PM Lee Hsien Loong at the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit Joint Press Conference with Australian PM Malcolm Turnbull

PM Lee Hsien Loong's remarks at the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit Joint Press Conference with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on 18 March 2018. PM Lee was on an Official Visit to Sydney, Australia.

(Source: PMO ↗ (opens in new tab)) 

Prime Minister Turnbull, ladies and gentlemen, I would like, on behalf of all my ASEAN colleagues, to thank Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove and Prime Minister Turnbull for the hospitality over these last two days.

This Special Summit reflects the long-standing and multi-faceted Strategic Partnership between ASEAN and Australia. Australia was ASEAN’s first Dialogue Partner and it has been an active and steadfast contributor to an open and inclusive regional security and economic architecture.

These two days at the Special Summit have been fruitful. Our theme of “security and prosperity” is timely given ASEAN’s priorities this year to strengthen resilience and innovative capacity. We adopted the Sydney Declaration, which reflects ASEAN and Australia’s shared commitment to our Strategic Partnership. We witnessed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between ASEAN and Australia on Cooperation to Counter International Terrorism yesterday. The SME Conference and Business Summit saw in-depth discussions on how we can further promote trade and investments between ASEAN and Australia.

We also discussed how to strengthen the region’s resilience on security issues, including cybersecurity, which is timely because Australia and ASEAN are working towards closer digital connectivity. I am also pleased that we agreed to cooperate on smart city development. There are clear synergies between the ASEAN-Australia Smart Cities Initiative and ASEAN’s own Smart Cities Network. We look forward to working with Australia and its businesses on these initiatives to improve the lives and livelihood of our people.

We are also keeping up efforts to foster trade liberalisation and regional economic integration. We strongly believe that a free, open and rules-based multilateral trading system is key to the region’s growth and prosperity. We are committed to do our best to conclude a forward-looking and mutually beneficial Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which we hope to sign this year, which will send a clear signal to ASEAN’s external partners and all other countries of our commitment to promote international trade, oppose protectionism, and keep the regional architecture open and inclusive.

We also discussed significant regional issues including the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the region, as well as ASEAN centrality and unity. On the Korean Peninsula, we have noted reports of North Korea’s commitment to de-nuclearisation and its pledge to refrain from further nuclear and missile tests during this period. We have also noted the recently announced plans for President Donald Trump and the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to meet in the near future. We are cautiously encouraged by these developments. The situation on the Korean Peninsula is a complicated problem, which will take time to resolve and we hope these recent steps will contribute towards lasting peace and stability.

On the South China Sea, ASEAN and Australia reiterated our support for a rules-based regional order to resolve disputes peacefully in accordance with international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The South China Sea is a vital waterway through which flows a large volume of international trade. All regional countries have a fundamental interest in the freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea and more broadly, in the peace and stability in the region. We are therefore looking forward to the early conclusion of negotiations on a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea. The negotiations are in fact commencing this year.

On Rakhine state, we are faced with a complex intercommunal situation, which dates back more than half a century. In fact, if you trace it back, maybe several centuries. It is of concern to all ASEAN countries and yet ASEAN is not able to intervene and force an outcome. But we are working together in consultation with Myanmar to provide humanitarian assistance so that affected communities can rebuild their lives. ASEAN’s approach is a humanitarian one and we are mobilising the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management to help all affected communities in Myanmar. ASEAN will continue to support efforts by all the parties to achieve a long term and a viable solution.

Overall, it has been a very successful meeting. We thank Prime Minister Turnbull for the initiative. We appreciate his strong commitment to furthering the strategic partnership and we look forward to meeting again and having an ASEAN-Australia Summit on the next occasion.

Thank you.