FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks With Republic of Korea President Park Geun-hye At Their Meeting
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
October 10, 2013
PRESIDENT PARK: (Via interpreter) I’m delighted to meet and see you again, Mr. Secretary after having last met back in April. And I recall your kind letter during my visit to the United States, when you were not able to be present due to certain circumstances. And President Obama was not able to attend this year’s meetings on account of inescapable factors. Please do pass on my best regards upon your return to the United States.
I’m also delighted to note that we have been able to issue a statement that in many (inaudible) significant during my visit to the United States and in the aftermath of my meeting with President Obama. And following that meeting, we have been able to see our partnership evolve further into a comprehensive strategic alliance. And I also feel it’s very meaningful that we have been steadily implementing, one by one, the items that we agreed to during that meeting, for instance, the revision to the nuclear energy cooperation agreement between our two countries as well as other major issues as well in the spirit of our alliance. And I look forward to continuing to do that in the spirit of our alliance.
SECRETARY KERRY: Well, thank you. Thank you very much, Madam President. As you said, the alliance is both strong and the alliance is extremely important to us, and we’re very grateful to you for the cooperation.
And again, I am sorry that I wasn’t present for the meeting. But I know you had a very successful meeting. And Secretary Hagel, who I was with just the other day, tells me he had a very successful security consultative meeting in Seoul. And the success of the Republic of Korea is really quite remarkable, and we are very grateful for the significant role that you are currently playing on the global stage, and particularly our cooperation with respect to North Korea.
Obviously nobody faces the challenge of North Korea more than you do. (Laughter.) And we applaud your very measured and careful approach by which you’ve both been firm, but at the same time you’ve tried to reach out. My hope is, Madam President, that with the conversations we’ve had with the Chinese here – and I’m sure you share this – that we’re all on the same page and in a place where denuclearization and serious steps to move towards it are the key, and that has to define our policy.
Showing posts with label BRUNEI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BRUNEI. Show all posts
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Friday, October 11, 2013
SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY'S REMARKS AT MEETING WITH VIETNAMESE PRIME MINISTER DUNG
FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT
Remarks at a Meeting With Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
October 10, 2013
Well, Mr. Prime Minister, it’s wonderful to be able to visit with you again. Thank you. Please express my gratitude. It’s good to be able to visit with the Prime Minister again and with the Foreign Minister.
The U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership that we signed in July reflects the growing strength of the relationship between Vietnam and the United States. A few minutes ago, Foreign Minister Minh and I were in this room, and we signed – initialing the 123 Agreement between our countries. This agreement will create numerous opportunities for our businesses between our two countries. And obviously our nuclear cooperation is quite significant. Vietnam has the second-largest market, after China, for nuclear power in East Asia, and our companies can now compete. What is a $10 billion market today is expected to grow into a $50 billion market by the year 2030.
And there are many other ways that our countries are cooperating, obviously. We look forward to continuing to strengthen. I look forward to visiting Vietnam somewhere in the next few months. So thank you very much. It’s good to be here.
Remarks at a Meeting With Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
October 10, 2013
Well, Mr. Prime Minister, it’s wonderful to be able to visit with you again. Thank you. Please express my gratitude. It’s good to be able to visit with the Prime Minister again and with the Foreign Minister.
The U.S.-Vietnam Comprehensive Partnership that we signed in July reflects the growing strength of the relationship between Vietnam and the United States. A few minutes ago, Foreign Minister Minh and I were in this room, and we signed – initialing the 123 Agreement between our countries. This agreement will create numerous opportunities for our businesses between our two countries. And obviously our nuclear cooperation is quite significant. Vietnam has the second-largest market, after China, for nuclear power in East Asia, and our companies can now compete. What is a $10 billion market today is expected to grow into a $50 billion market by the year 2030.
And there are many other ways that our countries are cooperating, obviously. We look forward to continuing to strengthen. I look forward to visiting Vietnam somewhere in the next few months. So thank you very much. It’s good to be here.
Friday, August 30, 2013
HAGEL MEETS WITH ASEAN COUNTERPARTS
FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Hagel Meets with ASEAN Defense Ministers in Brunei
By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei, Aug. 28, 2013 - On the first day of Southeast Asia's most important annual defense ministerial conference, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel met here with his counterparts from the 10 nations that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
On the sidelines, the secretary also took time for bilateral talks on the region and broader topics with his counterparts from Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Brunei, Burma and China.
