18 March 2009, Australian National University, Canberra
Japan and Australia: A Vision for the Future
Inaugural Crawford-Nishi Lecture in Australian-Japanese Relations
Thank you, Pro-Vice Chancellor, for that kind introduction.
Your Excellency, Ambassador Taka-aki Kojima;
Director General Akitaka Saiki;
Julie Bishop, Opposition Spokeperson for Foreign Affairs;
Distinguished guests;
ladies and gentlemen
I'm delighted to be with you tonight, and honoured to have been invited to deliver this inaugural lecture in the new Crawford-Nishi Lecture Series.
I commend the ANU for this initiative, and thank the Australia Japan Foundation for its generous support. It's entirely appropriate that this University, which has done so much to promote serious research into Japan, should honour two men whose work helped lay the foundations of the modern Australian-Japanese partnership.
That is, after all what our bilateral relationship has become: a comprehensive strategic, security and economic partnership, underpinned by shared values, intersecting interests and common approaches to international security challenges.
It is a relationship whose depth and vigour have been vividly brought home to me in my four visits to Japan so far as Minister for Foreign Affairs.
A clear vision
Sir John Crawford, a distinguished scholar and leader of this University, who did so much to build the ANU's international reputation, would not be surprised at how things have turned out.
He wrote as early as 1938 that Australia's long-term economic interests lay in Asia; or, as he called it, our ‘Near North'.
He never lost sight of the importance of Japan for Australia's future.
In the 1950s, as Secretary of the Department of Commerce and Agriculture, and later of the Department of Trade, Sir John was instrumental in encouraging close economic links with Japan.
His efforts, together with that of others, produced the landmark 1957 Commerce Agreement, which has been described as one of the most important trade agreements Japan has ever signed.
By the time Sir John became Australian of the Year in 1981, he had witnessed the signing of Basic Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Australia and Japan.
That treaty, signed in Tokyo on 16 June 1976, by the Fraser Government, had been initiated by the Whitlam Government in 1973.
By the time Sir John died, in 1994, Bob Hawke and Paul Keating had successfully worked with regional leaders, including Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa to transform APEC into the region's pre-eminent economic forum.
Through good times and bad
Now, to strike a deal, you need a partner; and to strike a diplomatically delicate deal, you need a dedicated and strong partner.
Sir John had one in His Excellency Haruhiko Nishi, Japan's first Ambassador to Australia.
Ambassador Nishi arrived in Canberra in 1952. Over the next three years, he helped lay the groundwork for what would, after three years of negotiations, become the 1957 Commerce Agreement.
A distant ministerial predecessor, Sir Richard Casey, held Ambassador Nishi in high regard. He noted in his diary on 24 May 1955, having met Nishi on the eve of his departure from Australia, that "Australian-Japanese feeling is a great deal better than it was when he arrived 2 ½ years ago".
That is the heart of the matter. In the early 1950s, there were many who harboured memories from the war. Nishi, knowing what to expect, was himself apprehensive of this before his arrival.
At that time, the idea of a treaty with Japan was a very sensitive issue: Menzies, who backed the idea, preferred to allow Black Jack McEwen to be publicly identified with it.
Sir John had a clear understanding of our national interests, and had creative ways of advancing them.
Earlier, he had engaged in some deft tennis diplomacy, by lobbing his tennis ball from a nearby court over the fence of the Japanese Embassy, so as to be able to chat informally.
Crawford and Nishi: building on their ambition
The key figures behind the growth and steady expansion of the Japan-Australia relationship, and not restricted to Crawford and Nishi, but many individuals who lent political force to their ideas, displayed a very important characteristic.
Ambition. In the best sense of the term.
Our relationship has not only benefited from, but has also given rise to, ambitious plans for our nations and for our region.
Tonight, I will discuss where the Australian Government is taking a relationship that Prime Minister Aso recently described as having reached the most productive time in its history
I will focus in particular on:
quick, coordinated action through the G20 to get the global economy working again
enhancing our already close economic relationship through the early conclusion of a comprehensive free trade agreement
turning our bilateral defence cooperation to efforts to improve regional and international security.
working together in multilateral fora on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament
and harnessing our technological expertise and growing scientific cooperation in the effort to combat the effects of climate change.
