Transcript E&OE
6 July 2009
Joint Press Conference with Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anifah Aman
Subjects: Bilateral relationship, people smuggling, regional co-operation.
ANIFAH AMAN: [Indistinct] our inaugural Foreign Minister's Meeting. This is a manifestation of our close bilateral relations, I am pleased to re-affirm the long standing and practical relations to date.
And we have practically concluded our meeting today in a very, very cordial and friendly manner. And where we discuss now all range of issues covering bilateral regional and also multilateral issues. And we promised that there'll be more such meetings and not necessarily just from a - on a visit such as this, but we are both available on a phone call basis. And this is very, very encouraging, because in order to achieve more meaningful cooperation in that regards, I think we have to start [indistinct] both Foreign Ministers should be on an even keel and easy to communicate and converse. And at least we have achieved that today.
And we also reviewed bilateral cooperation in Malaysia and noted our close relationship in all areas of mutual interest, including such issues as education, trade and investment and also defence and law enforcement. And I am very pleased also with the progress agreed in the [indistinct] between Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and our Prime Minister Abdullah Bin Ahmad Badawi last year and in particular on the growing program on teaching at the Afghan teachers Malaysia and sister schools program understanding and the [indistinct] implementation of the works and holiday visit program.
And I also welcome more [indistinct] efforts from both Malaysia and Australia to combat people smuggling and trafficking. And I hope we'll continue regional cooperation to combat this form of serious crime.
I also took note of our strong bilateral defence cooperation and I hope that the proposed joint training of peace-keeping in the region could be undertaken soon. And also welcome the Minister's [indistinct] to expand education and also sport, we discussed sports. Both of us are very much avid sportsmen, we're very much interested in sports. So people can [indistinct] and whereby, you know, we can exchange and where I've always admired the sporting excellence of Australia [indistinct] assist us in helping with certain sports. And this has been welcomed greatly by the Honourable Minister. And also to strengthen our cooperation in diplomatic between our two countries.
And I'm also pleased to note there's strong trade relations between Malaysia and Australia and I'm confident that both countries would be able to conclude a Malaysia-Australia free trade agreement very soon.
And we have had discussion and exchange on a lot of other, as I said, regional, regional issues and also on ASEM. And we have supported the entry of Australia and Russia to ASEM and, therefore, we are looking forward and I wish to personally thank the Honourable Foreign Minister of Australia to come and visit Wisma Putra today, and hopefully as I - both promise - we promised to meet more often and this will not be the first visit and we'll visit each other and both - I'll be going to Australia and also the Honourable Minister to come to Malaysia as often as possible and where and when - when it is necessary to contact one another, we will do that.
And that's what we have achieved today in a very short period of time. I feel very comfortable that we can do a lot of things together.
Thank you.
STEPHEN SMITH: Well, Minister, thank you very much. Thank you for your very warm welcome and hospitality and also for your very kind remarks both during our bilateral meeting and also now.
It's my first official visit to Malaysia and I welcome that very much. It's not the first time we've spoken - we've spoken over the telephone - but it's the first time we've met. In my view it has been very productive, very warm, very positive and I very much look forward to a close personal working relationship with you into the future.
From a personal point of view, for me it's a return to the first place that I came to when I was much younger. When I was a university student the first overseas travel I went on was Perth to Kuala Lumpur and Kuala Lumpur to Penang, and then to Bangkok and Chang Mai and then back to Kuala Lumpur for the 1975 Hockey World Cup. So I have very fond memories of Malaysia.
But Australia's relationship with Malaysia is very strong, very warm and of long standing. Australia was one of the first countries to diplomatically recognise independent Malaya and our relations are warm and strong. Both our Prime Ministers and both the Foreign Minister and I believe that we can take it to an even better level.
And when Prime Minister Rudd met with former Prime Minister Abdullah in June of 2008, they agreed a plan of action which, as Foreign Ministers, we've been in the process of implementing. One of those is of course regular meetings between the two foreign ministers and I think you might see the odd foreign ministerial meeting in Sabah, in Perth, in Canberra and here as well.
But we are pursuing a range of very positive initiatives: we have a sister school arrangement between Australia and Malaysia and we've agreed to double the number of schools from 12 to 24.
We are both keenly interested in international peace and security and, as a consequence, we have a joint training operation for Afghan teachers, training jointly about 30 Afghan teachers and that is underway.
We also have very close educational links between Australia and Malaysia. Over 20,000 Malaysian students in Australia and some 15,000 Malaysian students who either, because of their study in Australian campuses of universities in Malaysia, or through twinning arrangements, another 15,000 Malaysian students who have access to an Australian university education. So some 35,000 students from Malaysia experiencing some aspect of Australian education. And that's a very good thing, good for people-to-people contacts between our two countries.
