E&OE
28 November 2008, Leeds, UK, following the second AUKMIN dialogue
Joint Press conference with Minister for Defence, Joel Fitzgibbon, UK Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, and UK Defence Secretary, John Hutton
DAVID MILIBAND: Welcome everyone to the press conference at the conclusion of our AUKMIN Ministerial meeting. I am delighted to welcome especially my colleague, Stephen Smith, the Australian Foreign Minister, on my left, and Joel Fitzgibbon, the Australian Defence Minister on my right, and of course John Hutton, the UK Defence Secretary.
This engagement between the UK and Australian AUS and Australian colleagues is I think a symbol of the closeness of the relationship that exists between our countries. There aren't many countries that have this sort of intensive dialogue and I am very pleased today to say that we have covered a really remarkable range of topics and found a remarkable degree of unanimity between us. Our governments are joined by a set of very strong shared values. We see, although
we look at the world from different ends of the planet, we see a planet of shared risks and we see a very strong and urgent need to renew the multilateral order, and that is what both of our governments are committed to in the economic sphere, and in the sphere of security, and also in the environmental sphere where both of our governments have very strong commitments.
We have discussed today regional issues, both European and Asia- Pacific, we have discussed global issues, including terrorism, and obviously we spent time talking about the latest situation in Mumbai.
We have also discussed our shared commitments. Both of our countries are very strongly represented in Afghanistan, we both have large numbers of troops at risk there, and we have talked about the need both for the international community to work very strongly together but also to forge a very strong partnership with the Afghan government. Those are issues I think on which we found a very strong degree of common cause.
We have also talked about the prospects for 2009 and some of the major issues that might be addressed then in the context of the new American administration which will bring a new energy to these issues.
I am going to let Stephen Smith say a few words from the Australian side, and then I am very happy to take questions and comments.
STEPHEN SMITH: Well thanks very much David, to you and to John, thanks very much for the invitation to do the AUKMIN meeting in the United Kingdom and in Leeds. It has been a very productive session today and as David has said we have traversed all of the regional and international issues of joint interest and concern to us.
I think one of the things which is quite striking about our discussions is the absolute like-mindedness of our approach. I think that reflects a couple of hundred years of contact and our very close historical relationship. But I think under-appreciated often is the strength of the security, and the strategic, and defence cooperation arrangements that we have, and that has been reflected by the meeting and our deliberations today.
David has gone through a range of the serious issues that we have referred to, Afghanistan and Pakistan obviously, the situation in Mumbai in the last 24 - 48 hours, also some of the non-proliferation and disarmament challenges that confront the international community in the forthcoming period, Iran and North Korea in particular. There are also aspects of both our regions, Europe and the north and the Asia Pacific and the south.
So it has been a very productive session that underlines the way in which we work very closely together, not just bilaterally but also in multilateral forums and there is very clearly a shared commitment that multilateralism is the way to address very many of the difficult issues the international community faces, whether it is peace and security, terrorism, climate change, the global financial crisis.
They are all underscored and they need to be acting together and show the futility of nations trying to act by themselves or act apart.
So John, David, thanks very much for your hospitality and I think we are open to questions.
REPORTER: Foreign Secretary, can we ask you to address the situation in Mumbai for us and give us an idea of what you are hearing from the police teams that we have got on the ground there, what support you are proposing to offer the Indian authorities, and whether or not you could shed any more light on the suggestions that some of those who perpetrated these attacks were British born?
MILIBAND: Well obviously the reports that we're getting are primarily from our High Commissioner and his staff who've established a special command centre in Mumbai at the British Council library there. But there are reports that everyone can see on their TV screens. This is a deadly attack that is being responded to by the Indian authorities, it's also a uniquely comple x operation that they've got underway and we obviously don't want to get in the way of what Indian authorities are doing.
I think it's very important that we emphasise the focus that we've all got, and I'm sure this is true for our Australian colleagues as well as for us, on helping our own nationals, identifying them, linking them up, making sure they're getting the proper medical attention and getting out of the country as, as appropriate.
I think that any role for a Police team is something for the future, at the moment the, for obvious reason the focus of the Indian authorities is on ending the various sieges that are under way and on bringing to safety those who are still alive.
I think there'll then be a time for follow up, for interrogating those who, perpetrators who are still alive and making sure that we understand the roots of this. I think it's significant that there have been very strong commitments from the Indian and from the Pakistani side to continue to work together on these issues and we obviously welcome that but at this stage it's too early to start speculating any further.
SMITH: For the Australian media here just firstly echo those, those remarks. In the course of the day I've obviously been in contact again with our own High Commissioner and I can confirm again that we've got one Australian casualty. A second Australian we are desperately and gravely worried of a, of a second casualty, the family have publicly said in Australia that they believe the, their family member is dead and we share that concern but we can't confirm at this point in time.
