U.S. – Australia Relations

Address by the Hon John Howard MP at Lunch Hosted by Georgetown University Washington DC

Washington, D.C. — 13 July 1999

13 July 1999

Father O'Donovan, Mr Gallucci, Mr Teare, ladies and gentlemen.

It's a great pleasure to be here today as a guest of Georgetown University and of the Centre for Australian and New Zealand Studies.

Together with many other countries, Australia and the United States share the benefits of the great Jesuit contribution to secondary and higher education. I can acknowledge this contribution with some authority. No fewer than five of my ministry are Jesuit trained - as is my cabinet secretary, who also happens to be Georgetown trained.

They come from a Jesuit tradition which instils vision, energy, discipline and a strong moral sense. This university is an outstanding example of that tradition, preparing generations of Americans for leadership in facing the intellectual and moral challenges of their day.

Centre for Australian and New Zealand Studies

Georgetown University is recognised internationally as a centre of learning, and one of the leading institutions for the study of international relations. The Walsh School of Foreign Service numbers among its alumni many students from the Asia Pacific, including Australia. It is the largest school of international relations in the world.

Georgetown is therefore an excellent location for the Centre for Australian and New Zealand Studies. And I am particularly pleased that the Australian government has been able to provide an endowment of A$5 million to help secure the Centre's future.

Despite the long association between our two countries, Australia is still not well known to many Americans. This Centre will promote in your nation's capital an understanding of our history, our society, our culture, our values and the positive role we seek to play internationally.

Through this Centre we hope that many more Americans will learn more about the bonds between Australia and the United States.

We are two of very few countries which have been democracies throughout their history. We are both immigrant nations. We are both societies that have forged a distinctive national culture from diverse influences.

Ours is much more than a relationship built by governments. It is a partnership of people, ideas and ideals. We both grapple with a similar domestic agenda. How to ensure that the benefits of economic growth and globalisation are spread more evenly; gun control; health care; and the scourge of drugs are prominent social issues for us both.

Recent developments in both Australia and the United States provide a basis for making this partnership stronger than ever.

You are enjoying the longest period of sustained growth since the Second World War. Your record of employment creation is the envy of the world. As a friend, we are genuinely pleased at your success.

On our side, Australia's economy is stronger than at any time in the past three decades. Our GDP grew five per cent in 1998 - even faster than the US economy. Reforms since the 1980s, and especially in the past three years, have made our economy more flexible and competitive than it has ever been.

Australia has a stronger sense of its international role - the unique intersection it occupies as a country next to Asia, with a strong European heritage and strong links with the United States.

We have clear economic and social policy directions. Our business people and our young people are more confident. Our community is more optimistic.

All this strengthens our capacity to contribute internationally.

Australia's alliance with the United States

Some say that with the end of the cold war, the days of alliances are numbered. On the contrary, our perspective is that ANZUS, the Australia-US alliance, has become more valuable as East Asia goes through a period of enormous change.

The scale of US economic and strategic interests in Asia has increased rather than diminished. The reasons for continued US engagement are compelling.

Australia - along with others in our region - regards your strategic engagement as vital for stability in Asia. We are committed to providing the political and practical support to help make that possible, including through ANZUS.

Signed nearly fifty years ago, ANZUS continues to serve as an effective deterrent against attack on Australia and makes an important contribution to stability in our region.

Its credibility is strong - first because we share the same values, but also because our joint commitment to act militarily is backed by a capability and preparedness to do so if necessary. Australia is also one of the United States's closest intelligence partners.

Australia and the United States see most strategic issues in similar terms. We have a common stake in the future prosperity and stability of the Asia-Pacific region.

Naturally, however, living on the other side of the Pacific Australia has its own perspectives on some issues. This is one of the benefits we bring to our association. And I would like to take the opportunity today to give my views on two issues of importance to our region's future.

Indonesia

The first is Indonesia.

Indonesia has embarked on a momentous transformation of its political and economic structures. It deserves our sympathy and support in this great undertaking. The recent democratic elections and President Habibie's decision to give East Timor a choice about its future political status were unimaginable only two or three years ago.

Whatever form the future government of Indonesia takes as a result of the recent elections, for these acts alone President Habibie deserves recognition.

The elections last month were an historic event in the world's fourth most populous country. Election observers were genuinely impressed by the enthusiasm of those voting and the election's peaceful conduct. The Indonesian army also played a very positive role in the conduct of the elections.

It is obvious that, as a huge neighbour, Indonesia is important to Australia. Indonesia matters also to the United States.

Indonesia is the largest Islamic nation in the world. It occupies a strategic position geographically. Its success or failure will have a large bearing on the future of Southeast Asia and the future balance of power in East Asia.

The United States and Australia therefore share an interest in helping Indonesia safely through this transition. Our help can make a substantial difference to the prospects of Indonesia's success.

The forthcoming ballot on the future status of East Timor offers a means of finally achieving a peaceful settlement there. This would greatly help Indonesia get on with its huge challenges, and remove an issue of contention in Indonesia's relations with the international community.

The current situation in East Timor, however, is of deep concern.

Indonesia's security forces so far have failed to provide the level of security needed for a fair ballot.

Our message to the Indonesian government is very clear. The world expects that its armed forces will keep faith with Indonesia's commitment to allow a vote free of violence. The intimidatory behaviour of the militias in particular must be stopped.

The answers on East Timor are not straight forward. There are longstanding divisions within the East Timorese community. There are rival political allegiances. Resentments nurtured within East Timor by years of fighting are deeply held.