Under-appreciated, I think, are the very strong and longstanding defence arrangements that - defence and security arrangements - that Australia and Malaysia have, particularly through the Five Power [Defence] Arrangements and our presence at Butterworth.
That longstanding arrangement set the scene for us to cooperate very closely on international peace and security issues and, of course, one of the recent difficulties that our region is suffering from: human trafficking and people movement.
So we're working very closely on the people smuggling or the people trafficking front, and agreed to do that both bilaterally, but also through the so-called Bali Process, which is the regional organisation aimed at human trafficking and people smuggling and people movement issues... that we agreed today [to] work very closely both operationally and on a policy front, on those people smuggling issues.
We also worked very closely in the region, in the regional organisations, whether it's the ASEAN related forums, the ASEAN ministerial dialogue, the ASEAN regional forum, or the East Asia Summit, we work very closely. And in that context, we welcome very much the Australia-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement, which we signed up last year. But also very much look forward to pursuing the Australia-Malaysia free trade agreement negotiations. We think that is a very good thing for us to pursue.
Malaysia, of course, is Australia's third largest trading partner in ASEAN and our eleventh largest trading partner overall. So there is a significant economic trade and investment relationship between Australia and Malaysia, which we want to see taken to even higher levels.
On the regional cooperation front, we very much appreciate Malaysia's support in our entry into ASEM, the Asia-European Meeting, Asia-Europe Meeting, and we value that support and look very much forward to joining ASEM for the next summit in Brussels in 2010.
We're also, of course, members of the Commonwealth and in the context of the Commonwealth, we spoke briefly about the need for Fiji to return to democracy. And in the context of matters in our region, I welcome very much the ASEAN Foreign Minister's recent statements, so far as Myanmar moving to democracy and the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi was concerned.
We're also, of course, both committed multilateralists and we look forward to working closely together, not just in the regional forum, but also internationally through the United Nations.
So Minister, it's my very great pleasure to be here. I very much valued our meeting this morning. We look forward to lunch, but also we look forward to our two Prime Ministers meeting later in the day. And the fact that the four of us will get together, I think, underlines the strength of the relationship, but also in some respects, more importantly, underlines both our optimism that there's much more that we can do. We have a warm, strong and friendly relationship, but we think that we can take it to an even higher level, to the advantage of both Malaysia and Australia.
On the sporting front, I've indicated to the Minister that we think that in some areas of people-to-people movement - people-to-people contact, whether it's sport, whether it's film, whether it's higher education - we can look to signing up and negotiating some memorandum of understanding.
And on the sporting front, I've indicated to the minister that we'd like very much to offer to a Malaysian coach an opportunity for the Australian Sports Commission to have access to Australian coaching expertise. And I said to the minister if it's one of his hockey coaches that he wants to avail himself of that opportunity, then we're only too happy to oblige, particularly as the Malaysian hockey team will be playing in a tournament in Australia, in Adelaide and Canberra, in July and August.
So Minister, I'm very pleased to be here. I look forward to continuing our very good personal relations, as we advance both the interests of Malaysia and Australia, but also advance the interests of economic growth and peace and prosperity and security in our region and internationally.
Thanks very much.
ANIFAH AMAN: Thank you. I think we'll give the opportunity, Minister, with your permission, I think if any - any questions from the journalists, you're most welcome.
QUESTION: Your Excellency. I am from Malaysia media. One month ago, during the Shangri-La security dialogue, I met with your Chief of Defence Forces and we discussed a lot of questions regarding FPDA interest in South China Seas. What is the specific interest of Australian government in the Spratley Island issue?
STEPHEN SMITH: Well it's an issue where, of course, we observe the direct interest of other nation states and we look to that to be resolved by dialogue and consultation. In that respect there is, if you like, no direct action or activity from Australia's perspective, but we do look to the directly interested nation states, to seek to resolve any differences by consultation and dialogue.
QUESTION (Tom Allard): Question for Foreign Minister Smith and the Malaysian Foreign Minister might want to answer it as well. Did you ask - first, two parter. First, did you ask Malaysia for more help on people smuggling? And secondly, the US State Department put out a report last month effectively black-listing Malaysia for its people trafficking records, saying it doesn't make any minimal to no efforts to address the issue. Is that a sentiment that Australia shares?
STEPHEN SMITH: Well let me respond first and then I'm sure the Minister will also want to respond.
