Address by the Hon Alexander Downer MP, at the Third Australia-Japan Conference Dinner

Introduction

Mr Ichiro Aisawa, Senior Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs for Japan, Leaders of the Japanese and Australian delegations, Mr Minoru Murofushi and Mr Hugh Morgan, Ambassadors McLean and Ueda, Distinguished Australia-Japan Conference participants, Ladies and gentlemen.

I am delighted to host this dinner for the third Australia-Japan Conference.

It is a timely reminder of the dramatic changes which have occurred in the bilateral relationship over several years. And an occasion to seize current opportunities to move the relationship further forward.

Almost thirty years ago, our nations decided that there was a need to diversify our relationship beyond the trade and economic - although this aspect of the relationship had served us both very well - and to strengthen our political and cultural links. We negotiated the Basic Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation, known as the Nara Treaty.

Also in 1976, Australia established the Australia-Japan Foundation, with aim of strengthening relations and deepening understanding between the peoples of both countries. Today, we are seeing the benefits of the decisions we took all those years ago.

Japan is among Australia's most important partners in the region. We cooperate closely on political and security issues - whether it is in combating the scourge of terrorism or in contributing to institutions that promote regional security in more conventional terms. We have a far greater familiarity with each other's cultures. Countless thousands of us have spent time in each other's country either as part of school visits, on working holiday programs, to study, or as tourists.

Like my colleague Mark Vaile, I too would like to acknowledge the role programs run by the Japan Foundation have made in bringing this about. And of course, our trade, long a mainstay of the relationship, continues to flourish. But let us not rest on our laurels!

No one can doubt the great strength of the relationship between Japan and Australia, and the many benefits each of our nations gain from it across a wide spectrum of areas. But while we have been so successful, it would be foolish to take our strong relationship for granted. In this regard, the Australia-Japan Conferences are a most useful process.

My challenge to you, and to all those who value the relationship as highly as I do, is to constantly seek ways to reinvigorate it which are of benefit to both Australia and Japan, and our region and the world more generally.

As recent, tragic events have shown, our partnership gives us the capacity to make a real contribution to the well-being of not just our own citizens. This ability imposes a responsibility on us to be ambitious and active in how we develop our relationship across a range of areas, some of which I will address this evening.

Political and Security cooperation

In the political and security sphere, I welcome the significant strengthening in Australia-Japan cooperation in recent years. Much of this new cooperation has been made possible by the increasingly active contribution Japan is making to international peace and security.

This conference process has also played its part through recommendations and follow-up in such areas as practical cooperation to deal with trans-national threats and dialogue and exchange on peacekeeping operations.

The world - and Japan's place in the world - has changed in the 60 years since the end of World War II. In the decades since, Japan has proven itself to be a peace-loving nation. Through its own remarkable economic development it has contributed to raising living standards throughout the world. And not only by being a major donor of overseas development assistance, but also by disseminating innovative manufacturing and management techniques globally and through its overseas investments.

Just as Japan played an economic leadership role in the post-war period, I believe today Japan and its people recognise the importance of contributing to international peace and security as well. Japan's new National Defense Program Guideline makes clear that improving the international security environment is one of the major pillars of Japan's security policy.

Australia values this evolution in Japan's security policy, and the opportunities it creates for strengthening our bilateral security cooperation. As mature liberal democracies with highly developed economies we share many common values such as freedom, a commitment to democratic principles, support for a free-market system and an open global trading system, and the desire to assist others. And a commitment to promoting a stable regional and global security environment, and the promotion of freer trade which distributes the benefits of greater regional integration and globalisation to all.

We already cooperate extensively on a range of international and regional security issues, including East Timor, the war against terrorism, and most recently Iraq. And we are both closely engaged in regional counter-proliferation activities. This includes as leading players in the Proliferation Security Initiative which seeks to prevent the flow of weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems and related materials between actors of proliferation concern.

Australia led the first PSI exercise in the Coral Sea in September 2003, with Japan participating through its Coastguard. And we were pleased to send a RAN vessel to an exercise hosted by Japan in Tokyo Bay in October last year.

Our partnership on such matters also includes working together with other concerned countries to ensure a peaceful resolution to the North Korean nuclear issue. As North Korea's latest effort at brinkmanship demonstrates, we must all focus clearly on ensuring Pyongyang returns to the Six Party Talks process, which is the only viable way to resolve this problem and end North Korea's international isolation.