Reviving the global economy
There is, of course, no more pressing policy challenge for both our countries than helping to generate a coordinated, practical response to the global economic crisis.
The Australian and Japanese Governments understand the need for swift action, both to mitigate the domestic effects of the crisis, and to successfully stabilise financial markets and stimulate the global economy.
Prime Minister Rudd has proposed a detailed plan of action to clean up the global financial system. Australia has been working intensively on this strategy with other members of the G20, including Japan.
The forthcoming G20 Leaders' Summit in London represents the best opportunity to reach agreement on this global strategy.
We find it immensely encouraging that, despite Japan's own grim economic news, Prime Minister Aso's government remains so committed to restoring confidence to the Asia Pacific region and to the international financial system.
We applaud Japan's very strong support for IMF reform, and its decision to contribute $100 billion in supplementary funding to the IMF at the recent Washington summit.
Japan has also offered to increase its aid and has participated in currency swaps with China, Korea, the United States and members of ASEAN.
Prime Minister Aso's latest proposal to encourage economic cooperation among East Asian countries, and to stimulate regional growth, deserves very careful consideration.
The forthcoming East Asia Summit Leaders' meeting will be a good opportunity for a regional discussion about Mr Aso's proposal and other ideas in advance of the G20 Summit.
The London G20 Summit will come at a critical juncture. Our goal must be not only to overcome the current crisis, but to inoculate the world economy against a recurrence of the problems we now confront.
It is vital that Leaders collectively reiterate their strong opposition to the emergence of protectionist sentiment.
They must also seize the opportunity to encourage the earliest possible conclusion to the Doha Round of multilateral trade talks.
We appreciate Japan lending its considerable weight to the G20 process.
Building on the foundations of trade
The comprehensive strategic, security and economic partnership we enjoy with Japan is, built on longstanding trade and investment ties.
These ties started in my own state of Western Australia with the minerals and petroleum resources industry, especially exports of iron ore, and then liquefied natural gas.
For over 40 years, Japan has been Australia's largest export market. Japanese investment, which played so vital a role in the development of many of Australia's export industries, remains a key element of our economic prosperity.
On both sides there has long been a deep understanding of the strategic significance of our economic complementarity.
The scale and direction of international trade flows may change, but it is certain that Australia will remain a reliable, stable supplier of food, energy and resources and energy and resources technology to Japan, and that our bilateral trade will continue to grow.
No relationship, no matter how strong, can stand still. That is why we are eager to see our trading relations enhanced by the conclusion of a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement.
The fact that we're negotiating a bilateral FTA is, in itself, symbolic of the depth of Australia's engagement with Japan: it is the first FTA negotiation Japan has entered into with a major developed country.
We should recommit our two countries to completing a high-quality FTA and to do so within a reasonable timeframe, both for the economic advantages that it would bring to each of our countries, and for the signal it will send to the rest of the world in these difficult economic times.
There are, of course, sensitivities that need to be carefully addressed, but there is abundant scope to liberalise key areas.
The services sector in particular is one whose potential is largely untapped.
Services make up over 75 per cent of the economies of both countries. But financial services, and services generally, are greatly under-represented in our trade. In 2007-08, services accounted for only 8.3 per cent of our total trade with Japan.
Concluding the FTA is a big task, but it's one that neither Crawford nor Nishi would have shirked.
A flourishing defence relationship
Just as bilateral trade has evolved far beyond the scope of those early Commerce agreement negotiations, so too our defence and security ties have evolved beyond expectation.
This is a remarkable achievement.
The Australia-Japan Joint Foreign and Defence Ministerial Consultations, the so-called 2+2 meeting, that I attended with Joel Fitzgibbon and Ministers Yasukazu Hamada and Hirofumi Nakasone in Tokyo last December, is the only formal 2+2 Foreign and Defence Strategic Dialogue that Australia has in Asia.
It's a product of the Japan-Australia Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation, which was the first such document Japan has signed with any country other than the United States.
This dialogue is one of only three that Australia has world-wide, the others being with the United States and the United Kingdom.
The 2+2 dialogue reflects our shared perspectives of regional and global security, and our mutual respect and trust.
It also reflects the fact that we are both allies of the United States, whose continuing presence and engagement in the Asia-Pacific region we both regard as indispensable.
