HACHIOJI SEMINAR(SATURDAY 3 JUNE 1995)
BILL PATERSON(MINISTER,AUSTRALIAN EMBASSY,TOKYO)
・YOUR MEETING HERE TODAY FOLLOWS CLOSELY ON THE OFFICIAL VISIT TO JAPAN BY PRIME MINISTER KEATING A WEEK AGO.
・THE VISIT DEMONSTRATED THAT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND JAPAN HAS REACHED A LEVEL WHERE IT HAS BECOME A UNIQUELY CLOSE AND USEFUL ONE FOR BOTH COUNTRIES.
IT HOUGHT TODAY I WOULD TELL YOU A LITTLE ABOUT THIS VISIT BECAUSE IT TELLS US QUITE A LOT ABOUT WHERE WE STAND AS COUNTRIES AND SERVES AS A STOCKTAKING OF THE STATE OF OUR RELATIONS.
・FIFTY YEARS AGO, AUSTRALIA AND JAPAN WERE COMING TO THE END OF A BITTER AND DEVASTATING WAR. WE WERE ENEMIES. OUR TROOPS WERE LOCKED IN DEADLY COMBAT. WE CAME FROM VERY DIFFERENT HISTORICAL, CULTURAL AND GEOGRAPHIC BACKGROUNDS. THERE WAS LITTLE AT ALL IN COMMON BETWEEN US.
AS PRIME MINISTER KEATING SAID IN TOKYO LAST WEEK, LOOKING BACK 40 YEARS. FEW PEOPLE ON EITHER SIDE WOULD HAVE PREDICTED THEN THAT WE WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BUILD A PARTNERSHIP WHICH WAS SO STRONG AND SO VALUABLE TO BOTH SIDES
WE HAVE EACH FOUND IN THE OTHER AN UNLIKELY FRIEND.
・FIFTY YEARS ON, PRIME MINISTER KEATING WAS MAKING HIS THIRD VISIT TO JAPAN SINCE BECOMING PRIME MINISTER
HE WAS RECEIVED WITH PARTICULAR WARMTH AS HEAD OF GOVERNMENT OF ACOUNTRY WHICH IS ONE OF JAPAN'S FEW CLOSE FRIENDS.
・WITH PRIME MINISTER MURAYAMA, HE RELEASED A JOINT DECLARATION WHICH MAKES SOME BIG AND QUITE UNUSUAL CLAIMS FOR OUR RELATIONSHIP
THE TWO PRIME MINISTERS DESCRIBED THE RELATIONSHIP AS ONE OF“UNPRECEDENTED QUALITY”AND PLEDGED TO BUILD ON THAT AN“ENDURING AND STEADFAST PARTNERSHIP”
JAPAN DESCRIBED AUSTRALIA AS AN “INDISPENSABLE PARTNER IN REGIONAL AFFAIRS”AND AUSTRALIA SUPPORTED JAPAN ADOPTING AN INTERNATIONAL ROLE COMMENSURATE WITH ITS WEIGHT IN WORLD AFFAIRS
INCLUDING AS A PERMANENT MEMBER OF THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL
PRIME MINISTER MURAYAMA SAID THAT JAPAN WISHED“TO WALK ALONGSIDE OUR AUSTRALIAN FRIENDS AS BEST MATES”AND SPOKE OF A“DEEP”AND“SURGING”RELATIONSHIP.
・THESE SENTIMENTS GO WELL BEYOND NORMAL DIPLOMATIC EXCHANGE. WE HAVE COME A VERY LONG WAY OVER THE PAST FIFTY YEARS. HOW HAS THAT FRIENDSHIP DEVELOPED AND ON WHAT FOUNDATION IS IT BUILT?
・THE SHORT ANSWER IS THAT ON BOTH SIDES IT IS FIRMLY GROUNDED IN NATIONAL INTEREST. AS JAPAN'S ECONOMY REBUILT AFTER THE WAR, AUSTRALIA BECAME A LEADING SUPPLIER OF INDUSTRIAL RAW MATERIALS AND ENERGY TO JAPAN
IN THIS WAY,AUSTRALIA MADE A CRUCIAL CONTRIBUTION TO JAPAN'S RECOVERY AND TO ITS PROGRESSION TO THE POINT WHERE IT IS THE SECOND LARGEST ECONOMY IN THE WORLD. IRON ORE, COAL, URANIUM AND OTHER MINERALS STILL CONSTITUTE THE LARGEST ITEMS IN OUR TRADE.
