[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2007, Book II)]
[August 30, 2007]
[Pages 1135-1145]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]
Interview With Foreign Print Media
August 30, 2007
The President. So like, what are the rules?
National Security Council Senior Director for East Asian Affairs
Dennis C. Wilder. On the record.
The President. I'm talking about for these people back here.
National Security Council Press Secretary Gordon Johndroe. It's all on the record. It's embargoed until these
fine people have a chance to run their stories.
The President. Good. Thanks. I'm looking forward to my trip. This is
the seventh APEC summit that I've been to. I find them to be important
for the United States in the following ways.
One, it's an opportunity to stress the importance that we place upon
basic values, basic value of liberty, basic value of open markets in
order to enhance prosperity. It's a chance to remind people that we are
linked together. It's an interesting setting, when you have people from
different cultures, different languages come together for a common
purpose. I think that's important.
It's also a chance for me to remind our country how important it is
to have constructive ties in Asia. Asia is a place where we've spilt a
lot of blood in the past, and now it's a place of peace. Asia is a place
where the United States was engaged militarily, and now we're engaged
culturally and socially and economically in a way that is constructive
for our peoples.
It will be an opportunity for--remind me that it's possible for
enemies to be allies and for enemies to be friends. It's a lesson for a
lot of us to think about when we think about the Middle East, that forms
of government matter and hopeful societies yield peace.
I'm looking forward to the discussions about trade. The first
priority for trade for me at the meeting will be on Doha. I'm a firm
believer in free trade. I believe the Doha round is the best opportunity
for us to accomplish a couple of objectives. One is to fight off
protectionism and trade freely, and secondly is to help eliminate
poverty. This will be an opportunity for the leaders of the APEC summit
to express their desire to see the Doha round succeed. We'll take the
lead in that, along with other nations.
There's also an opportunity for us to start talking about a free
trade agreement of the Pacific region. And I'm looking forward to having
that dialog, begin the dialog. It would just be kind of an interesting
opportunity to have the dialog on this aspect of our strategic
partnership there and to move forward. We've got a lot of--we've got
some free trade agreements with people, and that will be at the table.
I'd like to see those free trade agreements become regionalized.
Opportunity for me to continue to talk about the struggle between
radicalism and reasonableness, between extremism and people that want to
live in peace. I happen to believe--I'm sure you've heard me say this--
that we're in a major ideological struggle--a struggle we will win, by
the way. But it's going to require resolve and dedication. And this will
be an opportunity for me to remind our friends at the table that this is
the call of our time and that we have an opportunity to write a hopeful
chapter here in the beginning of the 21st century and to thank people
around the table for understanding this is the call of the time, because
there's been a lot of constructive engagement and good work, all aimed
at protecting ourselves from short-term attack--in the short term from
attack and recognizing that changing conditions of life in the long term
will enable us to live in peace.
[[Page 1136]]
And finally, I'm looking forward to reminding people that I take the
climate change issue seriously; that we recognize that there needs to be
international--an international accord to get people at the table who
are the major emitters to set a goal. Step one to solving a problem is
to set the goal on what we ought to achieve. If you want somebody to be
a part of the problem--a part of the solution, you need to let them be a
part of defining what the goal ought to be. That's the strategy.
So many of the people at the APEC table are going to come to the
major economy conference that--those of us who are emitters will be
there, including China, which will be at the table. I don't want to
single China out, but China has got a major role to play. Any agreement
without China is not going to be an effective agreement. So my strategy
has been to get China at the table. We will further the dialog. John
Howard has got some very interesting ways to
further the dialog in a constructive way, particularly talking about
energy usage. So we'll be looking forward to his leadership on the
issue. When I told him I was looking forward to coming, we discussed
this issue. He's concerned about greenhouse gases. And so he'll take the
lead here at the conference, and the United States will play a
constructive role.
Anyway, that's why I'm looking forward to going. We've got a big
agenda. It's my second trip to Australia. I remind people that
Australia--parts of Australia reminds me of Texas--[laughter]--and
there's no higher compliment. [Laughter]
So, given that, Geoff, why don't you start off? We'll do two rounds,
then I've got to go.
Asia-Pacific Region-U.S. Relations/North Korea/China
Q. Thanks, Mr. President. I think on behalf of all of us, I can say
thank you very much for this opportunity today.
The President. Thanks.