Strengthened bilateral cooperation between Australia and Japan in turn enhances our respective relationships with the United States, including through cooperation under the Trilateral Strategic Dialogue and the Security and Defence Cooperation Forum.
In June last year, my Japanese and US colleagues, Masahiko Koumura and Condoleezza Rice and I agreed to develop practical measures to enhance our capacity to respond to regional disasters and other crises. These measures would include better exchange of information to ensure the best use of assets and other resources.
During our visit to Japan for the 2+2 meeting in December, Defence Ministers Fitzgibbon and Hamada signed a new Memorandum on Defence Cooperation.
They also committed themselves to accelerate work in logistics cooperation with a view to further enhancing our military forces' capacity to work together.
We are also working together to implement the goal set at the 2+2 meeting to develop a proper legal framework to provide for the security of shared classified information.
This cooperation and growing interoperability between our defence forces not only enhances our own national security, but that of the Asia-Pacific region.
In this context of our shared commitment to international security, Australia welcomes Japan's decision, announced last week, to deploy two naval destroyers to conduct anti-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.
We also welcome Japan's recent decision to continue naval refueling activities in the Indian Ocean, in support of international operations in Afghanistan.
We are also increasingly focused on ways to assist Pakistan deal with the threat posed by Islamist extremists. Like Japan, we are a member of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan Group which will support Pakistan in addressing its internal challenges.
As I noted in Parliament on 23 February, following my visit to Pakistan,
"the acute problems in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border area have adverse implications for Afghanistan, where nearly 1,100 Australian troops are part of the UN-mandated international effort to stabilise that country.
"Australia, as a friend of democratic Pakistan, stands with the government of Pakistan in its fight against terrorism and extremism. Australia will assist Pakistan as it deals with this challenge."
Japan has made a very strong contribution to these efforts, particularly through its economic assistance along the Afghan-Pakistan border.
A more stable region…
It is important that we work to develop our bilateral ties. It is equally important, as I suggested earlier, that we use this platform to press for regional and global solutions.
One of the key pillars of the Government's foreign policy is our determination to enhance Australia's relations with the Asia-Pacific region. Central to this enhanced Australian regional engagement is our partnership with Japan.
We have common interests in maintaining a stable, prosperous and open Asia-Pacific. This mutuality of interest has been reflected in, for example, joint peacekeeping missions in East Timor and our shared approach to the international effort in Afghanistan.
Both our countries also have long and proud records of providing development assistance to different parts of the world, driven by the same conviction that this is work is both humanitarian as well as in our shared interests.
Japan makes a strong contribution to the development of the Pacific Island countries, both as a major aid donor and as a regional partner with Australia in support of good governance.
Japan and Australia are working together to promote stability and economic development in the Pacific Island countries. Together, for example, we can do much to assist the nation building and development efforts of countries like Solomon Islands and East Timor.
We are discussing with Japan and other members of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) ways in which Japan can become more directly involved in supporting these efforts.
In addition, Australia and Japan have a history of working together to develop and build the regional architecture which is fundamental to regional peace and prosperity.
Twenty years ago, Australian and Japanese diplomacy was instrumental in the emergence of APEC. We remain partners in APEC's ongoing work and we look forward to Japan's chairmanship in 2010.
We have also collaborated in the emergence and the subsequent work of vital regional bodies such as the ASEAN Regional Forum and the East Asia Summit.
It is our view, as articulated by the Prime Minister, that the time has come for regional countries to focus on, and to think carefully about how regional architecture in the Asia-Pacific should develop to best address economic and strategic challenges into the future.
We look forward to working with Japan to take forward our Asia Pacific Community initiative.
Just as Australia and Japan helped cement APEC leading regional role, so too we can help to shape emerging regional architecture to ensure it meets the needs of the region.
In parallel with these efforts, we are working with Japan to forestall regional and global security threats.
Our region still contains potential security flashpoints. Political miscalculation or adventurism could have dangerous consequences for Japan, Australia and the region as a whole.
That is why Australia strongly supports international efforts to encourage North Korea to denuclearise. We work closely with Japan, the United States, the Republic of Korea and others in support of the Six Party talks.
Our close cooperation with Japan on resolving the North Korean nuclear problem will continue. We deplore provocative North Korean actions like its current planned missile launch, and urge that this not proceed.
