[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1993, Book II)]
[November 22, 1993]
[Pages 2047-2052]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



[[Page 2047]]


The President's News Conference With President Fidel Ramos of the 
Philippines
November 22, 1993

    President Clinton. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I want to 
read this statement about the meeting I have just concluded with 
President Ramos, and then we'll have remarks by the President. And then 
I want to make a statement about the airlines issue, after which we will 
both answer questions.
    First, let me say it's a great pleasure for me to welcome President 
Fidel Ramos of the Philippines to Washington. We had a very good 
discussion at the historic APEC leaders' meeting in Seattle, and I'm 
delighted that he accepted my invitation to come to the White House for 
further talks.
    Our two nations have enjoyed warm relations for almost a century 
now. Our soldiers have fought side by side. President Ramos knows the 
value of our cooperation first hand, having himself served in combat in 
Korea. I'd also like to congratulate him as a graduate of West Point for 
the award he recently received from the United States Military Academy 
as one of their outstanding graduates.
    Throughout the cold war, the Philippines hosted two of our key 
military bases in the Pacific. And now with the cold war over, the 
Philippines remains one of our Nation's most vital friends and allies in 
the Asian-Pacific region.
    The Philippines also helped lead the march toward democracy over the 
past decade. We all recall the impressive courage of the Philippine 
people in 1986 as their prodemocratic struggle inspired freedom-loving 
people everywhere in the world. President Ramos played an important role 
in that drama. And it is fitting, as I said, that he has been honored by 
West Point and recognized by people all across America for his devotion 
not only to democracy but to the cause of human rights.
    In our discussions today, President Ramos and I covered a range of 
bilateral, regional, and global issues. We reviewed the results of last 
week's APEC meetings and agreed to work jointly to advance the spirit of 
community in our region. We share the goal of achieving open trade and 
investment, prosperity, and increasing regional economic integration. We 
agreed that Congress' approval of NAFTA this past week will bolster our 
regional efforts to reduce trade barriers and may improve our chances of 
securing an acceptable new GATT agreement.
    I told the President that I very much admire his own efforts toward 
economic liberalization. I'm impressed by his steps to free foreign 
exchange and liberalize trade and investment and by his ongoing efforts 
to achieve reform in banking, taxation, and customs.
    Our bilateral relations with the Philippines have witnessed a 
transformation in recent years. The end of the cold war and the closure 
of our bases there, however, have not changed the basis for continuing 
cooperation between our two nations. We've now begun a renewed 
partnership, based on our long historical association, our shared 
values, our expanding trade and investment links, our bilateral security 
cooperation, and our common dedication to democracy and human rights.
    We took several steps today to enhance our partnership, agreeing 
among other things to negotiate a bilateral extradition treaty which 
will help us to combat global crime, terrorism, and narcotics trade. We 
agreed to pursue a mutual legal assistance treaty to facilitate evidence 
exchanges in criminal matters and again to strengthen our cooperation in 
narcotics control. I want to thank President Ramos for his action to 
ensure the renewal of our close security cooperation. Those efforts have 
enabled a successful visit of the U.S.S. O'Brien to Manila in a joint 
military exercise on Philippine territory.
    We look forward to continuing cooperation with the Philippines, in 
APEC, the ASEAN regional forum, the United Nations, and on global issues 
ranging from nonproliferation to environmental protection, something 
that President Ramos referred to over and over again at the APEC meeting 
just a few days ago.
    President Ramos has been a strong friend of the American people, and 
I look forward to working closely with him and the Philippine people in 
the days ahead.
    Let me say in introducing him, also, that there's been a great deal 
of discussion over the last couple of years, and certainly in recent 
days, about whether the basic cause of human rights

[[Page 2048]]

