









THE HON. JOEL FITZGIBBON MP  Minister for Defence Science and Personnel

www.defence.gov.au





Friday, 10 April, 2009



AUSTRALIA AND THE UNITED STATES: THE  INDISPENSABLE ALLIANCE

REMARKS TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY LEADERS  FORUM, CENTER FOR A NEW AMERICAN SECURITY



The Willard Intercontinental Hotel Crystal Room 1401  Pennsylvania Ave, Washington DC.



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SPEAKER: THE HON. JOEL FITZGIBBON, MINISTER FOR DEFENCE

Welcoming Remarks/Introduction:

I firstly acknowledge the kind invitation from the Center for a New American  Security

Thank Richard Danzig, Chairman of the Board for the Center, for his  introduction. Richard’s distinguished career in government service is a huge  asset to the Center.

The Center is a new player on the academic and government scene and I  have been impressed by the calibre of its people and the way in which it has  built a position of influence in a short space of time.

And I don’t say this just because you employ Australians, though I have noted  that David Kilcullen, one of our more famous exports in the think tank market,  has now joined the Center’s team.

It was a Center for a New American Security publication that, in June last  year, described Australia as “increasingly and indisputably a top-tier American  ally and a critical partner in the most sensitive and important US missions in  the world”.

I couldn’t have put it better myself. Indeed, it reflects the intent of my speech  here this evening.

I also identify with the Center’s charter: to develop “strong, pragmatic and  principled national security and defense policies that promote and protect  American interests and values”.







These are the same characteristics that I am applying to   Australia’s defence policy:

Ã¢ÂÂ¢ “Strong”: in its defence of Australia’s sovereignty and national  interests, and the capabilities afforded to the Australian Defence  Force to protect them.    Ã¢ÂÂ¢ “Pragmatic”: in our relationships with our allies and partners, and in

our approach to complex security challenges.    Ã¢ÂÂ¢ “Principled”: in our commitment to preserving our hard-won  freedoms and in promoting a stable, peaceful and prosperous  international environment, together with a global rules-based order

which enhances Australia’s national interests.1

I am very happy to have this opportunity to elaborate further on the challenges  that we both face in a changing international security environment; to  acknowledge the difficult, dangerous and necessary work that our soldiers are  doing together in Afghanistan; and - in all this - to reflect on the value of the  indispensable alliance between our two great countries.

Shaping the Security Environment

I have just come directly from our annual Australia-United States Ministerial  Consultations known as AUSMIN. This was the first AUSMIN meeting  between the Rudd Government and the Obama administration but it is the 24th  occasion on which the meeting has been held.

That these meetings have continued over such a long period between  Administration and Governments of each of the four major political parties of  our two countries says much about the value and strength of our alliance.

Today, Minister Smith, Secretary Gates, Secretary of State Clinton and I had  the opportunity to discuss the challenges that confront us in a changing  international security environment.

Our alliance is a constant in the midst of that change.

It is important that we exchange these views, it is even more important that we  speak with one voice on those challenges that threaten our common interests.

It is a feature of our alliance that our exchange of views are frank.  And,  importantly, our words lead to actions outside the meeting room.



1   Drawn from the Prime Minister’s National Security Statement, 4 Dec 2008



By agreeing on where our interests align, we can act together in the  international community to advance those interests.

That is why today we have jointly voiced our concerns about Iran’s nuclear  activities, including its continued defiance of the UN Security Council  Resolutions requiring Iran to suspend all uranium enrichment-related,  reprocessing and heavy water-related activities, and to cooperate fully with  the International Atomic Energy Agency.

We acknowledge Iran’s right to civil nuclear energy and urge the Iranian  Government to provide the transparency needed to verify that its nuclear  program is for peaceful purposes only.

For this reason, the Australian Government strongly supports the United  States’ willingness to engage in direct diplomacy with Iran and welcomes  President Obama’s outreach, which we hope is reciprocated.

We also condemned North Korea’s leaders for their launch of a Taepo-Dong 2  long-range rocket, a violation of United Nations Security Resolution 1718.  We  called on North Korea to suspend all its ballistic missile-related activities, as  required by the resolution, and to focus instead on denuclearisation of the  Korean peninsula.

The threat posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and  related technologies is likely to grow over the next twenty to thirty years.   Australia will continue to work with the United States to counter this threat,  through the Proliferation Security Initiative and by strengthening the Nuclear  Non-Proliferation Treaty regime.

Australia’s establishment, with Japan, of the International Commission on  Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament is indicative of the Australian  Government’s commitment in this field.

We welcome the support the United States Government for this important  initiative.

We recognise, too, the important role played by US extended nuclear  deterrence in countering the ambitions of proliferators and states of concern.

Australia benefits from this as an alliance partner but we also make a direct  contribution through the hosting of joint facilities at Pine Gap, and a number of  other joint activities hosted on Australian soil

The joint facilities at Pine Gap provide ballistic missile early warning  information and support the monitoring of compliance with arms control and  disarmament regimes.  They are an indispensable part of the United States’  nuclear deterrence posture.

The proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction is only one of the threats  we see in the future.  I also anticipate that our global security environment will  be challenged by the consequences of climate change and associated  resource security issues, involving future tensions over the supply of food,  energy and water.

These issues are likely to exacerbate already significant population,  infrastructure and governance problems in the developing world.

Broader security challenges like these must only serve to strengthen our  alliance: they are certainly not issues that can be resolved by countries  working in isolation.

I also recognise that our cooperation on these broader security challenges will  have to take place as we together confront more immediate, direct threats to  peace and global order.

Nowhere is this more important now than defeating the insurgency in  Afghanistan and tackling the inseparable problems of terrorism and extremism  in the Afghanistan/Pakistan border region.

Afghanistan/Pakistan

Today, at AUSMIN, Secretary Gates, Secretary Clinton, Minister Smith and I  reaffirmed the commitment of our two countries to stabilisation and  reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan.

Australia is there to support international efforts to ensure that Afghanistan  does not once again descend into a safe-haven and launching pad for those  seeking to commit acts of terror against innocent victims around the world,

including Australians.

We welcome President Obama's decision to increase forces in southern  Afghanistan - an area that has seen some of the most intense fighting in  recent years.

And I know this decision was made with solemn consideration - it is a complex  and tough war that has taken the lives of too many brave soldiers from both of  our countries.

Australia is the largest non-NATO contributor to international forces in  Afghanistan and the ninth largest overall.

Almost 1100 Australian Defence Force personnel are working with their US  and Dutch counterparts in Oruzgan Province, in the south of Afghanistan, to  bring peace and development to its people.

For a country our size and for a country with our regional commitments this is  a significant slice of our military capability.

ISAF partners must maintain their collective resolve to work together in  building security and providing stability for the young, struggling Afghan  nation-state: So that it can, in turn, build its own future - free from terrorism.

Just last week, my colleague Minister Smith announced that Australia will  provide $21 million to support the Afghan Government to deliver national  programs in health, education, rural development and microfinance.

Australia’s support in these areas has already contributed to increased school  enrolment in Oruzgan, funded 26,000 rural infrastructure projects, fixed 9,000  kilometres of road and helped build 70 schools.

The Australian Government fully supports President Obama's strategy for  eradicating terrorism and building the capacity of Afghan national security  forces so they can take the lead in providing their own national security.

Indeed, it mirrors our own approach in Oruzgan Province, where some  months ago we re-configured our deployment in order to place a greater focus  on the training of the Afghan National Army.



Of course the challenges and problems our forces face in Afghanistan are not  confined by national borders. In this, we welcome the Reidel Review's focus  on Afghanistan and Pakistan as a single strategic issue.

We cannot hope to make progress in the fight against terrorism without  concerted actions in other areas - including economic aid, political  reconciliation, capacity building and technical assistance.

The Australian Government is also looking for ways we can expand our  overall engagement with Pakistan including in the defence sphere.

Asia Pacific/China

Notwithstanding our current and important shared efforts in Afghanistan, the  Asia Pacific region remains the centre of gravity for Australia-US alliance.

In the Asia Pacific, Australia has long benefited from the counsel of the United  States, a proven friend and a trusted ally.  We have worked hard together to  maintain peace and security in our region.

But this security cannot be taken for granted.

In just ten years, Asia will account for 45 per cent of global GDP and one-third  of global trade.

It will be home to well over half the world’s population and its growth will  account for more than half of the increase in global energy consumption2.



2   From the Prime Minister’s Singapore Lecture, 12 August 2008.

In this time of great change, Australia’s security and prosperity will depend on  the stability of our region.  Our alliance with the United States underwrites that  stability.

The United States will remain the most powerful and influential strategic actor  in the region for at least the next twenty years -  economically, politically and  militarily.

But China’s rise will inevitably change, in significant ways, the strategic  dynamics of the Asia Pacific region.

And the management of the relationship between Washington and Beijing will  have important consequences for strategic stability.

Australia needs to have a healthy relationship with China, not least because it  is our largest trading partner.

We are also keen to work in partnership with China because it is a critical  player in ensuring security in our region.

Like the United States, Australia encourages China to work constructively with  the international community and to improve regional confidence in its  intentions, especially by pursuing a more transparent approach to its military  modernisation.

In the absence of such transparency, concerns will persist about China’s  pursuit of power projection capabilities.

We want to expand our defence engagement with China, in order to generate  trust, mutual understanding and greater openness.

This does not mean that we will accept uncritically all that China says or does.   Where we have concerns about China’s human rights, or military capabilities  or intentions, we will raise these concerns frankly and act in our national  interest and the interests of the region.

Elsewhere in the Pacific, Australia is committed to taking a leading role in  promoting and safeguarding regional security.

