Interview on ABC Lateline

Foreign Minister Stephen Smith says Australia will continue to press Burma to get aid into the country in the wake of Cyclone Nargis.

LEIGH SALES, PRESENTER: And earlier Australia's Foreign Minister Stephen Smith joined me from Tokyo.

Minister, if we could start with Burma. When you promised the $3 million in aid, we didn't know the full extent of the catastrophe that we're now looking at. Given the drastically rising death toll and the extent of the suffering, are you looking at boosting the Australian level of aid?

STEPHEN SMITH, FOREIGN MINISTER: Well, I made clear at the time that in addition to the $3 million that we gave very urgently, that we were also looking at what we might be able to do in the longer term.

Now that it's quite clear that we're dealing here with a tragedy on a massive scale, we are giving consideration to what more, if anything, we can do including technical assistance and other expertise. So, yes, we are giving that consideration, but in some respects, we want to just carefully examine what might be the best further contribution we can make and that might just take a bit more time.

In the first instance and now, I think the key thing is getting the assistance that's been pledged in there and in there quickly and frankly, for that, I think we need a change of attitude and a change of approach by the Burmese regime.

SALES: How do we get that?

SMITH: Well, we've got to put international pressure on them. For example, I'm in Tokyo now; I spoke to my Japanese counterpart today and indicated that Australia's view was the most important thing the international community could do was to put pressure on the regime to understand and accept that we're dealing here with a tragedy.

We're dealing here with trying to save lives. And, they simply had to accept the helping hand that the international community was offering to them. And, Japan, like any number of countries, indicated that, like other countries, they'd been giving the same advice to Burma. So we just hope that they open up and accept the technical and other assistance that the international community, through the relevant agencies, who are there ready, willing and able to deliver.

SALES: The French have taken it a step further than that and say that Burma should be forced to accept international assistance. Will Australia back mandated international action in Burma, if we continue to see this sort of suffering continuing unabated?

SMITH: Well, I think we're a long way from that. I think what we can't afford to run the risk of is the regime becoming even more insular. And so I think in the first instance, it's got to be argument, diplomatic argument. There are some nation states who continue to have good dialogue with the regime. I think we simply have to say this is now a tragedy which is clearly beyond the scale of any one individual nation state to deal with.

The international community has made a quick emergency response. Australia has been one of the first countries to do that. But now, through the UN agencies and through the NGOs, including Australia's, we've got to get the technical expertise on the ground. There are, in the agencies, the relevant expertise and experience which have dealt with this type of tragic situation before.

I think we've just got to keep effectively jawboning and getting the regime to appreciate this is not about openness in terms of the method of operation of government. It's about saving people's lives and about trying to avert, you know, a tragedy of human loss on a massive scale.

SALES: But Minister, some of the things you’re talking about there like diplomatic argument are slow and they take time and right now, there are people without clean water, without shelter, there is the risk of massive disease outbreak. Something has to be done almost yesterday, really, to be able to get on top of this situation.

SMITH: Which is why we're urging the regime and we're urging like-minded countries to apply the same pressure. The point I'm making is that ...

SALES: But why do you say then that we're so far away from having some sort of international mandated action to just go in there and deal with the problem?

SMITH: Well, because we've seen in the past how difficult it is to get authorised mandated action through the multilateral forums. I think the key thing here is to keep on saying to the regime, "You have now been confronted with a human tragedy on a massive scale. You simply can't deal with that by yourself. This is not about your method of operation as a Government. This is about trying to give a helping hand to you and more importantly to the Burmese people and you should be sensible enough to accept it."

And that's the urgings that we're giving publicly but also privately behind the scenes. Speaking to those countries who remain in a good position to at least seek to influence the regime. I think for the present, that's the better course of conduct. As well, of course, we've got the UN Secretary General himself making that point. Our understanding is that he's made it personally to the regime.

So, there's lots of international pressure applied and I think, in some respects, notions of mandated action in the current circumstances can actually be counterproductive. And Australia is being ...

SALES: Given the urgency of the problem, though, is there a deadline?

SMITH: Well, in some respects, as you say, the deadline's yesterday. As each new file footage comes in, as each day passes, as the communications problems are slowly overcome, we come to appreciate the ever growing tragedy here.

So, Australia has been, in terms of its relationship and attitude to Burma, at the forefront of countries who have taken a very, very tough line with the regime.

But we're saying now, "That's not the important thing. The important thing now is getting on-the-ground technical assistance and humanitarian assistance to men, women and children who are literally dying and will have an even greater tragedy unless that assistance gets in there very quickly."

SALES: Alright Minister, you're in Tokyo, so let's turn to Japan. Did Japan's Foreign Minister raise whaling with you today and what did he say?

SMITH: Well, of course we had a conversation about whaling. We traversed the array of subjects that are important to a fundamental economic and security and strategic partnership we have with Japan.

On whaling, we know that we have a strong disagreement, but we both agreed that we've really got to try and make efforts here to try and find a diplomatic solution. We've got a strong view firmly held that the Japanese should cease whaling in the great southern oceans. The Japanese Government has got a strong view which has obviously counter to that. But what we did agree is that both through our bilateral means and through multilateral forum in particular, the International Whaling Commission that we would use our best endeavours to try and come to a diplomatic solution.

Now obviously, we're a very long way away from that, but I very much believe that it's well worth putting the shoulder to the wheel to try and effect that and that's what we'll be doing.

SALES: OK, if you're looking for a diplomatic solution, is Australia prepared to accept any level of whaling in the southern ocean?