Firstly, so far as Australia and Malaysia is concerned, Australia is very pleased and very happy with the close cooperative working arrangement that we have on the serious issue of human trafficking and people movement. We know from all the evidence from the UNHCR and also from the number of displaced people from areas of conflict whether in the past, Iraq, or recently Afghanistan and Pakistan border area, and most recently, of course, the conflict in Sri Lanka, we know that these very significant peace and security issues are causing large numbers of people to move.
And our region has to respond to that and we have to work closely together, which is why we've agreed today to continue our close working relationship, but also to enhance those from an operational point of view, not just bilaterally, but also through the Bali Process, which was the regional organisation and institution which we rely upon to address these issues regionally.
From Australia's experience, we know that these issues can only be dealt with effectively on a regional basis. So from Australia's perspective, we are very happy with the close working relationship that we have. But even more importantly, we are very happy with the joint commitment to enhance that, both from a policy point of view, but also operational.
And I'm sure my friend and colleague, the Minister, would want to add to those remarks.
ANIFAH AMAN: I think something that we have touched [upon], although as I said this in this meeting [indistinct] this is one of the issues that we have put an emphasis on, that there is a need to solve this problem. And admittedly, I've said that in some forums that this is not just Malaysia's problem, this is a push-pull factor. You know, we have to look at the overall scenario, you know, of course, where the origins of these people, what problems that they're facing and how can we help them.
You know, and Malaysia also has a very long and porous coastline and, of course, by these people coming here they create some tensions and also social-economic problems and that's the last thing we want.
And I'm not really concerned about the report, that in being reduced to tier three - that is not my priority. My priority is to solve and if they're any problems as happening in the human trafficking, that is totally unacceptable. And the Prime Minister - and because of the Lugar report, has instructed all the relevant ministries and government agencies to study the report closely and to submit to him as soon as possible. And Malaysia will get nothing if we engage in human trafficking.
You know, it is all done, if they are all done by unscrupulous people then I think this one has to stop and this is why the honourable ministers, today - and this is why I'm very, very pleased that these are the issues both officially and also on a personal basis, both of us are very concerned about this and this is one of the issues that we want to put forward and work closely together, so that we can assist these people. And this is why, also, we touch on Myanmar to bring Myanmar back to the path of democracy and so that these people will not - nobody wants to leave their country if they can. You know, and we can feel secure and comfortable in their own country and to leave in - and all this kind of means and with all the dangers and uncertainties and other places in this world that I don't think anybody wants to do that.
I mean Malaysians, unless they have some other - you know - to progress themselves or to move forward, but other thing - I think most Malaysians would be very, very comfortable staying in the country, rather than going elsewhere. And by the same token, we feel that all the nationals of some countries do not want to leave if they have opportunities and something to look forward to.
And this is, therefore, that we are not just looking at how to stop this human trafficking here, but we must also look at the root cause of the problem, how we can assist them socially and economically, so that this problem will not return. And Malaysia is one of those unfortunate countries, because we are very nearby and it's always been - we've always been [indistinct] too. But nevertheless, nevertheless, we are very much concerned and we'll do everything possible and also with the cooperation of Australia and how to better solve the problem.
QUESTION: You talked about, Minister, operational enhancements on people smuggling. Can you give us any details on what that - or improved operational cooperation involves?
STEPHEN SMITH: Necessarily, because they're operational, I wouldn't go into any detail, other than to say when we're confronting an issue like human trafficking, or people smuggling, there are really two areas where states, nations, need to co-operate. One is, of course, at the policy level and the second is operational, whether that is through customs or border, or passport authorities, or whether it's through defence and security cooperation.
So I wouldn't default to the detail, but there are two levels where we are working closely at the policy level, reflected by a strong bilateral understanding and agreement. This is an issue we need to confront. But also a shared view that the causes of this issue can only be dealt with regionally and internationally.
Like the Foreign Minister, I share the view that we have an obligation to look at the causes of the so-called push factors and see how we can render assistance and that's why, for example, both Australia and Malaysia have jointly contributed in Afghanistan - in Australia's case, on the military front, but also on the civilian and capacity building front - and why we are both jointly engaged in the training of Afghan teachers, because to solve the problems in Afghanistan requires not just a military or enforcement action, but also civilian or capacity building contribution and also, at some stage, a political rapprochement or reconciliation.
But secondly, once you've got that policy cooperation, at the bilateral level and also regionally through the Bali Process, in the end, because you're dealing with criminals and human traffickers and people smugglers, it necessarily requires operational activities and we are working very closely on that front, and indeed, moving to enhance them.