Whatever the outcome of the UN ballot some groups will contest it. A neat and quick solution is unlikely. But the outside world cannot simply impose one.

East Timorese will have to come to terms with each other and take responsibility for their future - whether the vote is for autonomy as a province within Indonesia or whether the Indonesian parliament grants East Timor its independence.

China

The second issue I want to address is the relationship with China.

Working out how to engage with China is perhaps the most important strategic issue for us in the Asia-Pacific. In particular, the relationship between the United States and China is a key to stability in the region.

China is changing fast. Its society and economy are opening up in beneficial ways. Nevertheless there will continue to be major differences between our societies and political structures.

We must be realistic in our expectations - and in the expectations that we foster within our communities and amongst our political representatives.

We need to develop a stable, consistent and predictable policy framework that both meets our national interests and can attract the enduring support of our electorates. Sudden swings in rhetoric and atmosphere on either side do not serve our interests.

This is the approach that I have sought to achieve in our own relationship with China. Australia has worked to build a relationship which maximises our mutual economic interests; promotes cooperation on the many issues of common concern; protects our strategic interests; and is direct about the differences in values, while managing them as productively as possible.

As a result, Australia has a more productive, realistic and sustainable relationship with China than at any time since the resumption of diplomatic relations in the seventies.

Engagement with China is vital. China's population is vast. Its economy offers attractive business opportunities. Its economic growth and modernisation afford it greater influence.

Moreover, the aspirations of China and its people for greater prosperity and social change are better supported by active international involvement.

China must have a place in international institutions and a say in setting the rules it is expected to abide by. But China's participation must also be on a basis that will strengthen those institutions.

China's membership of the WTO is necessary to strengthen the international trading system. Its membership will bring great benefits both for China and the rest of the world. So I warmly welcome President Clinton's commitment to reaching early agreement on China's accession.

There are two particular areas in which I believe closer engagement with China is in our interests.

First, we must engage China more directly on the future security of our region. China and its neighbours need to understand better each other's security concerns.

Not surprisingly, China seeks for itself greater power and influence in the world. China's regional neighbours for their part want to be reassured that their interests will be respected.

Direct discussions between China and the United States on how to deal with the issues involved, including nuclear issues, are increasingly necessary.

A second area in which we must work with China more actively than we have before is that of governance and what is sometimes called civil society.

Within China, modernisation is creating a demand for new institutions, social welfare structures, and a more predictable legal framework.

Change in China is having an increasing impact also on the outside world - often in areas which are very sensitive for our communities. We have, for example, a growing interest in China's management of issues such as drugs, organised crime and illegal immigration. We must cooperate more closely with China on them.

In my view, Australia and the United States are likely to make the best progress in these areas if we seek to engage with China in solving problems rather than stay at a distance and lecture from the sidelines.

Australia, for its part, has aid programmes supporting public sector reform in the areas of finance, social welfare legislation, national audit and regulation of the construction industry. We have a human rights technical assistance programme. We are cooperating more effectively with China in combatting illegal immigration.

A new global round

Finally, I would like to say something about the importance of US leadership in achieving a successful global round of trade negotiations.

Around the world, protectionist pressures are re-emerging with new vigour. The economic and political consequences if protectionism takes hold should cause us some alarm.

Signs of increasing protectionism in the United States are deeply worrying. If the United States introduces trade restrictions, it is even more difficult to argue that others should open up their markets.

This is one of the reasons why Australia has reacted so angrily to the recent US decision to restrict imports of Australian lamb. This lamb receives no subsidy from the Australian government. Through its own efforts, the Australian industry built up a market that was declining in the United States.

Through its leadership of the Cairns Group of agricultural free traders, Australia has been in the forefront of an international campaign to open up the world's agricultural markets. This campaign has now been made harder. It is difficult to believe that agriculture ministries in countries like Japan and South Korea and in Europe will not raise the US decision when we go to argue the cause of open agricultural markets with them.

Alan Greenspan, a distinguished advocate of US leadership on trade liberalisation, has noted that administrative protectionism imposed under the label of 'fair trade' is often just a guise for inhibiting competition.

Yet, US and Australian experience shows that open economies and open markets have made us more competitive and that this has speeded up growth, created new jobs and improved living standards.

Calls to protect particular sectors facing competition are understandable. But in the end protection does not work. Governments should communicate more effectively why this is the case.

As a political leader I recognise that these are not easy issues. Calls for the protection of domestic industries and sectors cannot simply be answered with text-book economics. We must recognise that they reflect the real anguish of people facing hard times.

Governments and politicians have an obligation to help people in declining sectors adjust. But we also have a responsibility to future generations to establish the foundations for a strong economy that can compete in the global environment.

Conclusion

Let me conclude with this observation.

For most of this century, the United States has been indispensable to the world both in peace and war. Through two world wars and a long cold war, your military strength has meant the difference between victory and defeat. For most of this period, your economy has been the driving force for global growth and rising living standards.

You enter the next century as the biggest economy, the strongest military power and the primary source of innovation in the industries of the future - from information technology to aerospace.

The demands on you to lead are therefore no less than they ever were.

It is to the credit of this university that it has helped sustain America's commitment to exercising international leadership through the emphasis it has given to the study of international relations.

Whether the issue is trade liberalisation, the reform of the international financial system, the strategic stability of the Asia Pacific or the defence of human rights and dignity, the achievement of our shared objectives depends greatly on the willingness of the United States to take the lead.

We urge you to continue exercising that leadership. You will continue to find in Australia a strong ally.

Original document from www.pm.gov.au.

Last update Tuesday, 20 November 2007