・SIMILARLY, THE IMPORTS OF MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS FROM JAPAN, AND JAPANESE CAPITAL AND PORTFOLIO INVESTMENT IN AUSTRALIA, HAVE MADE A CRUCIAL CONTRIBUTION TO AUSTRALIA'S DEVELOPMENT
AND TWO WAY TRADE IN 1994 REACHED $28.1 BILLION DOLLARS OR YEN 1.7 TRILLION. JAPANESE INVESTMENT IN AUSTRALIA CURRENTLY STANDS AT AROUND A$52.2 BILLION OR YEN3.2 TRILLION.
SO WHILE JAPAN HAS BEEN FOR YEARS AUSTRALIA'S LARGEST TRADING PARTNER. AUSTRALIA IS ALSO AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN JAPAN'S TRADE AND INVESTMENT RELATIONS.
AND THE LONG STANDING RELIABILITY OF BOTH TRADING PARTNERS IS LEADING TO A DIVERSIFICATION OF TRADE. AUSTRALIAN MEAT IS ALREADY A STAPLE IN JAPAN, OUR WINES AND FOODS ARE INCREASINGLY AVAILABLE AND SOON. WE EXPECT, YOU WILL ALL BE EATING RICE GROWN TO YOUR TASTES IN AUSTRALIA.
・JAPAN'S UNDERSTANDING OF AUSTRALIA'S STRENGTHS AND COMPETITIVENESS IN AREAS OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH, MEDICINE, COMMUNICATIONS, SOFTWARE AND SERVICES IS WIDENING TRADE , WHILE WIDENING EXCHANGES BETWEEN PEOPLE.
・ON THIS COMMERCIAL FOUNDATION, A MUCH WIDER AND DEEPER RELATIONSHIP HAS BEEN BUILT. FIFTY YEARS AFTER THE WAR
180,000AUSTRALIAN STUDENTS ARE STUDYING JAPANESE,THE SECOND HIGHEST PER CAPITA RATIO IN THE WORLD AFTER THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA
720,000 JAPANESE VISITED AUSTRALIA IN 1994,USING NEARLY FIFTY FLIGHTS PER WEEK IN EACH DIRECTION BETWEEN CITIES IN BOTH COUNTRIES
SURVEYS CONTINUE TO SHOW JAPANESE FAVOUR AUSTRALIA AS THEIR MOST DESIRED TOURIST DESTINATION
WHILE GROWING NUMBERS OF JAPANESE STUDENTS ARE CHOOSING TO UNDERTAKE STUDY IN AUSTRALIA.
・IF THE FLOWS OF AUSTRALIANS IN THE OTHER DIRECTION ARE NOT SO LARGE, THAT IS A FUNCTION OF YOUR STRONG YEN.
BUT NEWS ABOUT JAPAN IS WIDELY AND PROMINENTLY AVALABLE DAILY IN THE AUSTRAUAN MEDIA
AND AUSTRALIANS ARE BETTER INFORMED ABOUT JAPAN THAN NATION ALS OF MOST OTHER COUNTRIES.
・WITH SUCH STRONG CONNECTIONS IN PLACE, IT IS NOT SURPRISING THAT WE HAVE FOUND MANY AREAS IN WHICH WE CAN AND DO COOPERATE
ON THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE, WE WORK CLOSELY TOGETHER IN THE UNITED NATIONS, INCLUDING FOR INSTANCE ON PEACEKEEPING, ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND INSEEKING TO PREVENT THE PROLIFERATION OF WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
WE COOPERATE IN THE PROVISION OF DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE IN ASIA AND IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC.