The ASEAN member states are Burma, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. During lunch today and a meeting afterward, Hagel and the members discussed the need to advance practical cooperation to build trust and lower tensions throughout the region.
When Hagel was in Singapore in June attending the Shangri-La Dialogue meeting, he invited the ASEAN defense ministers to Hawaii in 2014 for an informal meeting -- their first in the United States. During the luncheon, all 10 ministers accepted his invitation.
"I'm obviously very pleased about that," Hagel said today. "It will give us another opportunity to strengthen and deepen the relationship with our partners here in the Asia-Pacific."
Hagel noted the need to continue progress toward peacefully resolving territorial disputes, and committed to continued U.S. support for ASEAN, including its Defense Ministers' Meeting, or ADMM, as a strong organization for achieving shared goals and upholding the common good, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said.
During the meeting, a senior defense official said, each country expressed strong support for the steady U.S. presence in the Asia-Pacific and viewed U.S. engagement in the region as a key contributor to peace and stability.
The representatives also expressed their support for continued active engagement by the United States in this part of the world, he said. "They see it's essential for a peaceful stable environment and a prosperous environment around them," the official added.
Brunei has served as chair of ASEAN this year, and yesterday Hagel met with Brunei's energy minister, Pehin Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Mohammad Yasmin. Little said the secretary recognized Brunei's strong leadership as ASEAN chair and organizer of the June joint exercise involving humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and military medicine. Burma will take over next year as ASEAN chair.
Tomorrow morning, Hagel will attend the ADMM-Plus ministerial conference, hosted by Yasmin and made up of the 10 ASEAN defense ministers and eight dialogue partners: the United States, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, New Zealand and Russia.
Senior defense officials said today that Hagel's bilateral meetings were positive and productive.
During a meeting this morning with Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, Hagel was pleased to accept an invitation to visit Japan next year, and the two militaries agreed to establish a cyber defense effort together, a senior defense official said today.
"There's a recognition that with both state and nonstate actors, cyber threats and thefts of intellectual property as well as penetrations of government and industrial networks are an increasing concern and there's a need to cooperate and share information to deal with that," the official said.
In other discussions, Little said, Hagel and Onodera exchanged views on the regional security environment, including North Korea's continued nuclear and ballistic missile developments.
Hagel said he looks forward during a visit to Tokyo in October to continued bilateral discussion on strengthening the alliance, and both men reaffirmed the importance of the U.S.-Japan alliance in defending Japan and contributing to regional peace and security, Little added.
Both also expressed interest in continuing to modernize the alliance by enhancing their already strong security cooperation initiatives, the press secretary said.
"The U.S. very much appreciates Japan's important role as a contributor to peace and stability in this region and the rest of the world," Hagel told Onodera through a translator as the meeting began, "and I'm very much looking forward to my upcoming visit to Japan."
Hagel also met today with South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin, thanking him for his friendship and reaffirming the United States' enduring defense and extended deterrence commitments to South Korea. Little said Hagel told Kim it is a mutual duty to remain vigilant during this time of heightened tension on the Korean Peninsula.
The leaders discussed the importance of recent U.N. Security Council resolutions designed to limit North Korea's progress on nuclear and missile programs, the press secretary said. The Defense Department is focused on fulfilling security commitments but Hagel said diplomatic efforts are fundamental to encouraging North Korea to pursue the path of peace, Little added.
Hagel will travel to the South Korean capital of Seoul in October to attend the annual Security Consultive Meeting, a senior defense official said, and as part of that trip will be able to help commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Korean War with the country's leaders.
Later today, during bilateral discussions with Vietnamese Defense Minister Gen. Phung Quang Thanh, Hagel accepted with appreciation an invitation to visit Vietnam in 2014 and through a translator wished the general a happy National Day, which the Vietnamese celebrate on Sept. 2.
Hagel expressed his commitment to growing the bilateral defense relationship with Vietnam and working on issues like maritime security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and recovering the remains of U.S. personnel missing in action, Little said.
The secretary also conveyed his commitment to continuing to implement the 2011 Memorandum of Understanding for Advancing Bilateral Defense Cooperation, the press secretary added.