is somehow a product of the Western cultural tradition. If you look at 
the Philippines, the Philippine version of human rights shows that human 
rights can take root anywhere and be appreciated, revered, and respected 
anywhere, thanks in no small measure to President Ramos.
    The floor is yours, sir.
    President Ramos. Thank you, Bill.
    Ladies and gentlemen, today President Clinton and I set a new 
orientation for Philippine-American relations. These relations have a 
long history behind them. But the fundamentally altered political and 
economic environment in the world and in our region and the changed 
requirements of both our peoples have made it necessary and desirable 
for both of us to embark on a new partnership.
    This new partnership we affirm shall be based on the values that 
both Americans and Filipinos cherish deeply: the sanctity of human 
rights, the value of democracy, and the efficacy of the free market. 
President Clinton strongly supports our commitment to these values, 
something which we find encouraging and for which we are grateful.
    Our partnership, we agreed, shall also be anchored more firmly than 
ever before on the benefits that both our countries derive from our 
economic relationship. I deeply appreciate the support which President 
Clinton expressed for our program of economic reform and economic 
development, and I value the confidence that he manifested in the 
program's success.
    I also thank President Clinton for the steps that this 
administration intends to take to encourage more American investments in 
the Philippines. At the same time, I raised with him the question of 
improved access for Philippine exports to the American market. And in 
the context of our economic partnership, President Clinton and I 
resolved to work even more closely together for the punctual and 
successful conclusion of the Uruguay round and in general the further 
liberalization of the world economy, even as we recognize the special 
requirements of the developing countries.
    Security cooperation, particularly within the framework of the 
Philippine-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty of 1951 remains a vital element in 
Philippine-American relations. President Clinton and I agreed that our 
cooperation in security matters must be strengthened despite the changes 
in the global and regional security situation which no longer requires 
the permanent stationing of American forces in the Philippines.
    The mutual defense treaty continues to be valuable to the security 
of East Asia. We welcome and appreciate, as do others in the region, the 
continuing American commitment to regional security which President 
Clinton reaffirmed today, including America's determination to oppose 
any resort to the use of force in the Kalayaan or Spratly area.
    A human link in our relation with the United States is the community 
of over 2 million Filipinos in this country. I appreciate President 
Clinton's recognition of their contribution to American society. And in 
order to be able to assist each other better in the enforcement of the 
law, President Clinton and I agreed that our officials should begin work 
on an extradition treaty between our two countries.
    I also raised to President Clinton two matters that are close to my 
heart. The first is the old issue of the rights of the Filipino veterans 
of World War II. The other is the so-called Amerasian children issue.
    Finally, my delegation and I thank President Clinton and his 
delegation for the warmth and cordiality with which we conducted our 
discussions. Those discussions, I am sure, will lead to a new and a 
strong partnership for the benefit of both Americans and Filipinos.
    Thank you, Mr. President.

American Airlines Strike

    President Clinton. Thank you, Mr. President.
    I would like now to read a statement on the airline strike, and then 
we'll take some questions from both the American and the Filipino press 
here.
    I am pleased to announce that I have spoken with both parties 
involved in the American Airlines strike and that both have agreed in 
principle to end the strike and to return to the bargaining table 
immediately. They've also agreed to resolve all matters under dispute 
through binding arbitration. All American Airlines flight attendants 
will be reinstated.
    I believe this agreement represents an important step forward for 
all Americans, including families that will be able to reunite over the 
holidays, the flight attendants themselves, all of whom will now be able 
to return to their jobs, and American Airlines which can now return to 
serving the traveling public. I hope this is the beginning of a happy 
holiday season for all of us.

[[Page 2049]]

    I want to encourage all the people involved in the American Airlines 
family to now return to work together without any bitterness and with a 
spirit of mutual respect as they attempt to work through these issues 
through binding arbitration. This company and its employees are a very 
important part of the American economy, a very important part of the 
airline sector that has been troubled for the last couple of years and 
that is a very important part of our high-tech future.
    I am very pleased by the agreement which has been reached. And I now 
ask all parties involved to approach it in good faith and with good 
spirits. I also want to say that I have spoken with the Secretary of 
Transportation and the Secretary of Labor, along with members of the 
National Mediation Board, and I want to thank them for the work that all 
of them did to help to bring matters to this point today. I am very 
pleased by this development, and again I want to thank the 
representatives of both sides, the attendants and the company, for 
making this important statement. And I look forward to the ultimate 
resolution of the issues.
    Helen [Helen Thomas, United Press International].

North Korea and Japan

    Q. Mr. President, is it true that the United States is prepared to 
sweeten the pot, give aid, recognition, call off Team Spirit, if North 
Korea agrees to nuclear inspection? And with the Japanese access to 
plutonium, don't you worry about Japan building the bomb?
    President Clinton. Well, how many questions was that?
    Q. Three. [Laughter]
    President Clinton. Good for you.
    Q. [Inaudible]
    President Clinton. I'm glad to know you were keeping score. 
[Laughter]
    As you know, President Kim of South Korea will be here tomorrow. And 
our administration has been working on a new approach to deal with this 
issue. I want to discuss it with him tomorrow, and then I expect to have 
an announcement on it.
    I think it's fair to say that Japan does not wish to become a 
nuclear power and that in my talks with Prime Minister Hosokawa and with 
President Jiang of China, it was obvious to me that no one in the region 
wants North Korea to become a nuclear power. So we're going to do 
everything we can in close consultation with the countries most affected 
in the region to try to find a resolution to this. I also discussed this 
with President Ramos today because the Philippines has important 
membership on the IAEA, and he gave me his thoughts on it. We are 
working on it. I want to consult with President Kim tomorrow, and then I 
expect to have another announcement.

