[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 35, Number 37 (Monday, September 20, 1999)]
[Pages 1739-1741]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Remarks on Departure From Auckland and an Exchange With Reporters

September 14, 1999

APEC Summit

    The President. Good morning. I believe we've had a very successful 
meeting here with our Asia-Pacific partners. I want to begin by thanking 
Prime Minister Shipley and the people of Auckland and New Zealand for 
giving us quite a wonderful visit to a place that most of us have never 
been before.
    Our 19 APEC members pledged to strengthen the world economy and 
advance our common prosperity. We also came together on East Timor. We 
unanimously resolved to strengthen the world trading system by opening 
more markets and agriculture services and industrial products. In 
November we'll go to Seattle to launch a new world

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trade round, determined to make this APEC agenda the world's agenda.
    We can make trade even more beneficial if China joins the WTO on 
commercially viable terms. I had a good meeting here with President 
Jiang, resuming progress in our relationship on issues from the WTO to 
security matters like preventing the spread of weapons of mass 
destruction. Our negotiators have now resumed substantive WTO talks.
    APEC's members also reaffirmed the importance of continuing reforms 
in the global financial system. Asia's recovery is clearly underway. We 
want to keep it going, and to do so, we have to keep up the pace of 
reform.
    At the same time, we stood together against the violence in East 
Timor. Indonesia's leaders agreed to reverse course. Now we and our 
partners are working rapidly to deploy an effective international 
security force to protect the people as they make their transition to 
independence. Again, let me say how grateful I am for the leadership of 
Australia and New Zealand in this endeavor.
    This will be overwhelmingly an Asian force. But the United States is 
ready to provide airlift, communications, intelligence, and related 
capabilities. We are working out the details in consultation with 
Congress.
    I hope the force can be ready to deploy within days. We are working 
with the U.N. today to bring that about. Until the international 
peacekeeping force deploys, it is essential that Indonesia works to 
prevent further violence. It must facilitate efforts to quickly bring 
humanitarian assistance to the people who have suffered so very greatly. 
The United Nations is ready to deliver food and medical supplies.
    Let me say, finally, this week we made progress on another crucial 
security issue, building peace and reconciliation on the Korean 
Peninsula. Following talks in Berlin, we understand and expect that 
North Korea will refrain from testing long-range missiles of any kind, 
while our discussions continue. It's an important initial step in 
addressing our concerns about North Korea's missile program.
    We're, in turn, considering measures to ease sanctions and move 
toward normalizing economic relations with North Korea. The work we've 
done in the past few days will help to build a more secure, more 
prosperous, more integrated Asia-Pacific region. It will give our 
citizens, all our citizens, all the way from New Zealand back to 
Washington, better lives in the 21st century.
    Thank you very much.

Congressional Support for East Timor

    Q. [Inaudible]
    The President. Well, I have only made about 10 calls, but of course, 
Secretary Cohen and Mr. Podesta have been back there, and they've been 
talking to more. My sense is that the Congress, even though we are 
heavily committed in the Balkans and elsewhere, will support a mission 
if we are there in a clearly supportive capacity, if we're talking about 
a few hundred people, not thousands of people on the ground, and the 
work we've been asked to do is actually work that a mission like this 
would need America to do--the airlift, some of the internal 
transportation, the communications, the intelligence, some of the 
engineering work. These are things that, because of the size of our 
military, we are uniquely positioned to do.
    And I stopped off in Hawaii, talked to Admiral Blair, our commander 
in chief in the Pacific, and he had been having very detailed 
conversations with the Australians. That's what we understand they're 
asking for. It would be a matter of a few hundred people. And I think we 
could do that.

Indonesian Response to United Nations

    Q.  Mr. President, how much trouble are the Indonesians making for 
the Security Council about the Australians leading--[inaudible]?
    The President. Well, I know there was a statement yesterday by an 
Indonesian official, but we do not understand that to be the official 
position. So, so far, no trouble has been made. I hope that there won't 
be any. I think that we have tried to make it clear that we would 
welcome the cooperation with the Indonesian forces if they would work 
with us--they would be in a position to do some things there to help 
facilitate this mission. But I do not believe they should be

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able to dictate the composition of it once having acknowledged that the 
United Nations should come in.

Australian Leadership in East Timor

    Q.  Is Australia's leadership nonnegotiable--[inaudible]?
    The President. Well, that's, of course, for the U.N. to decide, but 
as far as I'm concerned, I'm quite comfortable with it and strongly 
supportive of it. Keep in mind, they are willing to provide what, in all 
probability, will be more than half of the total force needed.
    We have a high regard for their abilities. We train with them. We 
work with them. We know that they can do this job, and in so doing, they 
make it possible for large numbers of other nations to participate who 
can make only more modest contributions. It's easier for New Zealand, 
for Malaysia, for the Philippines, for Korea, for any number of other 
countries to send in troops according to their ability to do it, knowing 
that there will be a large and very well-trained and led anchor force 
there. So the Australian commitment makes possible the effective 
commitments of a lot of other countries, just as our airlift capacity 
does.
    So I would hope we can stick with it, and I think we will. I feel 
good about it.
    Thank you very much.

Note: The President spoke at 7:55 a.m. at the Stamford Plaza Hotel. In 
his remarks, he referred to Prime Minister Jennifer Shipley of New 
Zealand; and President Jiang Zemin of China.