On regional security, Little said, the leaders noted the importance of peacefully resolving disputes in the South China Sea and welcomed steps to develop an ASEAN Code of Conduct to guide that process.
This afternoon, Hagel met briefly with Burma's defense minister, Lt. Gen. Wai Lwin, expressing his support for Burma's upcoming ASEAN chairmanship and telling the general that the department looks forward to supporting their efforts on ASEAN defense events next year.
A senior defense official noted that such a bilateral meeting at the defense minister level had not happened in more than 20 years with Burma, and that the meeting today is a "a sign of changes and the Obama administration's very positive engagement with the Burmese, [as well as] recognition of the reforms that have been underway in that country and progress that's being made on human rights."
Hagel discussed with the Burmese defense minister the importance of continued progress on reform and said it's also important that Burma sever military ties to North Korea, Little said.
Hagel applauded the Burmese military's support for the government's democratic reform efforts and encouraged that the reforms continue.
Hagel also held a bilateral meeting with representatives from China.
Hagel Meets with ASEAN Defense Ministers in Brunei
By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei, Aug. 28, 2013 - On the first day of Southeast Asia's most important annual defense ministerial conference, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel met here with his counterparts from the 10 nations that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
On the sidelines, the secretary also took time for bilateral talks on the region and broader topics with his counterparts from Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Brunei, Burma and China.
The ASEAN member states are Burma, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. During lunch today and a meeting afterward, Hagel and the members discussed the need to advance practical cooperation to build trust and lower tensions throughout the region.
When Hagel was in Singapore in June attending the Shangri-La Dialogue meeting, he invited the ASEAN defense ministers to Hawaii in 2014 for an informal meeting -- their first in the United States. During the luncheon, all 10 ministers accepted his invitation.
"I'm obviously very pleased about that," Hagel said today. "It will give us another opportunity to strengthen and deepen the relationship with our partners here in the Asia-Pacific."
Hagel noted the need to continue progress toward peacefully resolving territorial disputes, and committed to continued U.S. support for ASEAN, including its Defense Ministers' Meeting, or ADMM, as a strong organization for achieving shared goals and upholding the common good, Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said.
During the meeting, a senior defense official said, each country expressed strong support for the steady U.S. presence in the Asia-Pacific and viewed U.S. engagement in the region as a key contributor to peace and stability.
The representatives also expressed their support for continued active engagement by the United States in this part of the world, he said. "They see it's essential for a peaceful stable environment and a prosperous environment around them," the official added.
Brunei has served as chair of ASEAN this year, and yesterday Hagel met with Brunei's energy minister, Pehin Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Mohammad Yasmin. Little said the secretary recognized Brunei's strong leadership as ASEAN chair and organizer of the June joint exercise involving humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and military medicine. Burma will take over next year as ASEAN chair.
Tomorrow morning, Hagel will attend the ADMM-Plus ministerial conference, hosted by Yasmin and made up of the 10 ASEAN defense ministers and eight dialogue partners: the United States, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, India, New Zealand and Russia.
Senior defense officials said today that Hagel's bilateral meetings were positive and productive.
During a meeting this morning with Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera, Hagel was pleased to accept an invitation to visit Japan next year, and the two militaries agreed to establish a cyber defense effort together, a senior defense official said today.
"There's a recognition that with both state and nonstate actors, cyber threats and thefts of intellectual property as well as penetrations of government and industrial networks are an increasing concern and there's a need to cooperate and share information to deal with that," the official said.
In other discussions, Little said, Hagel and Onodera exchanged views on the regional security environment, including North Korea's continued nuclear and ballistic missile developments.
Hagel said he looks forward during a visit to Tokyo in October to continued bilateral discussion on strengthening the alliance, and both men reaffirmed the importance of the U.S.-Japan alliance in defending Japan and contributing to regional peace and security, Little added.
Both also expressed interest in continuing to modernize the alliance by enhancing their already strong security cooperation initiatives, the press secretary said.
"The U.S. very much appreciates Japan's important role as a contributor to peace and stability in this region and the rest of the world," Hagel told Onodera through a translator as the meeting began, "and I'm very much looking forward to my upcoming visit to Japan."