・AND, MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE ARE WORKING VERY CLOSELY TOGETHER IN THE ASIA‐PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION PROCESS, OR APEC
JAPAN IS THE CURRENT CHAIR OF APEC, AND WILL HOST THE MINISTERIAL AND LEADERS'MEETINGS IN OSAKA IN NOVEMBER
AS PRIME MINISTER KEATING SAID HERE LAST WEEK, APEC PROVIDES A REGIONAL FRAMEWORK IN WHICH GOVERNMENTS CAN TAKE THE HARD DECISIONS ON ECONOMIC DEREGULATION AND STRUCTURAL CHANGE
DECISIONS WHICH ARE AS IMPORTANT FOR JAPAN‐IF NOT MORE SO‐AS FOR ANY OTHER APEC MEMBER
APEC ALSO PROVIDES A MEANS FOR JAPAN TO MANAGE ITS TRADE PROBLEMS WITH THEUNITED STATES
・SO JAPAN BEARS A HEAVY RESPONSIBILITY THIS YEAR TO CARRY FORWARD AND GIVE SUBSTANCE TO APEC'S VISION FOR TRADE LIBERALISATION
IN THIS IT WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE AUSTRALIA'S ACTIVE SUPPORT
AND BE ABLE TO DRAW ON THE CLOSE WORKING RELATIONS WE HAVE
SO, AGAINST THIS ALREADY CLOSE AND POSITIVE BACKGROUND, WHAT DID PRIME MINISTER KEATING'S VISIT ACHIEVE?
IT WAS NOT A VISIT DESIGNED TO ACHIEVE SPECIFIC AGREEMENTS OR OUTCOMES
BUT ONE WHICH WAS DESIGNED, ON BOTH SIDES, TO DEMONSTLATE, IN THIS FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY YEAR, JUST HOW FAR WE HAVE COME
AND THE GREAT VALUE BOTH COUNTRIES ATTACH TO THE RELATIONSHIP
THE FREE‐RANGING EXCHANGES ON APEC ANDON OTHER ISSUES DEMONSTRATED THE VITALITY AND WIDER RELEVANCE OF THE RELATIONSHIP
WHILE THE JOINT DECLARATION ISSUED BY BOTH PRIME MINISTERS PROVIDED A BENCHMARK DOCUMENTS, AREFERENCE POINT CONFIRMING BOTH COUNTRIES UNDERSTANDING OF WHERE WE HAVE REACHED.
IN THE COMING WEEKS AND MONTHS, WE WILL BE BUILDING ON THIS CLOSE PARTNERSHIP AT THE GOVERNMENT LEVEL
ONLY THIS WEEK WE HAD MAJOR VISITING DELEGATIONS DISCUSSING COOPERATION IN HOUSING AND CONSTRUCTION, AND SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, WITH THEIR JAPANESE COUNTERPARTS.
ROYAL AUSTRALIAN NAVY SHIPS ARE VISITING THE PORTS OF YOKOSUKA AND NAGOYA
FOREIGN MINISTER SENATOR GARETH EVANS WILL SOON PAY A FURTHER VISIT, AS WILL INDUSTRY MINISTER SENATOR COOK AND SMALL BUSINESS AND CONSTRUCTION MINISTER SCHACHT
MR KEATING,SENATOR EVANS AND TRADE MINISTER SENATOR MCMULAN WILL ALL RETURN LATER THIS YEAR FOR THE APEC MEETINGS IN OSAKA.
・IN THE OTHER DIRECTION, WE ARE ALREADY WORKING TO SECURE DATES FOR THE NEXT MEETING OF THE AUSTRALIA‐JAPAN MINISTERIAL COMMITTEE, WHICH WILL BE HELD IN CANBERRA.
・ALL OF WHICH ILLUSTRATE HOW CLOSE OUR COOPERATION HAS BECOME, HOW WIDE THE AREAS OF COMMON INTEREST AND ENDEAVOUR ARE.
・BUT IT IS AT YOUR LEVEL‐AT THE LEVEL OF PEOPLE‐TO‐PEOPLE EXCHANGE‐THAT THE RELATIONSHIP WILL TRULY BE CARRIED FORWARD AND ITS FUTURESECURED
THE HACHIOJI SEMINAR HAS AN ENVIABLE RECORD IN FACILITATING UNDERSTANDING AND KNOWLEDGE OF AUSTRALIA AND JAPAN
AND A STIMULATING AGENDA FOR TODAY'S GROUP DISCUSSIONS, WITH SOMETHING TO OFFER FOR EVERYONE
・I THANK THE ORGANISERS FOR THEIR EFFORTS AND FOR THEIR INVITATION TO ME TO ADDRESS THE MEETING.I WISH THE SEMINAR WELL AND AM SURE THAT, IN ITS OWN WAY, IT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THAT ENDURING AND STEADFAST RELATIONSHIP TO WHICH OUR TWO PRIME MINISTERS HAVE COMMITTED THEMSELVES.
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