The Trilateral Security Dialogue (TSD), which involves Australia, Japan, and the United States is another example of the excellent cooperation between us on regional issues. We look forward to another, early meeting of that group this year.

I would also like to acknowledge Japan's groundbreaking contribution to humanitarian and reconstruction efforts in Iraq. It is because of the contribution of Japan and others working alongside the United States that two weeks ago Iraqis were given their first taste of real democracy ever. Let there be no mistake, Australia is a firm supporter of the more active role Japan is playing in the world today.

Underlying our interest in strengthening security cooperation is the closeness of our perspectives and interests. And particularly so in the Asia Pacific region where we share a common interest in maintaining US engagement, and a keen interest in developments in North Korea and stability across the Taiwan Strait. But the devastating Asian tsunami, which brought suffering on an immense scale to many of our neighbours, served as a tragic reminder of the importance of international cooperation……cooperation not just on traditional 'security' issues, but on broader global issues, such as preventing and managing natural disasters.

Both Australia and Japan announced major packages of assistance and are coordinating our efforts through relevant multilateral agencies to help with the recovery and to develop a more effective warning system in the event of future disasters.

Australia sees Japan as playing a critical role in multilateral security fora, not least in the United Nations. We therefore want to see Japan take up a permanent seat on the Security Council as part of UN reforms now under consideration.

Another area of common interest is in the evolving institutions in our region. Like Japan, we support the emergence of regional architecture that is open and inclusive.

The success of APEC and the ASEAN Regional Forum demonstrate the value of such an approach. The agenda for peace and prosperity in our region is a broad and demanding one. We look forward to continuing to work with Japan to contribute to this objective. I would encourage participants to be ambitious in reaching conclusions on how we may work together even more closely in our region and beyond.

Trade Partnership

While our political and security relationship is broadening, I believe it is also important that we do not let our trade and economic relations fall behind. We should be just as ambitious in setting the agenda for this aspect of our relationship.

The Trade and Economic Framework, signed by our Prime Ministers in July 2003, is a useful step in this direction, setting a clear direction for the future development of our economic and trade relations. But it is essential that we seize the opportunities presented by it, and by the emerging regional trade agenda, to enhance our partnership still further.

As Australia and Japan each develop a network of trade agreements with partners in the region and beyond, it is important that we ensure our bilateral engagement keeps pace with our engagement with the wider region. In this respect, it is worth bearing in mind that an FTA brings not only market access……but can contribute to closer economic integration more broadly, as well as having political and strategic implications.

I know that participants at the previous Australia-Japan conferences, some of whom are present, demonstrated their strong support for enhancing our trade partnership by putting forward proposals for economic integration. And I look forward to your continued support for strengthened economic links between our two countries.

Aichi Expo and Year of Exchange

The coming two years offer great opportunities for strengthening links between our people and updating perceptions of each other. As everyone in this audience knows well, in 2005 Japan will host a World Expo in Aichi prefecture.

Australia has made a significant investment in this Expo……reflecting the importance we attach to the bilateral relationship and the benefits we believe we stand to gain from a strong presence there.

Australia's program at the Expo will reflect the breadth of our relationship, including industry, education, science, culture and the arts……and project a contemporary image of Australia as a culturally diverse, technologically sophisticated nation with a dynamic, forward-looking economy. And the platypus mascot has already had a great impact.

As noted earlier, in 2006, we will celebrate the 30^th anniversary of the Nara Treaty with a series of exchanges designed to highlight the extensive links between our two countries and foster new networks. We have been delighted at the level of interest shown in the Year by the general public - which we see as an indication that the investment we have put into the relationship over the years has been well worth while.

I hope that when we reach the end of the Year of Exchange, we will all be able to look back over the previous two years and see that we have made the most of opportunities to enhance our relationship.

Conclusion

This third Australia Japan Conference is a valuable and timely opportunity for us to inject fresh ideas on strengthening the Australia-Japan Relationship. With so many shared concerns, as well as our commitment to democracy and other shared values, I believe Australia and Japan should be ambitious in the agenda we set for enhancing cooperation in the future. We must always be looking for ways to reinvigorate the relationship and move it to higher levels.

I would hope that some of my comments tonight might assist you in this task. And I encourage you all to be ambitious in identifying areas where further, mutually beneficial collaboration is possible I am confident that such a distinguished gathering of Australian and Japanese participants will ensure stimulating and productive discussions.

I would like to wish you all every success for this conference.

Thank you

ENDS