Hagel also met today with South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin, thanking him for his friendship and reaffirming the United States' enduring defense and extended deterrence commitments to South Korea. Little said Hagel told Kim it is a mutual duty to remain vigilant during this time of heightened tension on the Korean Peninsula.
The leaders discussed the importance of recent U.N. Security Council resolutions designed to limit North Korea's progress on nuclear and missile programs, the press secretary said. The Defense Department is focused on fulfilling security commitments but Hagel said diplomatic efforts are fundamental to encouraging North Korea to pursue the path of peace, Little added.
Hagel will travel to the South Korean capital of Seoul in October to attend the annual Security Consultive Meeting, a senior defense official said, and as part of that trip will be able to help commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Korean War with the country's leaders.
Later today, during bilateral discussions with Vietnamese Defense Minister Gen. Phung Quang Thanh, Hagel accepted with appreciation an invitation to visit Vietnam in 2014 and through a translator wished the general a happy National Day, which the Vietnamese celebrate on Sept. 2.
Hagel expressed his commitment to growing the bilateral defense relationship with Vietnam and working on issues like maritime security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and recovering the remains of U.S. personnel missing in action, Little said.
The secretary also conveyed his commitment to continuing to implement the 2011 Memorandum of Understanding for Advancing Bilateral Defense Cooperation, the press secretary added.
On regional security, Little said, the leaders noted the importance of peacefully resolving disputes in the South China Sea and welcomed steps to develop an ASEAN Code of Conduct to guide that process.
This afternoon, Hagel met briefly with Burma's defense minister, Lt. Gen. Wai Lwin, expressing his support for Burma's upcoming ASEAN chairmanship and telling the general that the department looks forward to supporting their efforts on ASEAN defense events next year.
A senior defense official noted that such a bilateral meeting at the defense minister level had not happened in more than 20 years with Burma, and that the meeting today is a "a sign of changes and the Obama administration's very positive engagement with the Burmese, [as well as] recognition of the reforms that have been underway in that country and progress that's being made on human rights."
Hagel discussed with the Burmese defense minister the importance of continued progress on reform and said it's also important that Burma sever military ties to North Korea, Little said.
Hagel applauded the Burmese military's support for the government's democratic reform efforts and encouraged that the reforms continue.
Hagel also held a bilateral meeting with representatives from China.
Monday, July 1, 2013
REMARKS BY SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY, MYANMAR FOREIGN MINISTER LWIN
FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Remarks at the U.S.-ASEAN Ministerial Meeting
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Myanmar Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin
Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
July 1, 2013
FOREIGN MINISTER WUNNA MAUNG LWIN: Your Royal Highness, Mr. Co-chair, excellencies, a very good morning. With the permission of Mr. Co-chair, I wish to announce that the ASEAN-U.S. Ministerial Meeting commenced. At the outset, I wish to exchange on behalf of my ASEAN colleagues, our warmest welcome to Secretary of State John Kerry– (audio break) – ASEAN post-ministerial meeting in Bandar Seri Begawan.
To my ASEAN colleagues who are with us this morning to share the views on how to accelerate the ASEAN-U.S. dialogue relations and cooperation. Our appreciation also goes to the officials and technicians from the secretariat for their support and cooperation.
Mr. Co-chair, the first agenda of our meeting is opening remarks by the co-chairs of the ASEAN-U.S. Ministerial Meeting. Let me start with my opening remarks.
Your Royal Highness, your Excellency John Kerry, excellencies, distinguished delegates, as country coordinator of the ASEAN-U.S. dialogue relations, it is an honor and privilege for me to deliver my opening remarks at this important PMC meeting this morning. We warmly welcome Secretary of State John Kerry, and we look forward to closely working with you for the advancement of ASEAN-U.S. relations from now on.
I also wish to express our appreciation to the Republic of the Philippines for its effective coordinatorship role from 2009 to 2012. It was accelerated and promoted our dialogue relations with the United States.