Australia also strongly supports Japan's call for a full accounting of the fate of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea.
Pyongyang's continuing unpredictable behaviour is a stark reminder of the dangers of nuclear proliferation. We and the international community are also deeply concerned by Iran's persistent flouting of its United Nations Security Council obligations to suspend enrichment of nuclear material.
We welcome the recent separate trilateral discussions between China, Japan and the Republic of Korea and hope these three countries forge closer links for the benefit of the region.
…and a safer and more prosperous world
Australia and Japan last year established the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament.
It is co-chaired by Ms Yoriko Kawaguchi, a former Japanese Environment Minister and Foreign Minister, and Mr Gareth Evans, a former Australian Foreign Minister.
By establishing the Commission, Australia and Japan are making a strong and timely contribution to the prospects for a successful Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in 2010.
It's an Australian-Japanese initiative which, as the international arms control community has acknowledged, will make a major contribution to international peace and security
Earlier this year, Japan assumed its non-permanent position on the United Nations Security Council.
Australia has long supported Japan's elevation to permanent membership of the Security Council.
The United Nations, however, needs reform to be more effective. The UN Security Council needs to better reflect the modern world and the emerging realities of global power and influence.
During our first year in office we have made it a priority to ensure that Australia plays a much more active multilateral role, including in the United Nations.
Together with Japan, we share a firm belief that multilateral efforts are the most effective means of tackling the many complex challenges our world faces.
The United Nations is a vital component of the international system, yet in many ways its structures reflect a world long past. Australia and Japan, no strangers to working with the UN, can help to drive the process of Security Council and other UN reform.
In seeking election to the Security Council as a non-permanent member for the 2013-14 term, we want to contribute to that reform. We will bring to that task a wealth of experience, including in peace-keeping, conflict prevention and peace-building.
It is a measure of the quality of our relationship that we have only one area of genuine, but serious difference, and that is whaling. As friends and partners we have an obligation to try to find a constructive solution through diplomacy, both bilaterally and through the International Whaling Commission.
A cleaner, greener world
Australia and Japan are committed to cooperating on climate change and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as Prime Ministers Rudd and Fukuda stated in June 2008.
Green technologies are an emerging area of cooperation.
In June last year, the Government announced that it would contribute funds from its Green Car Innovation Fund to help Toyota build the new Camry hybrid in Victoria.
In December, my colleague Martin Ferguson launched a new $206 million low-emission coal demonstration plant in Australia. This is the first project of its kind in the world, and will enable a power station's carbon dioxide emissions to be captured for storage.
Through the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, Japan and Australia are also collaborating on research into solar and biomass energy generation, ‘smart grids' and coal bed methane gas.
Australia is committed to reducing its greenhouse emissions. For instance, Australia is taking a leadership role in accelerating the global development and commercial deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies.
Last September, Prime Minister Rudd announced that up to AUD$100 million in funding per annum is available for the establishment of a new Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute (GCCSI).
Headquartered in Canberra, Australia, the Global Institute will help deliver the G8's goal of developing at least 20 fully integrated industrial-scale demonstration projects by acting as a catalyst for accelerating projects.
It will facilitate demonstration projects, and identify and support the necessary research, including regulatory frameworks. It will be a global 'go to' place for the coming together of researchers, industry consortia and government to invest in and develop at-scale CCS projects.
We are very pleased with Japan's strong support for the Global Institute, and we look forward to close, ongoing cooperation with Japan to achieve the goals of the Global Institute.
Conclusion
The Australia-Japan relationship is one of tremendous significance and closeness. It is a relationship with an impressive history of cooperation across the range of bilateral areas.
More importantly, it is a relationship still with a future full of potential for Australia and Japan to cooperate in meeting the challenges we face in a rapidly changing world.
I've outlined tonight the many avenues through which we can continue to build on the vision of those who first created the bilateral relationship, and work not only for our mutual benefit but for that of the world.
The times were tough when Sir John Crawford and Haruhiko Nishi worked together in the 1950s. The times are tough once more, albeit in different ways.
Like Crawford and Nishi would, we should commit ourselves to even closer collaboration on regional and global issues. We should set ourselves ambitious goals, confident in the knowledge that we have been able to rise to the challenge in the past.
Encouraged by the example of Crawford and Nishi, both Australia and Japan are committed to that task.