THE HON LAWRENCE WONG, ACTING PRIME MINISTER OF THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE: Prime Minister Albanese, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. Let me once again welcome Prime Minister Albanese on his first official visit to Singapore. Prime Minister Lee is unable to be here today, because he has had a case of COVID rebound. But I'm happy to receive Prime Minister Albanese as my first official visitor in my capacity as Acting Prime Minister. We met before, in 2017, when he was here as a Lee Kuan Yew Exchange Fellow. So, it's good to have the chance to touch base again and to take stock of our excellent bilateral relationship.
Our two countries have made significant progress in our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership since its establishment in 2015. We've jointly completed more than 110 initiatives across the six pillars of cooperation. And, of course, Singapore greatly appreciates Australia's strong and long-standing support for our military training, which has expanded under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. On the economic front, bilateral trade is going strong, growing by more than 25% last year, and this year, also, is significant because it marks the 20th anniversary of our bilateral FTA. And we are continuing to embark on new areas of cooperation under the CSP. In 2020, we concluded our first bilateral Digital Economy Agreement. And last year, we signed a landmark Green Economy Agreement, the first such agreement for both sides. And since then, we have made very good progress in furthering bilateral cooperation across all the pillars of our CSP.
Prime Minister Albanese and I also exchanged views on geopolitical developments, especially those confronting our region. And even though this is our first time meeting and discussing these issues in our current capacities, we had an open and candid and very fruitful discussion. And that's really because our countries share similar perspectives on regional and international strategic issues. And that includes the importance of an open and inclusive, rules-based multilateral order which supports ASEAN centrality. So, I welcome the Prime Minister and his government's efforts to deepen Australia's engagement with Southeast Asia, including through the Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040 that Australia is developing, as well as the special summit next year to mark the 50th anniversary of ASEAN-Australia Dialogue Relations, as well as the upgrade of the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area.
The close partnership between Australia and Singapore is strong and enduring. And as we approach the CSP's 10th anniversary in 2025, it is timely for us to identify strategic and ambitious new areas of cooperation, befitting of two trusted and reliable partners. So, we look forward to working with the Prime Minister and his government to bring our bilateral relations to even greater heights. And, of course, we all look forward to the Prime Minister's keynote address at the Shangri-La Dialogue later this evening. Thank you.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA: Well, thank you very much, Acting Prime Minister Wong, for your very warm welcome back here to Singapore on my first visit as Prime Minister. But, I’m advised, my 16th visit to Singapore over a long period of time, since my first visit way back in 1986. Australia is indeed proud to count Singapore as such a close friend. And please pass on again to Prime Minister Lee my regret at the fact that he unfortunately has had a rebound of COVID, and I spoke to him yesterday and wished him well, and we wish him a very speedy recovery going forward.
It is a great honour for me to particularly be here to have the bilateral leaders' meeting, following on from our successful meeting in Australia in Canberra with Prime Minister Lee last October. But to be here as well for the Shangri-La Dialogue, which I will give the keynote address later today. Since 1965, when Australia was the second country in the world to recognise newly-independent Singapore, our relationship has always been strong and vibrant. And in the decades since independence, the ties that bind us, the people-to-people links, have grown in extraordinary ways. An estimated 18,000 Australian expats are here on any day and 10,000 Australian students and tourists are at Singapore at any one time. More than 54,000 people born in Singapore now call Australia home, including a member of our House of Representatives, Mr Goodenough. And happily, with 197 direct flights a week between Singapore and Australian cities, the number of Singaporean tourists visiting Australia has also rebounded. Now, more than ever, our friendship is underpinned by trust, respect and a shared vision for a region that is open, stable and prosperous. In that spirit, we had a very constructive annual leaders' meeting this morning, and a very fruitful one-on-one, and pleasant meeting, it must be said as well.