Mr. Co-chair, I wish to express our deep sorrow and sympathy to the family members of the victims of the April 15th terrorist bombings in Boston, and those who lost their lives and properties in the tornadoes that struck Oklahoma City recently. We wish to reiterate that ASEAN condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
We task great importance to the ASEAN-U.S. dialogue relations. We also wish to enhance ties, deepen economic and culture cooperation, and elevate the existing relationship to a higher level. We all are willing to listen your views on how to advance ASEAN-U.S. relations. We wish to take this opportunity to express deep appreciation and gratitude to former Secretary of State Mrs. Hillary Clinton for her role in promoting the ASEAN-U.S. relationship. We also commend the Ambassador of the United States to ASEAN in fulfilling his duties in promoting ASEAN-U.S. relations.
Mr. Co-chair, I share the views with my ASEAN colleagues on issues of common interest, which need our due attention. Those are cyber security, disaster management, food and energy security, education, economic and trade cooperation, counterterrorism, trafficking in persons, maritime security, and connectivity. We look forward to advancing our views on those issues on how to accelerate our cooperation.
Mr. Co-chair, on a personal note, we highly value and appreciate the U.S. renewed engagement with Myanmar Government. The visit of President U Thein Sein to the United States in May this year was a historic moment in our bilateral relations, and during the visit the President reiterated Myanmar’s commitment to unwavering continued its reform process. We firmly believe that the development of relationship between Myanmar and U.S. will strengthen bilateral relations and thus contribute to the advancement of the ASEAN-U.S. relations. We would look forward to have a constructive and active discussion during the meeting. Thank you for your kind attention.
May I now invite Secretary of State John Kerry to deliver his opening remarks? The floor is yours, Excellency.
SECRETARY KERRY: Well, thank you very much, Mr. Minister, and thank you to all of the ministers here. It’s a great pleasure for me to be here at my first ASEAN-U.S. ministerial, but I’m happy to say I’ve been out in this region over many years as a United States Senator and even before that, so it’s a great pleasure for me to be back here and be with some friends. And I’ve gotten to meet with a number of you in these early days, and I thank all of you for your welcome and for your cooperation.
I want to thank our host, Brunei, for welcoming us for the ASEAN Regional Forum and for so many important meetings that are going to take place here over the course of the next days. I know President Obama is very much looking forward to his visit here in October for the East Asia summit. I also want to thank Myanmar for co-chairing this meeting today with us, and we thank you for all of the work that you have done as our ASEAN country coordinator, and I also thank you, Mr. Minister, for your generous thoughts about Boston and about Oklahoma. We appreciate that very much, and I appreciate your strong statement about terrorism, which I think all of us here are very grateful for and sympathetic with.
I might add, Myanmar is a country that is setting a great positive trend and undergoing a dramatic political and economic transition, and I want to recognize that. Today, President Thein Sein works with a resurgent parliament that includes former military officers working alongside Aung San Suu Kyi, and that is really an incredible testament to the possibilities of what happens with leadership and with values and the possibility of progress. And the United States strongly supports Myanmar’s journey toward democracy, which is really something that might have even been unthinkable just a few years ago. These positive changes all illustrate the dynamism and the huge potential of this region, which is why this meeting is important.
I think we all agree that a significant part of the history of the 21st century will be written right here in Asia, and much of that history will be driven by what happens in Southeast Asia. This is why the United States believes that our relationship with ASEAN is of the highest importance. And today, I want to talk about three areas of concern in U.S.-ASEAN cooperation: economic opportunity, political security concerns, and people to people ties.
First, the United States supports ASEAN’s economic integration goals and we are strongly encouraging you as you pursue them. We recognize the tremendous economic dynamism of your region and of your people, and as is true everywhere, we are only going to be able to capture the energy of Southeast Asia in its massive and growing and overwhelmingly young population if we answer their aspirations. We have to speak to the young people by providing opportunity for them.
By the end of this decade roughly half of Southeast Asia’s 600 million people will be defined as middle class. That’s a population that is as large as the entire United States. So helping these people to achieve the middle class dream and to stay there is both of our challenge and it’s both of our responsibility. I might add, it’s also our opportunity. We support ASEAN’s goals in creating dynamic, open economies and establishing integrated ASEAN economic community by the end of 2015. And we will invest significantly in technical assistance to support these goals.
The second area I want to discuss is our political security engagement with ASEAN. Let me be crystal clear: I know that some people have wondered whether in the second term of the Obama Administration and with a new Secretary of State, are we going to continue on the path that we have been on? And the answer, I say to all of you directly, is yes. Not just yes, but we hope to increase the effort. So we are committed to ensuring a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Southeast Asia, and that’s why we’re working together on a whole range of both traditional and nontraditional security issues from wildlife trafficking to human trafficking – trafficking in persons – to nonproliferation, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief, and so much more.