SMITH: No. Our start and end point is that we believe very strongly and it's a very firmly held view of the Australian people that the Japanese should cease whaling in the Great Southern Ocean.

SALES: Well, how will you be able to find a diplomatic solution, then, given that there's no compromise position really? If that's our stated position and we're not changing on it, how could there be a solution?

SMITH: Well, I suppose, the alternative is to do nothing and there'll be no solution at all.

What we've agreed is that yes, there are strong views firmly held; yes, Australia's starting point is that we want the Japanese to cease whaling in the great southern oceans. We've agreed that through diplomatic measures we'll at least make the effort, we'll at least try and see whether there is an agreement that we can come to. For example ...

SALES: So, what would be an example of a possible diplomatic solution?

SMITH: Well, we will make the diplomatic efforts bilaterally.

One of the things that we agreed upon in the course of our conversations, that as part of the G8 meeting here in Japan in June-July that Australia, the United States and Japan will have a trilateral strategic discussion at ministerial level. So, I'm going to be back here in the very near future. So, obviously, we'll have another go when I'm back here as part of that exercise.

But also in June we have the International Whaling Commission and in the run up meetings held in the last month or so, the Australian delegation, the Japanese delegations actually sat down and tried to have some productive and constructive conversations. And I've indicated to my Japanese counterpart, Foreign Minister Komura that I'm very happy for the Australian delegation to sit down with the Japanese delegation as part of the forthcoming IWC meeting. So, we think the effort's worth making.

But if I can also make this point: whaling is just one aspect of a very long term, enduring, fundamental relationship and some of the things we discussed today - the trilateral strategic dialogue, also the so called "two plus two" meetings, meetings of Australia's Foreign Affairs and Defence Ministers with the Japanese counterparts - we've agreed that we'll conduct one of those before the end of the year.

These are really very much important trappings of that relationship. And I've made the point before and it remains valid: the strength of our relationship is the thing which enables us to have such a strong disagreement on the whaling issue. But it's also the strength of the relationship which enables us to say we're going to have a go in a diplomatic sense of trying to see whether there is a solution.

SALES: On Kevin Rudd's first major trip overseas as Prime Minister, China was the only Asian nation he visited. Isn't the only possible interpretation of that for other nations in Asia that China is the Rudd Government's top priority?

SMITH: Well, no, the Prime Minister always made it clear that he'd be going to Japan on two occasions this year. One in conjunction with the G8 meeting and my understanding is it's the first time an Australian Prime Minister has been associated with a G8 meeting and we were very, very pleased and grateful that the Japanese Prime Minister invited Mr Rudd to attend in that capacity. And a separate meeting which will occur in the next few weeks in the middle of June.

In the meantime, there've been a half a dozen ministerial visits to Japan which have reflected and underlined the strength of the partnership between Australia and Japan. It's also actually possible, and I was in Korea earlier in the week and the Korean Foreign Minister made exactly the same point. It's also actually possible to have a good relationship with one nation which doesn't have to be at the expense of another. So you can actually have a good economic relationship with China ...

SALES: Yes, that's correct. But nonetheless, there is a perception, though, in Asia ...

SMITH: ... but not see that suffer so far as a relationship with Japan is concerned, or a relationship with Korea is concerned, or a relationship with the United States is concerned. It's not a zero sum game here. It can actually be win-win, it can be plus all round.

SALES: Minister, before you go, if we can just briefly touch on Fiji. What was the content of the threat against the Australian high commissioner and have you sought safety guarantees for Australian officials in Fiji from Fiji's military rulers?

SMITH: Well, I've seen a copy of the actual threat and it was a violent and vicious threat and you could effectively read into it a death threat. And immediately that was received, our Commissioner and the High Commission in Fiji reported it to the police authorities in Fiji. We were very pleased that quickly the police in Fiji started an investigation.

It's been reported to the Fiji interim Government at ministerial level and in the meantime we have taken a range of enhanced security measures, because uppermost in our mind is the safety and well being of our High Commissioner and the people in the high commission in Suva. So, we've certainly registered concern with the relevant authorities, the police authorities in Fiji and also made the Government aware at ministerial level.

But don't be any doubt that we are absolutely closely monitoring this situation. We will leave no stone unturned to make sure of the safety and welfare of our diplomats overseas and anyone who thinks that a threat like this will change the conduct or behaviour or policy of the Australian Government is well and truly mistaken.

SALES: Given the recent context of Australian journalists being expelled from Fiji and the Australian Government's outspokenness about that and also its outspokenness about the illegal Bainimarama administration, are you concerned this threat against the Australian high commissioner might have a political link?

SMITH: Well, the threat's anonymous and the police are investigating it. We hope that's a successful investigation. So, I can't shed any light on that.

The Australian Government's policy approach to Fiji is well known. We want the interim Fiji Government to faithfully meet the undertaking that it gave to the Pacific Island Leaders' Forum in Tonga in 2007 to hold an election by the end of March 2009.

We're very sceptical that they're moving in that direction and we continue to place pressure both in a national sense and through the Pacific Island Forum to achieve that objective.

Anyone who thinks that an anonymous threat to our High Commissioner will cause us to deviate from that policy position is just mistaken. It won't impact on Australian policy. Nor will it impact on the very professional way in which our High Commissioner and the mission in Fiji go about their job.

SALES: Minister, thank you very much for making time in your schedule to talk to Lateline. We'll let you go.

SMITH: Thanks very much. Thank you.

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