QUESTION: My question is for Malaysian Minister. During the Shangri-La Dialogue, Prime Minister of Australia initiated the Asian Pacific Community concept. May I know what is Malaysia's view point?
ANIFAH AMAN: Well I think this afternoon, when the meetings of the two Prime Ministers, and also I think in [indistinct], Australia's Prime Minister will have the opportunity to explain what is the purpose in that. We most welcome all cooperation if it benefits the two countries, and of course all the people. And I think this is something that I said, for every cooperations, for every move of this nature, I think, the original objective, of course, is for the benefit and for the good, the well being of the people, and we most welcome all those efforts.
STEPHEN SMITH: Can I say, from Australia's point of view, of course, Australia is now, in terms of this relationship with Malaysia, dealing with a relatively new Prime Minister, a new government.
So we look very much forward to having detailed conversations with the new government about the Prime Minister's proposal for an Asian community - bearing in mind of course that when the Prime Minister launched the initiative, he made it quite clear that this was a piece of regional architecture that we were looking to, for the year 2020. So this is a long-term project. But the essential rationale behind the Prime Minister's initiative is this: when you look at the regional architecture in the Asia Pacific region - whether it's APEC, whether it's the East Asia Summit, the ASEAN Regional Forum - you can make the point that there's no one piece of regional architecture where all of the key nation states in the region are in the same room at the same time able to have a conversation both about the economy and peace and security matters. So, for example, India is not a member of APEC.
So in a century when economic, political, and strategic influence is moving to our region, moving to the Asia Pacific - the rise of China, the rise of India, the rise of the ASEAN economies and nations combined - we think it's important to have a conversation about the long-term nature of the regional architecture. And from Australia's perspective, we've made a contribution in the past, being very heavily involved in the conception and creation of APEC.
And we look forward to detailed conversations with the Malaysian Government about this long-term proposal.
MALE SPEAKER: One last question please...
QUESTION: On this issue of human trafficking, many of those people who are involved, you know, they came to Malaysia with a valid traveller's visa. So what is Malaysia now going to do in terms of that, to crack down on all those cases and are we going to start a patrol at the coastlines, and all that.
ANIFAH AMAN: Well as I said earlier, as I said, we are first and foremost [indistinct] very very concerned about this human trafficking. For those people that come in with a valid visa, and there are admittedly some people come here on the pretext of, you know, trying to further their education, and getting student visa, and some coming in as a tourist visa. And this, again, is a problem of enforcement, because of course we can't deny them entry. If they want to come as a tourist we encourage them, tourism. And we also encourage them, on education. And as the honourable minister was saying, there are about 35,000 students in Australia. So any citizens of the world who want to come here to further their education, they're most welcome.
But admittedly, this system, there are always people who intend to abuse the system; and therefore, Malaysia will continue their efforts in enforcement, and we have to be very very vigilant. And of course, there are continuous efforts that we will do whatever we can to solve this problem - because there are genuine people who want to come in and visit Malaysia, and there are people who want to come and further their education here, and there are people who come here to do their business, and their cooperations within the - between the people to people and also private sectors. And so for us, business is a concern.
So of course, this is a problem. But nevertheless, we are making every effort to solve the problem.
And of course, we are the [indistinct] iIllegally they come in. And that, of course, it is very difficult, because as I told you earlier, Malaysia has a very long coastal line, very porous. And this is where we need the assistance of other countries, not only to provide, as both of us agree, the socio-economic and the well-being of people that comes from the particular country, but also assistance of some countries in terms of maybe funding another means or equipment, so that we can monitor and - reduce or minimise - the in-coming of these illegal people that come through all the coast line or wherever they are.
QUESTION: And Datuk [Anifah], on North Korea and a US envoy on North Korea is visiting KL, reportedly to check whether Malaysian banks are funnelling North Korean funds. Do you have any comment on this?
ANIFAH AMAN: Yes, they're most welcome. I mean, the - Malaysia does not condone that kind of happenings in Malaysia, and we have introduced the anti-money laundering act, and the terrorism act in Parliament. Now this is the cooperation that we're talking about, and information is going to be shared between the countries.
Now if Malaysia has information, for example, in Australia, then we would follow it, get information for the authorities, rather than authorities in Australia to take actions; and by the same token, if America has any information that is available to them, then I think they should give us that information so that we can act upon it.
But we're not going to act for every accusation that is being levelled at us, because that's virtually impossible. But if they have evidence, then we'll be most willing to work together to sort through it, this kind of problem.
Okay. So thank you very much for your presence today.
[Ends]
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