Though our leadership of the Regional Assistance Mission, we are assisting  the Solomon Islands in a return to stable government and security.

In East Timor, the security situation continues to improve.  Australia has 650  troops in this emerging democracy and we maintain a long term commitment  to supporting reform in East Timor’s security sector and to promoting East  Timor’s democratic and economic development.

And we are pursuing a closer and stronger relationship with Indonesia.  We  welcomed Secretary Clinton’s early visit to Indonesia: a stable and democratic  Indonesia is critical to security in our nearer region.



Indonesia is the world’s third largest democracy and the world’s largest  Muslim-majority country; it has a liberal democracy with a free press.

By any measure and with little fanfare, Indonesia has made remarkable  progress over the last ten years:

Ã¢ÂÂ¢ Democracy is deepening: since 2005, over 500 overwhelmingly  peaceful elections have taken place at local, provincial and national  levels.

Ã¢ÂÂ¢ TNI has pulled back from its once commanding role in national  politics.

Ã¢ÂÂ¢ A consensus has emerged among the Indonesian elite that secular  democracy is the best way to arbitrate competing interests.

Indonesia has achieved major success in the fight against terrorism.  Since  2002, Indonesia has arrested 440 individuals and successfully prosecuted  nearly 200 on terror-related charges.



Australia and the United States must continue to do all we can to reinforce  these positive trends by engaging ever more closely with Indonesia.

The Alliance - Looking Forward

Sixty years on from the establishment of the Alliance, we will continue to work  together in promoting peace and security in the broader Asia-Pacific region.

An important component of Australia’s role will be the maintenance of the  military capability required to play both a role in maintaining stability in the  broader region, and the capacity to take a leadership role in maintaining  peace and stability in our immediate region.  The platform for ensuring we maintain that capacity will be the Government’s  soon-to-be-released Defence White Paper.

This White Paper will provide a comprehensive review of Australia’s defence  policy and the force structure and capabilities needed to defend our interests.

It is a White Paper being developed in the most difficult of economic times.   The global recession is putting enormous pressure on government budgets  everywhere.

That is one of the reasons I am driving broader reforms in the Australian  defence organisation - to cut wasteful spending and to free up dollars for re-investment in our highest defence priorities.

Our strategic outlook is calling upon us to do more not less.  Without the  savings which will flow from these broader reforms, Australia will not be able

to produce a force with sufficient size, weight and capability to meet the  demands of that strategic assessment.

The White Paper, building on the Prime Minister’s National Security Statement  of December last year, will confirm Australia’s alliance with the United States  as our most important - indeed, our indispensable - defence relationship.

Our alliance affords Australia unparalleled access to materiel, intelligence,  research and development, and skills and expertise that substantially  strengthen the Australian Defence Force.

At AUSMIN today, Secretary Gates and I agreed on principles that will guide  and strengthen our intelligence collaboration and cyber security cooperation.

We also agreed on principles to guide our greater cooperation in the field of  intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.

Without access to US capabilities, technology and training, the ADF simply  could not be the advanced force it is today, and must be in the future.

This is especially significant for our ability to work with the US in coalition  operations.

If we are to continue to work together, our interoperability must be seamless  and our investments complementary: the ADF needs access to the  capabilities and technologies to allow this to occur.

I look forward to seeing this interoperability in action later this year, in  Exercise TALISMAN SABER, our largest combined exercise involving almost  30,000 Australian and American personnel.

While the US provides us with access to important military technologies,  Australia hosts Joint Facilities on our vast continent which increase the  situational awareness of both countries and protect both nation-states from  the threat of Ballistic Missiles.

Australia has extensive training areas like that which hosts Exercise Talisman  Saber that allow US forces to exercise a wide range of capabilities.

Of course, Australia’s knowledge and networks in the Asia Pacific region  provide unique insights and access that benefit both nations.

Australia’s fighting men and women are second to none and contribute to  global security in a range of roles - whether they are on patrol in the streets of  East Timor, keeping the peace in Darfur, engaging the Taliban in Afghanistan  or working with our allies in the offices of Central Command in Tampa.

Australia and the United States will continue to work together to protect our  common interests and to advance the cause of global peace.

The closeness and longevity of our relationship, and all the things that we  share in common - our language, our democracy, freedom of the press, free  markets - make it very easy to see our alliance as a natural partnership.



But even natural partnerships take work.  If we were to rest on our laurels, our  alliance would inevitably weaken.

Therefore, it is our day-to-day work together that keeps our alliance strong.  We must be ever vigilant, and work hard, to further nurture and advance our  alliance relationship.

That is why Stephen Smith and I are in Washington today.  It’s why our Prime  Minister was here recently, and it’s why we will be back on a regular basis.

Thank you.

Media contacts:  Jack Smith (Joel Fitzgibbon):           02 6277 7800 or 0408 116 423  Defence Media Liaison:           02 6265 3343 or 0408 498 664