In particular, we are focused on two issues of particular concern: maritime security and cyber security. Maritime security is a concern because your region is home to the world’s busiest ports and most critical sea lanes. And what happens here matters to the United States, but it also matters to everybody else. It matters to the global community.
And with regard to the South China Sea, I will say this: As a Pacific nation, and the resident power, the United States has a national interest in the maintenance of peace and stability, respect for international law, unimpeded lawful commerce, and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. As we have said many times before, while we do not take a position on a competing territorial claim over land features, we have a strong interest in the manner in which the disputes of the South China Sea are addressed and in the conduct of the parties. We very much hope to see progress soon on a substantive code of conduct in order to help ensure stability in this vital region.
The United States is also working and looks forward to working further with ASEAN to improve cyber security and to combat cyber crime. We’re very eager to help ASEAN member states build capacity here in order to make sure that all of us are protected against cyber threats and in order to reduce the risks that these cyber threats carry.
Finally, I want to discuss a third priority and that’s the United States commitment to depending and deepening – depending on and deepening our people to people ties with ASEAN nations. These connections are really the foundation of our long term relationship, and that’s why we have continually increased our engagement with ASEAN on environment, health, cultural, and educational matters, including exchange between academies, between scientists, between artists, and youth.
The $25 million Brunei-U.S. partnership on English language education for ASEAN we think will help build regional integration and facilitate collaboration and understanding between all of us, both within and outside of ASEAN. The pilot Fulbright U.S.-ASEAN initiative is off to a very successful start. And we have increased our science and technology engagement with ASEAN through programs such as the INSPIRE initiative, which stands for U.S.-ASEAN Innovation in Science through Partners in Regional Engagement.
So today, tomorrow, into the future, I look forward to discussing ways to increase these people to people ties and to addressing our mutual economic and political security interests. And I am just by assuring you again of one thing – for any country that questions whether the United States will sustain our greater engagement in the Asia Pacific, I want to put those concerns to rest completely today. As I said in Tokyo in my visit in April, President Obama has made a smart and a strategic commitment to rebalance our interests and our investments in Asia. We have many goals, many goals – we have economic and security interests – but I want to emphasize importantly, our actions are not intended to contain or to counterbalance any one country. My commitment to you and President Obama’s commitment to you is that as a Pacific nation, we take our Pacific responsibilities and partnership seriously. And we will continue to build an active and an enduring presence in every respect.
And one of the most important ways that we will do that is in our partnership with all of you through ASEAN. So thank you very much, my co-chair, I appreciate the opportunity to share a few thoughts with you, and I look forward to our dialogue.
FOREIGN MINISTER WUNNA MAUNG LWIN: Thank you, Excellency, for your kind words addressed to me, and to my government and my country. I also wish to express our appreciation to you for your wisdom and innovative initiatives to facilitate the ASEAN-U.S. dialogue relations. We also encouraged that the U.S. Administration has reiterated its commitments to advance the relations between the ASEAN member states and the United States in the bilateral and regional context.
May I now request the media personnel to kindly leave the room, as we are about to commence the closed session. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
Remarks at the U.S.-ASEAN Ministerial Meeting
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Myanmar Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin
Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
July 1, 2013
FOREIGN MINISTER WUNNA MAUNG LWIN: Your Royal Highness, Mr. Co-chair, excellencies, a very good morning. With the permission of Mr. Co-chair, I wish to announce that the ASEAN-U.S. Ministerial Meeting commenced. At the outset, I wish to exchange on behalf of my ASEAN colleagues, our warmest welcome to Secretary of State John Kerry– (audio break) – ASEAN post-ministerial meeting in Bandar Seri Begawan.
To my ASEAN colleagues who are with us this morning to share the views on how to accelerate the ASEAN-U.S. dialogue relations and cooperation. Our appreciation also goes to the officials and technicians from the secretariat for their support and cooperation.
Mr. Co-chair, the first agenda of our meeting is opening remarks by the co-chairs of the ASEAN-U.S. Ministerial Meeting. Let me start with my opening remarks.