In 2015, the 50th anniversary of Singapore's independence, the relationship between Australia and Singapore was elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. And we discussed today the 10th anniversary of that, and how we can even do more in the future. On trade, on regional security and defence, on science and innovation, education and the arts, the digital economy and the green economy, we work together towards our common goals. Singapore is Australia's largest two-way trading partner and investor in Southeast Asia. Our two-way trade in goods and services is worth close to $47 billion a year. And last year, during Prime Minister Lee's visit to Australia and our bilateral in October, we signed the Green Economy Agreement. This is the first of its kind in the world. It's about supporting economic, trade, investment and climate change objectives in an integrated way. And today, we're announcing three new initiatives to advance these goals. A Go-Green Co-Innovation program to support private sector collaboration on green trade and commerce. The Asia Climate Solutions Grant program, to attract finance for renewable energy, sustainable cities and nature-based solutions. And initial work to establish a green shipping corridor that will support net zero shipping between our two countries and beyond. The Acting Prime Minister and I discussed how we can deepen our cooperation on regional and on national security. And we know that security isn't just about defence. It's also about our capacity to be less vulnerable to shocks. Whether that's a future pandemic, a trade or cybersecurity shock, or regional or international conflict. And that's why we're strengthening the security and resilience of our supply chains and facilitating the flow of critical goods between us.
Tonight, I will have the vision of addressing the 20th Shangri-La Dialogue, to outline Australia’s vision for the region. One that is open, stable and prosperous. One in which Singapore and Australia share those values and those principles. My focus will be on active engagement, on the collective responsibility we all share, to keep our region stable and secure. And I can't think of any likeminded partners other than Singapore in meeting these challenges in our region. When we met last year, I quoted Prime Minister Lee's father, Lee Kuan Yu, who I had the honour of spending a week here in Singapore, in the fellowship named in his honour. He said this, “We are one interacting, interdependent world. The problems besetting the world are transnational and the solutions must be transnational.” Today, I'll quote his son. When we stood together in Canberra, Prime Minister Lee said, “It is a troubled world. Given the tensions in the world, it is important that like-minded countries work together for our mutual benefit.” Indeed it is. And what today has been about is about stressing that in a practical way. And the relationship between us is strengthened as we build these personal relationships between our leadership and between our peoples. Thank you.
JOURNALIST: Thank you both for the question. To both of you, China's Defence Minister is refusing to meet with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin, here at the Dialogue this weekend. Is that counterproductive to regional security? And what would be your message to the Chinese over that? And Acting PM Wong, what's your thoughts on the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal and the contribution that will make to regional stability? Thank you.
ACTING PRIME MINISTER WONG: We have in ASEAN stated very clearly our position on regional security. ASEAN is concerned, of course, about the tensions, or the relationship between US and China. No country in ASEAN wants to be forced to choose sides. No one wants to be in a position where we have to either contain China's rise or limit America's presence. Any move in either direction will have few takers in the region, because no one in ASEAN wants to see a new Cold War. So, ASEAN's perspective on regional cooperation, including security cooperation, is to have an open and inclusive framework for cooperation. And that's why we have many forums where ASEAN is at the centre, like the ADMM-Plus ASEAN Regional Forum, and we continue to engage all parties. And in that context, we welcome new security arrangements like the Quad and AUKUS, so long as they continue to uphold ASEAN centrality, uphold a rules-based order based on international law, which is the case, and we welcome these overlapping frameworks. Our approach is not so much about passive non-alignment, but really about multi-engagement with all the players in the region, so that the region will not be dominated by any single power, but there will be all the different players with stakes in the region working to gather for our shared interest.
PRIME MINISTER ALBANESE: I think a theme of the speech that I'm giving this evening in the Dialogue, to give you a bit of a preview, is that dialogue is always a good thing, and engagement and discussion brings with it understanding. And it is a positive thing here at the Shangri-La meeting that the defence ministers, respectively, of the United States and China will both be here, and no doubt will both be participating. So I think that is a positive thing. On AUKUS and the reception that it received from Singapore, I thanked the Acting Prime Minister today for the positive comments that were made at the time of the AUKUS announcement. At the time that we announced AUKUS, we contacted personally more than 60 countries, to make sure that they were briefed and that we were being transparent about what our objectives were, which is that AUKUS to contribute to stability and security in the region. And I welcome Prime Minister Lee's comments at the time, which were very positive. Can I also say that in all of the arrangements that Australia has been a party to, including the recent Quad Leaders Meeting, if you look at the communique, it was very positive that we spoke about working with existing organisations in the region and bodies including ASEAN, the Pacific Island Forum, and the Indian Ocean Organisation as well. We see that as being very important. And one of the themes that I speak about tonight, as well, is about regional engagement, but also the importance of multilateralism. Making sure that international rules are complied with, that provides the basis for moving forward with our common interest.