Q. As you've just analyzed, Mr. President, obviously Iraq and the
Middle East, the war on terror is an overarching policy issue for the
Bush administration. Nonetheless, there has been a perception in the
region that this has distracted Washington from engagement in Asia.
There's been some criticism on that score. Some people are calling this
the Pacific century. You're cutting short your trip to Sydney because of
the Iraq issue. I'm just wondering, do you think that's warranted, that
criticism, and do you see China, for instance, playing the role--the
driver in the Pacific century, not the U.S.?
The President. No, it's interesting, first of all, this
administration has got good bilateral relations with Japan, good
bilateral relations with China, good bilateral relations with Korea. Our
relationship with the ASEAN countries are as strong as America has ever
been, and of course our ties with Australia are tight, really tight.
And the reason I say that is, is that this just doesn't happen
without work. And I have worked hard to develop bilateral relations in
such a way that we can achieve strategic objectives. I believe the
relations with the United States and the Asian-Pacific region have never
been better, and as a result, we're addressing problems and creating
opportunities.
One problem, of course, is North Korea. When I came into office, the
world was expecting the United States to solve the North Korea issue
alone. To me--and the North Korean leader had
basically not honored the bilateral agreement that had been struck, and
therefore, felt like we needed to put this issue in a position in which
others were speaking besides the United States--and have started the
six-party talks. Five countries were convinced to come to the table on
one side to convince the North Korean leader to give up his nuclear
weapons ambitions. It's working. That wouldn't have happened without
engagement and good, solid relations.
[[Page 1137]]
Another issue obviously is our bilateral relations with China. It's
the same--you're in a little different position in that you've got a
nice trade surplus with China. We've got a trade deficit with China. And
it's important for us to have a--given the complexity of our
relationship, that we've got a strategic relationship that allows for
engagement and for us to help deal with a major trade deficit, for
example, and/or product safety or a SARS outbreak. Secretary Paulson--I empowered Secretary Paulson to
develop this special working relationship with China. And it requires a
lot of engagement. It requires engagement at the top, with President Hu
Jintao, who I respect, as well as people in my
Cabinet. So there's a lot of interchange. For those who argue that, they
really haven't--frankly haven't followed how engaged we have been.
Is China an issue for the world? Absolutely. But I don't view it as
a negative issue; I view it as an opportunity to work with a--one of the
really significantly growing economies in the world.
Here's the way I view it: First, I view that a growing middle class
in China is good for U.S. exporters. It provides opportunity. And it's--
by the way, it's not only good for U.S. exports; it's good for
Australian exporters, and it's good for Japanese exporters, and it's
good for Singaporean, Malaysian. Anybody who is making a product
somebody wants, it's just a good opportunity.
And so as a part of our engagement with China, we have worked with
Hu Jintao to convince him to help convert his
economy from one of savers to one of consumers, which means--and by the
way, that takes a lot of effort and work to get in a position where you
can even make those kind of constructive suggestions--which means the
development of a pension system or health care, so that people don't
feel like they have to hoard their money to save for a rainy day, but in
fact, there's some kind of safety net that is predictable, which then
would convert a Chinese person who is beginning to realize better income
into a consumer. And then all of a sudden, you've got consumers, which
provide opportunity.
Now, Hu Jintao actually gave these remarks at
the White House--along these lines--at the East Room there. It took a
lot of trust and work to get--to enable him to make that statement, but
that's the kind of statement which people around the region ought to
say, thankfully--I'm thankful that he was able to say that, because it
takes what some view as a problem and converts it into a great
opportunity for all of us to grow our respective economies.
Trade
Q. Huge economic opportunity--you see China as the big grower of the
economy in the Asia Pacific?
The President. No, I see the United States as the big driver for
trade. We're a significant economy. At APEC, people ought to be
wondering whether or not George Bush is going to keep taxes low to make
sure our economy continues to grow, because we're a significant trading
partner. I view China as an opportunity.
I think the United States is going to drive a lot of the trade.
That's why we conducted--now, having said that, I think China will
provide opportunity for Australian producers, but we also provide the
same opportunity. I don't view it as a zero-sum game, let me put it to
you that way. I view it as an--I view--all of us contribute, so long as
the world doesn't slip into protectionism. And part of the reason one
goes to APEC is to promote trade and opportunity.
Tia.
China-U.S. Relations/War on Terror
Q. Just following up about China. Do you consider actually China is
a friend or an enemy? And how do you plan to win the hearts and win the
markets in the world, including in Southeast Asian countries like
Indonesia?