American Airlines Strike

    Q. Mr. President, can you tell us, how did this American Airlines 
settlement come about? What role did you play in it? You said that you 
talked to both sides today. Did you put pressure on either side to 
accept this?
    President Clinton. No, I don't think that would be a fair 
characterization of it. We were contacted--and our staff can give you 
some more background later after the press conference--and the White 
House has been actively involved all morning trying to bring the parties 
to this point. But to be fair, they were willing to be brought to this 
point. They were interested in trying to figure out what procedures we 
might follow so that we could get the strike over with, bring the flight 
attendants back, start the planes flying again. So I have to give them a 
large share of the credit. But they were willing to have us try to work 
out this arrangement, and I am grateful for that.
    Bruce Lindsey had a lot to do with it this morning, talking to 
representatives of the two sides on the phone and talking to the Labor 
Department, the Transportation Department about what had been done to 
date and kind of getting a sense of where we were. And it all fell into 
place about an hour ago. And then I had to call them both, and we had to 
go over it all one more time to make sure that we were all singing out 
of the same hymnal about how the process would work and what rules would 
apply and things of that kind. And I feel quite good about it.
    Is there anyone from the Korean press who has a--I mean, Filipino 
press?
    Q. Philippine press, Mr. President.
    President Clinton. Go ahead.

The Philippines

    Q. Both you and President Ramos, have you discussed any details 
concerning the United States commitment to the multilateral aid 
initiative to the Philippines? And will you please ex-


[[Page 2050]]

pand on your talks concerning the vets, the veterans issue, as well as 
the Amerasians?
    President Ramos. To the first of the three questions, let me say 
that we hardly discussed aid at all, but the main focus of our 
discussion was economic cooperation, which would result in more 
investment and trade in the Philippines and within Asia and the Pacific. 
In regard to the veterans problem, President Clinton and I agreed that 
we will continue looking at ways and means to make it right for the 
Filipino veterans of World War II. Of course, we both realize that there 
is legislative action involved, and the solution of the problem is not 
entirely within the hands of the Executive. Regarding the problem of the 
so-called Amerasian children, we agreed to work on this matter as well 
as to encourage the nongovernment organizations to do their part. I 
informed President Clinton that there is an NGO that is very active in 
the Philippines representing the concerned people of the United States, 
called the Pearl Buck Foundation, that has been in this kind of work for 
a long, long time now and with which we intend to establish close 
linkages on the part of the Philippine Government and also our 
Philippine NGO's.

Presidential Security

    Q. Mr. President, on this 30th anniversary of President Kennedy's 
assassination, do you personally feel that the case is closed, that Lee 
Harvey Oswald did act alone without any assistance? And secondly, as you 
travel around, are you concerned about your own personal security as you 
wade into crowds and go around and talk to people?
    President Clinton. I am satisfied with the finding that Lee Harvey 
Oswald acted alone. I'm also very satisfied with the work done by the 
Secret Service in my behalf. Most of the crowds that I see now have been 
through some sort of screening process, particularly if there's been a 
lot of advance notice of my coming. But it's impossible for a democratic 
leader in a free world, I think, to live in a shell. One of the greatest 
things a President has to guard against all the time is just becoming 
isolated from the feelings, the concerns, the conditions of daily life 
that all other Americans have to confront. And so there's always going 
to be a tension, if you lead a free country and you're accountable to 
all the citizens of that country, between the legitimate desire of the 
security forces to protect you and the desire that I have not to lose 
touch and get totally out of sync with the lives of all the people whom 
I must represent.
    Anyone else from the Filipino press? Yes.

Extradition Treaty

    Q. Yes, President Clinton, an extradition treaty has been tried 
before between the Philippines and the United States. What issues remain 
from the point of view of the United States before such a treaty can be 
concluded?
    President Clinton. Well, let me say we did not even discuss the 
outstanding issues today. We want to leave that to our negotiators. I 
think what President Ramos wanted to know was whether I was willing to 
do it. And the answer is I am very much willing to do it, and I believe 
that we will succeed.

Handgun Control Legislation

    Q. Mr. President, the Brady bill has come so close before and failed 
with the end of a congressional session. Is there anything that you can 
do or that Democratic leaders can do to try to save it from an obstacle 
in the conference committee and to try to get the Senate to agree to the 
conference before Congress goes home?
    President Clinton. Well, we might have just a shred of a chance of 
that. You know, the Senate was anxious to leave, and they've worked hard 
this year. The Congress has worked very hard. The House just passed 
overwhelmingly a comprehensive campaign finance reform, so that's 
another issue that the House and the Senate have acted on they'll have 
to conference. There may be some small chance it can be done now. But I 
don't want to hold out false hope. I would like it if it can be done. I 
would love it if the Congress could give the Brady bill to the American 
people for Thanksgiving. But I do believe that the size of the vote in 
the Senate and the marked shift almost overnight in the position of 
those who were promoting the filibuster shows an awareness that we have 
to lead on this crime and personal security issue and an understanding 
that the American people want something done at the national level and 
they want something done at the local level. And they want people to 
roll up their sleeves and go to work, not get in the way. So I believe 
that even if we fail to secure it at this 11th hour, that it'll pass 
when the Congress comes back and fairly quickly. I wish that it could be 
done now. I don't know if it can