JOURNALIST: Good afternoon, Acting PM Wong and PM Albanese. This meeting has had significant announcements, in particular about the green economy and the food pact, with both governments taking the lead by providing funding and looking at protocols and regulations. What do you both hope the private sector and SMEs will take away from this? Thank you.
PRIME MINISTER ALBANESE: From my perspective, one of the lessons, if you look at the difference that my government has made, is that when governments make announcements, whether they're national announcements or, with the Green Economy Agreement, a bilateral announcement and agreement, but a bilateral agreement that attempts, as well, to have a positive impact throughout the region, as well, throughout the Indo-Pacific, is that the private sector are looking for signals. They're looking for certainty. They're up for investment. They know the enormous economic opportunity that areas like green hydrogen, that the transition to green shipping, to cleaner aviation, the use of biofuels, the transition that is occurring in the economies of the world play. They understand that that's an opportunity. But they're looking for governments to facilitate the investment that they're up for making. And in Australia, the short time between, when we have put in place various mechanisms, to provide that certainty, that signal to business, business have taken it up in ways that exceed that what was anticipated before they occurred. So, I see it as being very positive, and I'm certain that the private sector will welcome the further strengthening today. And the other advantage that we have is that if we combine our efforts, one plus one can equal more than two. It can equal far more, if Singapore and Australia, with our complementary economies, are cooperating. And that is very much in the interests of the private sector, because they're driven, of course, quite often by financial objectives. But if you look at where the economy is going as well, positioning both our economies in a way to take advantage of the transitions that are occurring are in both of our interests, but it is also very much in the interests of the private sector.
ACTING PRIME MINISTER WONG: Let me just add briefly to that, that when you think about the future objectives that both Singapore and Australia would like to see for our economies and societies, clearly there are many shared objectives. We both want a greener and cleaner future, and we will get to net zero. We both want more resilient supply chains, particularly in critical areas like food and energy. So that very clear alignment of objectives between our governments, between our countries, will provide many opportunities for the private sector to collaborate. Because we cannot achieve all that we want through government collaboration alone, as the Prime Minister said just now, we also need the private sector to play a role. So, for example, in the green transition, the longer-term plans are very clear, but that transition over the next ten years can be quite challenging. It can be quite challenging and difficult for the economy and also for the society as a whole, because we will have to make that transition away from fossil fuels to cleaner solutions, cleaner, low-carbon solutions. And that's where our collaboration around the green economy will provide more support to companies, will provide more support to SMEs in particular, to facilitate and enable them to make that transition and, importantly, to position themselves well, to seize the new opportunities that will arise from our greener future.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, in terms of, how concerned are you for our international reputation that a Federal Court has found our country's most decorated war hero is, in fact, a war criminal?
PRIME MINISTER ALBANESE: Thank you for the question. The determination that was made yesterday is a determination of a civil proceeding between two parties. That didn't involve the Government, and it would be inappropriate to comment on the detail of that, given the potential that is then there for future action that the Government might be a party to. Can I say though, that the Brereton Inquiry and report, we're committed to as a government, to implementing the recommendations to the extent possible. And that is very important going forward. That is an area in which we have a responsibility and we've indicated very clearly that we would take up that responsibility. The third point I'd make, with regard to our international standing, is that Australia's international standing is extraordinarily strong, including the standing of our defence forces and our defence personnel. Our defence forces continue to engage in parts of the world, including, of course, supplying opportunity for Singapore, which we have, with our land mass, to assist with the defence relationship here in Singapore. And that will continue in the future. Just as the strong relationship that we've had with the Quad, with AUKUS, indicate, I think, our standing. I'll continue to engage as well. I will be attending the NATO summit in Lithuania in July. I've been invited, along with Japan, Korea and New Zealand, to once again participate in something known as the AP4, the Asia-Pacific Four forum that will be held in Lithuania. That says a lot about the way that Australia is seen, not just in this region, but in the world as well. And it's something that I think reflects, overwhelmingly, Australia's position.