[[Page 1138]]
The President. Well, I think, first of all, we have a complex
relationship with China. It is one that--where it is growing; it's
changing. The United States strongly supports markets. China is a market
that's developing. On the other hand, we also support open societies,
transparency, where people are allowed to express themselves in a free
society. I believe in freedom of religion. I believe in basic freedoms.
So our relationship with China is, on the one hand, we welcome
trading opportunities. We want there to be free trade and fair trade; we
want the currency to float. These are complex issues. And what makes the
relationship even more complex is, at the same time, we believe in human
rights and human dignity. And we worked with the Chinese leadership to
promote human rights and human dignity.
So it's not--it's hard to define the relationship in kind of a
simple, one-sentence structure. And so ``complex'' is probably the best
way to say, but positive. As I told you, I view China as a positive
opportunity. And from a personal perspective, have got warm and cordial
relationships with President Hu Jintao. I like him;
I like to talk to him. He's a smart man. We can share issues together. I
can say, ``What are your biggest problems?'' And he can say to me,
``What are your problems?'' In other words, we've got a personal
relationship.
And that's the way I try to do with all leaders because the best
diplomacy is when you can sit down with somebody one on one and speak
candidly about issues and problems. We're problem-solvers. See, that's
what leaders do. You see problems and you anticipate problems and work
together to accomplish something. And therefore, there has to be a
personal relationship.
I've also got a very good relationship with your leader. And so bilateral relations--first of all, in
the Muslim world, it's very important for people to understand that the
war on terror is not a war against Muslims; it's a war against
murderers. I don't believe religious people, truly religious people kill
the innocent. At least that's not the religion I believe in. And
therefore, it's important for leaders and countries to work together to
prevent the murder of the innocent and, at the same time, make sure that
we respect--America, in my case, respects religion, values the right for
people to worship, and, in the case of Islam, values Islam as an
important part of the international scene in the world we live in.
Otsuka.
North Korea/Abduction of Japanese Citizens
Q. Thank you very much, sir.
The President. How are you?
Q. Good.
The President. Have we met before?
Q. No, first time.
The President. Yes, well, I'm better for it. [Laughter]
Q. I have a question on North Korea.
The President. North Korea, sure.
Q. Is it possible that North Korea will give up nuclear weapons
program by the end of your term? And to help achieve it, are you ready
to remove North Korea from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list, even
without the resolution of Japanese abductee issue?
The President. Yes, thank you. As to the first part of your
question, I certainly hope that North Korea honors its agreements.
They--in September of 2006, they made a substantial agreement to
disclose and dismantle all aspects of a nuclear weapons program. Is that
right, September 6th?
National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley. 2005.
The President. Yes, 2005, excuse me. And here we are in 2007, nearly
2 years later, where we're still reminding them of that agreement. On
the other hand, a lot has happened in the last couple of months that
would lead me to believe that we're on--we're making progress. And we
will continue to push toward the full disclosure and dismantlement.
[[Page 1139]]
Secondly, we have--different aspects of our relationship are on the
table, but it's performance based. In other words, we expect people to
honor their agreements.
Finally, as I assured Prime Minister Abe,
that we're not going to forget the abductee issue. He and the Japanese
people are very concerned that once certain aspects of the agreement are
achieved, that we will forget the fact that Japanese citizens have been
abducted.
Well, let me tell you something, Otsuka--Ryuichi.
Q. Ryuichi.
The President. Ryuichi. I'll never forget the meeting I had with
the mother--it's very important for your
readers to know that that had a deep impression on me--the mother whose
daughter was abducted by North Koreans. I
can't imagine what that would mean. I guess I can imagine what it would
mean; I just can't understand, fully understand the pain that she felt--
still feels. And I'll never forget her coming to the Oval Office with
the picture of that little girl, picture of her daughter who got
abducted. She sat right there in the Oval Office. And my point to you
is, is that I'm not going to forget the mother or forget the fact.
And so we'll work with the--continue to work with the Japanese to
make it clear to the North Koreans that we also expect there to be
resolution to this issue. In other words, I understand, as well as I
possibly can, the emotion that people attach to this issue.
Salmy.
Organization of Islamic Conference/War on Terror
Q. Yes, sir. Mr. President.
The President. By the way, happy 50th.
