pass final judgement, the example of Libya - which I am visiting later today - is a cause for hope.
Australia - as with many of the NATO member countries here today - is also a strong supporter and core partner in the Proliferation Security Initiative. But efforts at the multilateral level to strengthen disarmament laws and their enforcement must go hand in hand with practical measures like the PSI. That is why Australia is strongly supportive of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 on WMD proliferation, agreed just last month.
Enhanced Cooperation with NATO
The security challenges we face are significant and will not be resolved easily. It is my strong view that there is much Australia and NATO can learn from one another and do together in the contemporary security environment, across the spectrum of issues I have outlined.
For many years Australian soldiers have worked alongside the forces of NATO allies. They have served within a NATO command, as part of a UK contingent in the Balkans. Given today's uncertain strategic environment, we may find ourselves working alongside one another in the future. Indeed, I believe that the trends that have lead us to work together will grow more acute with time -they will require us to work together. There can be no denying the serious tensions in the broad church of the Western alliance in the past 18 months. But we have far more in common than differences that may at times ripple the waters. We share common visions of society and the place of the individual...and a commitment to democracy and freedom - a long and hard-won legacy that we are determined to preserve.
Just as NATO couples the security of Europe with the security of North America, so too US engagement in the Asia-Pacific region underwrites our regional security. There is no question our current links serve us well, including:
-our strategic dialogues at officials' level and in areas of specific and longstanding concern - such as WMD proliferation.
-our program of technical cooperation with NATO
-the participation of Australian service personnel in NATO technical committees
-and NATO's offer to assist with Athens Olympics security, which is of very clear relevance to Australia.
NATO's Partnership for Peace and Mediterranean Dialogue initiatives are laudable. But given the global nature of today's security threats Australia believes there is also scope for enhanced cooperation with countries like our own that are seized of the importance of cooperation, internationally active, and like-minded. The evolving security environment means that despite the geographic distance that separates us, we increasingly view our security in similar terms. I have had several discussions with Secretary-General de Hoop Scheffer about ways to further the Australia-NATO relationship in the past few months... and I understand the NATO Secretariat has been looking at options for expanding cooperation.
Strengthened cooperation with NATO is something Australia is keen to pursue. As I said earlier, it is my firm view that circumstances will compel us to work more closely together in the years ahead. A strengthened relationship will help prepare us for those challenges that as yet lay over the horizon. From Australia's point of view, further cooperation might include:
-consultations and exchanges of information and experiences on issues including counter terrorism, counter proliferation, crisis management and peace keeping
-and as an early practical measure, commencing talks on the Information Security Agreement proposed by NATO.
-and as our relationship develops, we see value in moving to examine more structured frameworks for cooperation.
Combining our common experiences and unique perspectives will enhance security in our own regions, and be for the benefit of the broader international community.
Thank you