Your Royal Highness, your Excellency John Kerry, excellencies, distinguished delegates, as country coordinator of the ASEAN-U.S. dialogue relations, it is an honor and privilege for me to deliver my opening remarks at this important PMC meeting this morning. We warmly welcome Secretary of State John Kerry, and we look forward to closely working with you for the advancement of ASEAN-U.S. relations from now on.
I also wish to express our appreciation to the Republic of the Philippines for its effective coordinatorship role from 2009 to 2012. It was accelerated and promoted our dialogue relations with the United States.
Mr. Co-chair, I wish to express our deep sorrow and sympathy to the family members of the victims of the April 15th terrorist bombings in Boston, and those who lost their lives and properties in the tornadoes that struck Oklahoma City recently. We wish to reiterate that ASEAN condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
We task great importance to the ASEAN-U.S. dialogue relations. We also wish to enhance ties, deepen economic and culture cooperation, and elevate the existing relationship to a higher level. We all are willing to listen your views on how to advance ASEAN-U.S. relations. We wish to take this opportunity to express deep appreciation and gratitude to former Secretary of State Mrs. Hillary Clinton for her role in promoting the ASEAN-U.S. relationship. We also commend the Ambassador of the United States to ASEAN in fulfilling his duties in promoting ASEAN-U.S. relations.
Mr. Co-chair, I share the views with my ASEAN colleagues on issues of common interest, which need our due attention. Those are cyber security, disaster management, food and energy security, education, economic and trade cooperation, counterterrorism, trafficking in persons, maritime security, and connectivity. We look forward to advancing our views on those issues on how to accelerate our cooperation.
Mr. Co-chair, on a personal note, we highly value and appreciate the U.S. renewed engagement with Myanmar Government. The visit of President U Thein Sein to the United States in May this year was a historic moment in our bilateral relations, and during the visit the President reiterated Myanmar’s commitment to unwavering continued its reform process. We firmly believe that the development of relationship between Myanmar and U.S. will strengthen bilateral relations and thus contribute to the advancement of the ASEAN-U.S. relations. We would look forward to have a constructive and active discussion during the meeting. Thank you for your kind attention.
May I now invite Secretary of State John Kerry to deliver his opening remarks? The floor is yours, Excellency.
SECRETARY KERRY: Well, thank you very much, Mr. Minister, and thank you to all of the ministers here. It’s a great pleasure for me to be here at my first ASEAN-U.S. ministerial, but I’m happy to say I’ve been out in this region over many years as a United States Senator and even before that, so it’s a great pleasure for me to be back here and be with some friends. And I’ve gotten to meet with a number of you in these early days, and I thank all of you for your welcome and for your cooperation.
I want to thank our host, Brunei, for welcoming us for the ASEAN Regional Forum and for so many important meetings that are going to take place here over the course of the next days. I know President Obama is very much looking forward to his visit here in October for the East Asia summit. I also want to thank Myanmar for co-chairing this meeting today with us, and we thank you for all of the work that you have done as our ASEAN country coordinator, and I also thank you, Mr. Minister, for your generous thoughts about Boston and about Oklahoma. We appreciate that very much, and I appreciate your strong statement about terrorism, which I think all of us here are very grateful for and sympathetic with.
I might add, Myanmar is a country that is setting a great positive trend and undergoing a dramatic political and economic transition, and I want to recognize that. Today, President Thein Sein works with a resurgent parliament that includes former military officers working alongside Aung San Suu Kyi, and that is really an incredible testament to the possibilities of what happens with leadership and with values and the possibility of progress. And the United States strongly supports Myanmar’s journey toward democracy, which is really something that might have even been unthinkable just a few years ago. These positive changes all illustrate the dynamism and the huge potential of this region, which is why this meeting is important.
I think we all agree that a significant part of the history of the 21st century will be written right here in Asia, and much of that history will be driven by what happens in Southeast Asia. This is why the United States believes that our relationship with ASEAN is of the highest importance. And today, I want to talk about three areas of concern in U.S.-ASEAN cooperation: economic opportunity, political security concerns, and people to people ties.
First, the United States supports ASEAN’s economic integration goals and we are strongly encouraging you as you pursue them. We recognize the tremendous economic dynamism of your region and of your people, and as is true everywhere, we are only going to be able to capture the energy of Southeast Asia in its massive and growing and overwhelmingly young population if we answer their aspirations. We have to speak to the young people by providing opportunity for them.