Q. Thank you, sir.
The President. I remember when I turned 50; I felt old. [Laughter]
But now that I'm over 60, it's not that old.
Q. Not that bad.
The President. No, it really isn't. You're not even close. You
wouldn't even know.
Q. You look very young, sir.
The President. You are young. Oh, I look young? [Laughter] Good. I'm
feeling pretty young, thanks. It's all in your mind.
Q. Sir, your administration has indicated interest to appoint a
special envoy to the Organization of Islamic Conference, or the OIC.
Have you identified the person? And what will he or she do to bridge
relations with the Islamic countries in the Muslim world, in light of
the war in Iraq and in light of the detention of extremists from Muslim
countries?
The President. First of all, we have not identified the person yet.
We're working toward that end. As a matter of fact, I spoke to the
Secretary of State about this this morning,
coincidentally enough. And she's coming in, I think, tomorrow. Anyway,
we're working the issue.
Secondly, the reason why I suggested--or announced that we're going
to do this is because I am concerned about the perceptions in the Muslim
world that the United States views the war on terror as a war against a
particular religion. And I just explained to you that this is a war of
extremists and radicals, ideologues driven by a vision that is not--that
hijacks religion in order to justify their position. And any chance we
have to dispel false notion and to reinforce the realities is helpful to
the United States and frankly others as well. And so that's the reason
to name the envoy.
It also is a clear signal that we respect nations and that we treat
the Islamic world seriously. And you can do that all different kinds of
ways. It's just another statement. It's another moment for people to see
the seriousness of intent. In terms of--murder is murder, and murder to
achieve political objectives is--needs to be stopped. People murdered
Americans to achieve a political objective. There's a debate in our
country whether that's true or not. I've made up my mind. I believe it's
absolutely fundamentally true because I'm listening to
[[Page 1140]]
what the enemy says, the enemy of freedom, what they're saying. They
say, ``We want a caliphate, we want to spread our vision.''
It took a military action, by the way, to liberate people from that
vision in Afghanistan. This wasn't an attack on Islam; this was an
attack for liberty. Think about a society in which you two could not
function in what you're doing because of your gender. Why? Because the
vision of these people--who murder the innocent, by the way, to achieve
their vision--is that women aren't equal. And it just so happened that,
given the way the world is today, that that kind of ideologue provided
safe haven for people who plotted and killed people in our country. One,
I'm not going to stand for it; I'm going to protect America, just like
any other leader would protect their own country. And two, one way to
achieve long-term peace is to help people realize forms of government
that give hope. And so whether it be in Afghanistan and Iraq, we're
helping people realize the blessings of freedom. And frankly, the world
ought to be in there helping. And they are, many are.
Freedom yields peace. Asia is peaceful. Why? Because freedom is
prevailing, that's why. Forms of government matter. And so the
ambassador to the OIC or the President or any other representative of
America will be expressing this deep desire to work together to achieve
peace.
Derwin.
Six-Party Talks/U.S. Foreign Policy in Asia
Q. Mr. President, what do you think you have achieved with regards
to U.S. ties with Asia during your time in office? And what do you
consider to be unfinished business?
The President. Unfinished business is North Korea. It's--let me just
say, it is finishing. In other words, we're making progress. The six-
party talks is working. The first step was to get people to the table,
to remind people that it's just not the United States with
responsibility. The purpose of the--getting all five of us to the table
is so that if North Korea tried to say, ``Well, I'm really--I said I was
going to do it, but I'm not going to do it,'' then there is somebody
else also saying, ``And here are the consequences.''
And so that's a major step forward. And now it's beginning to work
because they're verifiably beginning to shut down the reactor. And so
we've got more to do.
So it's finishing, but unfinished. ``Unfinished'' is kind of a
loaded word, in a way. Sort of like--the question is, can it happen
before I'm through? Yes, it can. I hope so. But I'm not--we're not in
control of--we're in control of putting the process in place and making
sure it's consequential if somebody doesn't go forward. But it's the
leader of North Korea who gets to the make the
decision. It's his choice to make. I've made my choice. It's his choice
to make.
Let me reiterate a little bit of what I said earlier. The definition
of successful foreign policy is to be in a position to work with others
to solve problems. And this administration has worked hard to be in a
position to convince others to work together to solve problems.
I've just outlined some of the problems, some of the problems--
whether or not trade is open and people are treated fairly. One classic
example of this is intellectual property rights. I know that's a deep
concern to your Government, just like it is to all our governments, that
if you're trading with a country, you want to make sure that those
intellectual property rights are treated respectfully.