JOURNALIST: Good afternoon, Acting Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, and a warm welcome to Singapore, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. My question is that Singapore recently urged Australia to play a stabilising role in the region amid heightened US-China tensions. So, could both sides elaborate on what this role means?
ACTING PRIME MINISTER WONG: We think there are many ways in which Singapore and Australia can help to steer developments in the region towards a path that gives us the best chances for continued stability and growth in the region. One way is to continue to uphold and strengthen multilateralism. Because if there is an erosion of international rules, then we start to move toward the direction of regional blocs, regional spheres of influence. Then it becomes more and more of a world where there will be beggar thy neighbour policies, and countries will naturally assert their own interest and override international rules on the basis of their so-called national security interest. And increasingly, under such a scenario, we move towards more of a case where might becomes right, and we end up with a situation where the law of the jungle prevails. So, we don't want that to happen. And for Australia and Singapore, where we share such common perspectives and outlook on the importance of multilateralism, where we have worked together before, including at the WTO, to shape global digital trading rules, and where we can continue to shape the norms and the rules for international trade. So, that's something we will continue to do. Both sides bilaterally and also through the region. Another area where we would certainly welcome is Australia's continued role actively engaging the region and in particular, ASEAN. Australia is ASEAN's first dialogue partner. It is also the first dialogue partner with which ASEAN upgraded our status to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. So, we welcome Australia's continued engagement with the region. We think that's good for ASEAN, because there is a shared perspective in wanting an open, stable, inclusive region. And we are also now looking at how we can upgrade other arrangements, like the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA. Importantly, between Australia and Singapore, because of that deep reservoir for strategic trust we have between both sides, the initiatives we have with one another can serve as pathfinders for broader regional cooperation. So, when we work on digital economy agreements, when we work on a green economy agreement, when we set new norms for trading between both sides in these new areas of digital trade, green economy, that can be expanded beyond bilateral arrangements to regional arrangements, and that again can be very important platforms to help achieve stability and growth for Asia.
PRIME MINISTER ALBANESE: Thank you for your question and thank you for your welcome to Singapore as well. I certainly agree with the Acting Prime Minister and his comments. We do live in an era of strategic competition. One of the ways that middle powers like Australia and Singapore can assist to promote stability, security and prosperity in the region is through strengthening our bilateral arrangements, and we're continuing to do that. It just gets stronger and stronger going forward. But it's also through regional engagement and through multilateralism. And Australia has had, there is no stronger non-full member of ASEAN than Australia. As the Acting Prime Minister said, the upgrading of the relationship that occurred is symbolic of that. So too is the fact that we will host a summit in March next year in Australia of ASEAN leaders. Just to show the most significant gathering that will occur in Australia since we hosted the G20, in terms of that, any international forum, that says something about how important it is. And that's something, an initiative that came out of the ASEAN meeting and East Asia Summit that I attended last year. So, that engagement with ASEAN, and in particular, the Pacific Island Forum, that our Foreign Minister has visited every single ASEAN country and every member of the Pacific Island Forum in our first year of government. That says a lot about our engagement and the importance that we place on that regional engagement. But there's something else, going back to the formation of the United Nations, and the historic role that Dr Evatt, also a former leader of my party, the Australian Labor Party played in its formation. Which is to understand in the wake of World War II, which, of course, had such drastic consequences, and I think part of the relationship between our two countries can go back to Australia's strong defence standing with Singapore at that time, is that you need multilateral forums. And you need, something I'll speak about tonight is, you need rules of the road which are there, which are complied with, which are understood, and which provide a basis for international engagement based upon those principles and those rules. That's something that I think Australia and Singapore are very strong on and just part of the common interest that we have going forward. So, whether it is the International Convention on the Law of the Sea, whether it be the rules of the World Trade Organisation, whether it be the other multilateral umbrellas, that provides the basis for understanding and for pursuit of common interests in everyone's interests going forward, which are certainly in the interests of individual nations, but it's also in the interests of all of us collectively as well. We see the consequences when conflict occurs. The impact on people directly affected in Ukraine at the moment, but we also see the global impact that that's had on the global economy, on global inflation, on energy prices and on everyone. We're an interconnected world. And in an interconnected world, multilateralism is more important than it has ever been.