A number of number of Australians who, overnight, were either registered with us or who we had their names made available to us in, in, in India we have accounted for them but there remain in our view, there remains in our view the prospect or the possibi lity that Australians continue to be unaccounted for and we can't rule out any further Australian victims so we have to patiently wait for the painstaking process of, of identification of, of victims.
Like David we, we have left these matters to the Indian Authorities, we're entirely satisfied with the work they've done. We have offered some Australian Federal Police forensic assistance which is a standing, a standing offer and we, as David has indicated so far as UK nationals are concerned, we are providing every assistance to Australian nationals to return them to Australia and provide both medical and counselling and other assistance as appropriate.
REPORTER: Australia isn't a NATO member but you've spoken about the need for NATO members, NATO allies to, to do more. The Australian Prime Minister has ruled out sending more troops, what more do you think Australia could offer in Afghanistan?
MILIBAND: Well I'm not, certainly not going to limit my applause for the commitment to those to only to NATO members, obviously the Australian commitment's very significant. Nor am I going to give lectures to other countries about the way they should contribute especially countries like Australia that are making such a signal contribution already.
I think that the significance of our discussions today is firstly the analysis that we've shared about this being an Afghan Pakistan problem that needs to be looked at together. Secondly the shared determination to join civilian and military effort which I think is a very significant part both of the Australian effort and of our commitment.
Thirdly our determination to work with the Obama Administration which is developing its own plans for not just a greater military commitment but for a greater civilian and aid commitment, and we're obviously determined to do that together.
I think that today of all days wh en people of all religions are worried about their relatives and their friends who have been caught up in this Mumbai tragedy is a day to recognise that the terrorism that we face and which had an incubator in Afghanistan in the 1990s is a threat to everyone and that's why we're there. And I think that it's really important that as we move forward in to 2009 we take forward those aspects that are working, I think we'll all agree that the Afghan National Army is a, one of the achievements of the new Afghan state, and we tackle those areas that remain problematic, for example the Afghan Police Force. And there's plenty for, there's plenty for everyone to do.
JOEL FITZGIBBON: No I agree, agree wholeheartedly and in Australia we think, we believe we're making a very, very substantial contribution, we are the largest non NATO contributor and the ninth or tenth largest contributor overall. And, of cou rse, we join with like minded nations in calling upon some, what I would describe as under committed, countries to do more. Obviously better progress in Afghanistan will only come with greater troop numbers, it's a very important part of a very complex formula and we'll continue to call upon them to do so.
It's obvious now that the United States of America will do substantially more in terms of troop numbers and it would be a great shame if there wasn't further burden sharing to ensure that the US wasn't even further making a disproportionate contribution.
MILIBAND: Yes, sir?
REPORTER: Which countries are not, are under contributing, which NATO countries would you like to identify that could do a lot better? And are you and is, are Britain and Australian troops being disproportionately asked to shoulder the burden because of recalcitrance on some European NATO countries part?
MILIBAND: Well I haven't used the word recalcitrance and the word under contribution is sometimes applied to countries which are actually increasing their troop numbers. For example, I mean John Hutton may want to come in on this, but Germany, France both increasing their troop numbers at the moment in a significant way.
I think the point that we're all making is that we all want to make a fair contribution and bear our fair share of the burden and different countries have got different levels of expertise in different areas. And the 'comprehensive approach' quote unquote, which both of our Governments are committed to and which the Afghan and Pakistani Governments are committed to, is an approach which requires economic, political and security aspects and that's what we're committed to taking forward.
I think it's also significant that you've got Afghan and Pakistani Governments that want to work together, remember until the new civilian Government came in in Islamabad there was no cooperation at all across the Afghan Pakistan border, that's a significant step that we need I think to build on.
I think in terms of upping our game, which is may be the sense amongst the international community, it's about the way we coordinate which is as important as, or as significant as well as the number of, the numbers that you have there. And I think coordination is something where the UN and others have got an important role, it's something I know that the joining of the operation Enduring Freedom and the ISAF missions under the command of General McKiernan is intended to address, and those coordination issues are important.
JOHN HUTTON: Well I, I'd only just add one thing to that. That obviously the, the precise level of armed forces that are deployed on the ground in Afghanistan is a, is ultimately in respect of all of our countries a matter of advice that we take from our respective militar y command authorities.
It's important not to lose sight of the fact there are over twenty thousand European combat forces in Afghanistan today, that's a very significant deployment. It's a sign of solidarity first and foremost amongst the NATO members that recognises the significance of the military mission in Afghanistan not just in defending our own homeland security from the risk of exported international terrorism. And again as everyone has said today the, the tragedy, the crime committed in Mumbai is a constant reminder, should be to all of us, of the danger that we actually, we face, it's still there it hasn't gone away. I know that people would like to air brush is out but it's still there.
[Ends]
Media Inquiries: Foreign Minister's office (02) 6277 7500