And in some societies, it's difficult. And therefore, we have to be
in a position to work collaboratively and bilaterally to convince
countries that in order to be a part of the international world, you
have to honor contract. And one contract is, you don't steal somebody
else's intellectual property. That's hard work. But nevertheless, those
kind of relationships exist now; we're able to have those kind of
dialogs.
[[Page 1141]]
There's been a lot of cooperation on the security front in
remarkable ways since I've been President. The leadership of your
country knows full well the dangers of extremism prevailing and have
been very strong in working, for example, on the Proliferation Security
Initiative. This is an initiative where many APEC nations have agreed to
help find and stop the shipment of materiels which could end up in the
hands of extremists and radicals that could harm us.
And it took a while to get this relationship in place. But it's a
relationship that is necessary to help prevent weapons of mass
destruction from being moved. And it's been a very effective
relationship. And here's a classic case of a successful collaborative
effort.
The biggest danger we have, it seems like to me, is isolationism and
protectionism becoming prevalent philosophies. One of the things that
this administration has done in working with our friends is to work hard
to explain to people the beneficial nature of trading together. And
therefore--and that's manifested, by the way, in, for example, the free
trade agreement with Australia, which wasn't a given. And there were
some difficulties to overcome in Australia and in the United States, but
nevertheless, we got it done. And entering into free trade agreements
with other nations, such as Singapore, has been good ways of making sure
that we codify the benefits of open trading relationships.
And so there's been a lot of progress made, and the North Korean
issue is the issue that we're spending a lot of time on and, hopefully,
we can get completed.
One more round. Geoff.
Opposition Leader Kevin M. Rudd of Australia/
President's Upcoming Visit to Australia
Q. Okay. Mr. President, thank you. Just to the domestic scene, we've
got Federal elections, as you know, coming up in Australia. Last time
around, you had some comments with regards to the then opposition
leader's policies on Iraq. You described his policy of withdrawal from
Iraq as disastrous. You have a one-on-one meeting with the opposition
leader, Kevin Rudd; he's ahead in the polls. He's also got a policy in
Iraq which talks about withdrawal, albeit with caveats. I'm just
wondering, what's your view of the opposition leader, Kevin Rudd? What
will you discuss in the meeting? And what do you make of his Iraq
policy?
The President. Yes, first of all, I think it makes sense for me to
reach out to leading political figures when I go to other countries. And
so I'm looking forward to this meeting. I don't know much about him,
frankly. Obviously, I haven't--maybe I met him; I don't remember meeting
him. When I spoke to the Parliament----
Q. He was an opposition member then.
The President. Could have been shaking hands. I'm going to remind
him that, one, the stakes in Iraq are very high for peace; that the
liberation of a country--that country was important for peace; and that
a democracy--Iraqi-style democracy in the heart of the Middle East is
part of winning this ideological struggle. So the first thing I'm going
to do is explain to him my views about this--the world in which we live.
And I'll remind him that, as far as I'm concerned, that leaving Iraq
before the job is done will cause an enemy that attacked us before to
become emboldened. And as John Abizaid put
it, to think the enemy will stay there and not follow us here is--in
other words, we leave before the job is done, they will follow us home.
That--I will remind him that the best way to conduct policy is based
upon conditions on the ground; that success is important; that
conditions ought to be driving troop deployments. And that's how--I'll
tell him how--what I would hope all our coalition partners would view
the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan.
[[Page 1142]]
Having said that, I do appreciate very much the fact that the
Australians have sacrificed and have served. And I'm looking forward to
seeing some Australian troops with Prime Minister Howard to thank them and, as importantly, thank their families
for joining America and a lot of other countries in the great cause of
liberation and peace.
It's going to be an interesting trip, and what's interesting about
these trips is that the time around the table with leaders is important,
but also the time sitting down with individuals is important as well.
It's a good opportunity to conduct foreign policy. And as I told you, a
lot of foreign policy, for me, is the capacity to just look at somebody
in the eye and tell them what I think and listen to what they think.
It's finding that common ground, if possible, to solve problems. Leaders
are problem-solvers. And sometimes you can solve problems by
anticipating them and putting the conditions in place so that they won't
arise in the first place. And sometimes they just show up, and you
better be in a position to deal with them.
