[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.