By the end of this decade roughly half of Southeast Asia’s 600 million people will be defined as middle class. That’s a population that is as large as the entire United States. So helping these people to achieve the middle class dream and to stay there is both of our challenge and it’s both of our responsibility. I might add, it’s also our opportunity. We support ASEAN’s goals in creating dynamic, open economies and establishing integrated ASEAN economic community by the end of 2015. And we will invest significantly in technical assistance to support these goals.
The second area I want to discuss is our political security engagement with ASEAN. Let me be crystal clear: I know that some people have wondered whether in the second term of the Obama Administration and with a new Secretary of State, are we going to continue on the path that we have been on? And the answer, I say to all of you directly, is yes. Not just yes, but we hope to increase the effort. So we are committed to ensuring a peaceful, stable, and prosperous Southeast Asia, and that’s why we’re working together on a whole range of both traditional and nontraditional security issues from wildlife trafficking to human trafficking – trafficking in persons – to nonproliferation, humanitarian assistance, and disaster relief, and so much more.
In particular, we are focused on two issues of particular concern: maritime security and cyber security. Maritime security is a concern because your region is home to the world’s busiest ports and most critical sea lanes. And what happens here matters to the United States, but it also matters to everybody else. It matters to the global community.
And with regard to the South China Sea, I will say this: As a Pacific nation, and the resident power, the United States has a national interest in the maintenance of peace and stability, respect for international law, unimpeded lawful commerce, and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. As we have said many times before, while we do not take a position on a competing territorial claim over land features, we have a strong interest in the manner in which the disputes of the South China Sea are addressed and in the conduct of the parties. We very much hope to see progress soon on a substantive code of conduct in order to help ensure stability in this vital region.
The United States is also working and looks forward to working further with ASEAN to improve cyber security and to combat cyber crime. We’re very eager to help ASEAN member states build capacity here in order to make sure that all of us are protected against cyber threats and in order to reduce the risks that these cyber threats carry.
Finally, I want to discuss a third priority and that’s the United States commitment to depending and deepening – depending on and deepening our people to people ties with ASEAN nations. These connections are really the foundation of our long term relationship, and that’s why we have continually increased our engagement with ASEAN on environment, health, cultural, and educational matters, including exchange between academies, between scientists, between artists, and youth.
The $25 million Brunei-U.S. partnership on English language education for ASEAN we think will help build regional integration and facilitate collaboration and understanding between all of us, both within and outside of ASEAN. The pilot Fulbright U.S.-ASEAN initiative is off to a very successful start. And we have increased our science and technology engagement with ASEAN through programs such as the INSPIRE initiative, which stands for U.S.-ASEAN Innovation in Science through Partners in Regional Engagement.
So today, tomorrow, into the future, I look forward to discussing ways to increase these people to people ties and to addressing our mutual economic and political security interests. And I am just by assuring you again of one thing – for any country that questions whether the United States will sustain our greater engagement in the Asia Pacific, I want to put those concerns to rest completely today. As I said in Tokyo in my visit in April, President Obama has made a smart and a strategic commitment to rebalance our interests and our investments in Asia. We have many goals, many goals – we have economic and security interests – but I want to emphasize importantly, our actions are not intended to contain or to counterbalance any one country. My commitment to you and President Obama’s commitment to you is that as a Pacific nation, we take our Pacific responsibilities and partnership seriously. And we will continue to build an active and an enduring presence in every respect.
And one of the most important ways that we will do that is in our partnership with all of you through ASEAN. So thank you very much, my co-chair, I appreciate the opportunity to share a few thoughts with you, and I look forward to our dialogue.
FOREIGN MINISTER WUNNA MAUNG LWIN: Thank you, Excellency, for your kind words addressed to me, and to my government and my country. I also wish to express our appreciation to you for your wisdom and innovative initiatives to facilitate the ASEAN-U.S. dialogue relations. We also encouraged that the U.S. Administration has reiterated its commitments to advance the relations between the ASEAN member states and the United States in the bilateral and regional context.
May I now request the media personnel to kindly leave the room, as we are about to commence the closed session. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.
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