Military Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan
Q. Can I just clarify something?
The President. Yes.
Q. Mr. Rudd is--his theater--he's talked about the importance of
Afghanistan, talking about withdrawing our troops from Iraq. But do you
support that they stay, that view?
The President. Support what view?
Q. That he is determined to--he has determined that the issue on
Afghanistan--to keep troops in Afghanistan.
The President. I view both Iraq and Afghanistan as theaters of the
same war against radicals and extremists and look forward to sharing my
views with Mr. Rudd, of course, and continue our
discussions, strategic discussions with John Howard. I mean, all right.
Tia, back to you again.
Abu Bakar Ba'asyir
Q. Thank you, Mr. President. My next question would touch on
Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir.
The President. About what?
Q. Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir.
The President. Yes, right, right.
Q. As you might know, since he was released from jail, has been
exercising activities like any other citizens, including recently--last
weekend he inaugurated a long march participated by about 1,000 of his
followers, in connection with that commemoration, or welcoming the
Ramadan, Islamic fasting month. Actually, how close has your Government
monitored the activities of Abu Bakar Ba'asyir? And my main question is,
do you think Ba'asyir is still dangerous?
The President. First of all, I didn't know he led a parade of a
thousand people. So that may answer your first question. I'm sure our
Embassy is aware of the activities that take place in your country. I
mean, you are a free country where people are allowed to express
themselves in the public square, which is a sign of a healthy society.
I am concerned, however, about anybody who preaches violence and
extremism and radicalism in a world in which innocent people just get
simply murdered for ideological purposes. There were some terrible
murders in your country, as you know, just like in mine, and I'm
confident that by far the vast majority--all of Indonesia rejects that
kind of behavior. Innocent people were killed in Bali for no other
reason than they just happened to be vacationing and because somebody
wanted to send a political message because they're involved with this
ideological struggle. And those of us who want there to be peace have
got to reject this kind of behavior.
And so your Government is a government of law; your Government will
conduct itself according to your laws. But anybody who preaches that
kind of violence in the
[[Page 1143]]
name of what I would call a dark political vision needs to be taken
seriously.
Japan's Role in the War on Terror
Q. My next question is about the U.S.-Japan relationship and the war
on terror.
The President. Yes, sir.
Q. The opposition party in Japan is threatening to cut the extension
of Japanese participation in the antiterrorism operations in the Indian
Ocean.
The President. Yes.
Q. What do you--question: Are you concerned about that? And will you
be--will you raise this issue when you will meet Prime Minister Abe in
Australia?
The President. First of all, Japan has been a positive contributor
to dealing with the extremists in this ideological war. And I thank the
Japanese Government and the people of Japan for their contributions. And
I would hope that they would continue to maintain this--their positive
influence.
And of course, my conversations with Prime Minister Abe, whom I respect a great deal, will center on the war on
terror, as well as a lot of other key issues. Japan has played a
significant role in many of the things we've discussed here, like
Proliferation Security Initiative, six-party talks. They've been a
constructive partner in peace, and I will--we will talk about all
aspects of our relationship.
Malaysia-U.S. Relations/Democracy in Malaysia/President's Upcoming
Meeting With ASEAN Leaders
Q. Mr. President, tomorrow, August 31st, Malaysia celebrates its
50th----
The President. Fiftieth--make sure my congratulatory remarks get in
your article. Headline: Bush Congratulates Malaysia. [Laughter] Do you
think that's what it will say?
Q. Something like that.
The President. Upbeat, optimistic George Bush--[laughter].
Q. War on terrorism.
The President. Yes, sure.
Q. It also marks the 50th relations between the U.S. and Malaysia--
--
The President. Yes.
Q. So what are your outlook and hopes for U.S.-Malaysia relations,
and especially with Malaysia being the 10th largest trading partner?
The President. First of all, I do believe we ought to have--take
this notion of trade and have meaningful discussions with a potential
free trade agreement with Malaysia. Secondly, I respect Prime Minister
Badawi, admire his leadership. When
his wife died, I tried to call him early just to let him know I cared
about him.
Q. He has remarried.
The President. Has he? Good. I'll congratulate him. Thanks for
giving me that heads-up. Don't put that in the article, that you had to
tell me that. You can put it in there if you want. [Laughter] I'll be
glad to--I'm going to congratulate him. That's neat.
Mr. Wilder. You did, sir.
The President. What?