[[Page 2051]]

be done now.
    Q. So why should people wait another few months?
    President Clinton. I don't think they----
    Q. They won't be back until----
    President Clinton. I don't think they should. I think it should pass 
now. But I don't know if I can get it done. If it were up to me, it 
would be done right this minute; it would have been done months ago. But 
I can just tell you, we are working on it. We are exploring all possible 
options. I don't know if it can be done.

Extradition Treaty

    Q. As a loyal member of the Philippine press, I'm quite disturbed 
about the extradition treaty. Are you planning to make provisions to 
protect the interests of political asylum, from the Philippines and vice 
versa, Mr. President?
    President Ramos. The details are being worked out by our respective 
legal staffs. But I think you will appreciate the fact that the two 
governments have finally undertaken this effort on a joint basis.
    During the Marcos period when the regime was very repressive and a 
lot of Filipinos came over to the United States to seek asylum, 
naturally there was no agreement on extradition because the United 
States wanted to protect those that had sought political asylum in this 
country. But we shall be concerned here with really extradition in the 
strictly criminal sense, as applying to violators of the revised Penal 
Code of the Philippines.

Environmental Issues

    Q. Can I just follow up, sir, very important, on the environmental 
issue. I know you have talks on extradition and Amerasian and veterans. 
I think environment is a very important issue and is a concern not only 
of Asian countries but all countries in this world. Have you discussed 
anything on how to protect the environment for the Philippine side?
    President Ramos. I brought it up at the APEC meeting itself as a 
concern of developing countries as well as of countries in the Asia-
Pacific region. I discussed this extensively with Vice President Gore 
during our meeting, and I repeated it in our meeting with President 
Clinton.
    The Philippines must be recognized as one of the first, if not the 
first, Asian countries that created the mechanism to implement the 
guidelines agreed to by most countries in the Earth summit in Rio in 
June 1992. And we're proud that we have this kind of a record in the 
international community. And we are very thankful to the United States 
Government for supporting many efforts on our part to improve our own 
Philippine environmental situation.
    President Clinton. Let me just give you one specific example that 
President Ramos suggested, not now but in Seattle, that we look at 
establishing within the APEC region a technology transfer center that 
would accelerate the movement of technology for environmental protection 
and cleanup from the countries that have it to those that need to 
acquire it. So I think you can look forward to a time when we will 
really press this forward. It's very much in the interest of the United 
States, both environmentally and economically to do. And I really 
appreciate the fact that of all the APEC leaders, President Ramos was 
the one most insistent that we make progress on this.

Crime and the Community

    Q. Mr. President, you've been talking a lot lately about children 
killing children. And a number of sociologists are now suggesting that 
not enough focus has been put on the parents who fail to supervise these 
children. Do you agree with that? And what can be done about it?
    President Clinton. Absolutely, I agree with that. I think that the 
conditions you see today in a lot of the most desperate areas of our 
country are the result of a confluence of forces, one of which is 
plainly the breakdown of order within the family and the kind of 
direction and support that traditionally has been the province of 
parenthood. That's one reason, one thing.
    Secondly, there has been a simultaneous breakdown of a lot of the 
community supports and alternatives to parental guidance that used to 
exist in a lot of communities. After all, there have always been 
children in trouble. There have always been children who had parents who 
were neglectful of them, even abusive of them. But in times past, there 
have been more alternative community supports than there are now. And 
one of the reasons that my speech to the Church of God in Christ got 
such a warm reception from the folks there is that many of them feel 
that they're holding back an even worse deluge, that the churches are 
almost the only community supports left in a lot of these neighborhoods.

[[Page 2052]]

    The third thing, obviously, is the decline of available employment 
in a lot of these neighborhoods, so that a lot of the role models who 
would have been there, people who would have been there either in the 
home or in the neighborhood, are not there.
    And then the fourth thing are the rise of drugs, not only as an 
instrument of personal abuse but also as an alternative economic system.
    And then, finally, the ready availability of weapons, especially 
handguns and assault weapons, to reinforce an alternative economic and 
social order; all these things are working together. But clearly, we're 
going to have to have more efforts by people at the grassroots level, 
the churches, the community organizations, the local folks, to reinforce 
a sense of parental responsibility and accountability in whatever way we 
can.
    Thank you. We have to go.

Note: The President's 34th news conference began at 2:30 p.m. in the 
East Room at the White House. In his remarks, he referred to Bruce 
Lindsey, Assistant to the President and Senior Adviser.