Mr. Wilder. You did congratulate him.
The President. Exactly. I'm going to congratulate him again.
[Laughter] I'll double the congratulations. [Laughter] That's right; I
did write him a note. I forgot. Did I call him or write him a note?
Mr. Wilder. You wrote him a note.
The President. That's right, yes. Sent him a couple flowers. Anyway,
Malaysia is an interesting example of how a free society can deal with
movements that could conceivably change and alter the nature of the free
society. And I respect the way the Prime Minister has used freedom and used the openness of society to
kind of deal with frustration. I mean, all societies have frustrated
people. And the question is, will the outlet of that frustration lead to
violence or lead to peace? And Malaysia is an example of a country where
frustrations have been channeled in a constructive way. And therefore,
he's a leader, as far as I'm concerned, and a very constructive force
for Southeast Asia.
[[Page 1144]]
By the way, I am going to meet with the ASEAN leaders, which is an
important meeting as well. It's an opportunity for the United States to
stay very much engaged with ASEAN. I unfortunately will not be there for
the 60th, but look forward to having an event that would kind of
recognize the importance of ASEAN as far as the United States is
concerned.
President's Upcoming Meeting With ASEAN Leaders/Alternative Fuel
Sources/Environment
Q. So this is a side meeting with the ASEAN leaders after APEC
meeting, sir?
The President. Yes, a side meeting with the ASEAN leaders at APEC. I
try to do that every time. So they'll have somebody like--I'll sit down
and meet with the ASEAN nations as well.
The other thing that's interesting about Malaysia is, they're going
to be one of the leaders on alternative fuels.
Q. Biofuel.
The President. Biofuels--absolutely. And that's another area where
we can work together. As you know, I'm an alternative fuels person. I
believe that it's in our interests that we develop the technologies
necessary to deal with energy dependence as well as greenhouse gases.
Back to the climate changes--the way--if you're truly interested in
dealing with greenhouse gases, people need to focus on the development
of technologies that will enable us to, on the one hand, grow our
economies, on the other hand, be good stewards of the environment.
Just for the record--and this probably won't be a headline, although
I've tried to make it one a lot--when it comes time to climate change,
there's one major industrialized nation that actually grew its economy
and reduced greenhouse gases; that would be the United States of
America--that actually had greenhouse gases go down and the economy go
up. So something is working here, and it's technologies, use of
technologies. And so I'm going to be reminding people about--that we can
come up with a strategy that doesn't impoverish our people and, at the
same time, takes advantage of technologies. And we're going to need to
share some technologies with newly emerging economies in order to
achieve this objective.
Anyway, I forgot to make that point.
Q. Mr. President, there appears to be----
The President. I'm not making the point to you, as you can tell.
That's why I'm kind of looking over your shoulder. [Laughter]
Asia-Pacific Region-U.S. Relations
Q. There appears to be a perception in Southeast Asia that this
administration has neglected the region. How do you plan to convince
them otherwise when you meet in APEC?
The President. Well, I--do you want to ask another question, because
I already answered it. I'll be glad to answer it again--which is, we've
got strong bilateral--first of all, the number of trips I've taken--I've
gone to every APEC meeting. I've spent a lot of time with leaders both
here and in your respective countries--that we've got relations to a
point where we can work together to solve common problems. PSI is one
such example of a strategy we've implemented to deal with the realities
of the world. North Korea is another example.
And so it's--the truth of the matter is, I spend a lot of time
working on Asian matters. And all I'll ask you to do is look at the
results of the individual relationships and the ability to put processes
in place to deal with the threats we live in and the capacity to work
together to solve problems and to create opportunities. And to me,
that's a sign of a healthy, robust relationship with an important part
of the world.
Okay. Thank you all. Enjoyed it. Looking forward to making the trip.
[[Page 1145]]
Note: The interview was taped at 11:30 a.m. in the Roosevelt Room at the
White House. In his remarks, the President referred to Prime Minister
John W. Howard of Australia; Chairman Kim Jong Il of North Korea;
President Hu Jintao of China; President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of
Indonesia; Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan; Sakie Yokota, mother of
Megumi Yokota, who was abducted by North Korean authorities; and Gen.
John P. Abizaid, USA, commander, U.S. Central Command. A reporter
referred to Mark Latham, former leader, Australian Labor Party. The
transcript was released by the Office of the Press Secretary on August
31. A tape was not available for verification of the content of this
interview.