1
MINISTER FOR DEFENCE
STEPHEN SMITH, MP
TRANSCRIPT: INTERVIEW WITH KIERAN GILBERT, SKY NEWS
TRANSCRIPTION: PROOF COPY E & OE
DATE: 8 NOVEMBER 2010
KIERAN GILBERT: Defence Minister Stephen Smith, thank you very
much for your time. You're at Government House [Melbourne] ahead of
these AUSMIN talks today and we understand there will be even closer
defence ties at the end of this Summit. Are you concerned about the reaction
that we might see from China, that the United States will have an even
greater presence in Australia?
STEPHEN SMITH: Well firstly we have an Alliance with the United States
which is of long standing and that remains the bedrock of our defence,
strategic and security arrangements.
People should not get too far ahead of themselves. The United States is
doing what we describe as a force posture review. They haven't completed
that, and that's looking at all of the disposition of their forces throughout the
world, not just throughout our region.
So we need them to complete and conclude that so-called force posture
review. We of course cooperate very closely with them. We have joint
facilities in Australia. They visit and have access to some of our ports and
the like. We expect that in the future that will be enhanced, but in terms of
the detail that won't be decided today.
We need to take it in an orderly fashion. But of course any enhanced
engagement by the United States in our region is an unambiguously good
thing for Australia and our region and we welcome that.
KIERAN GILBERT: We can hear the security presence in the air there,
obviously very intense security with the Defense Secretary and the Secretary
of State in Melbourne. In terms of the Chinese sensitivities though, will you
be talking to your Chinese counterpart to try and placate him and ease any
concern that they do have?
STEPHEN SMITH: Well in the first instance, obviously it's very important
that Australia has a positive and productive relationship with China, not just
on the economic front but also on defence and military cooperation front
and we have enhanced that engagement in recent times.
More importantly in very many respects it is important and essential that the
United States itself has a positive and productive relationship with China on
the defence and military cooperation front. We encourage that.
As China grows economically it's also - as we see - they are enhancing their
military capacity. We expect that and understand that as a country's
economy grows so their military capacity will grow but that needs to be
transparent and we've made that point to China and to the United States.
What we do with the United States is open, it's transparent, and that's
appropriate.
It's important that China in terms of its military and modernisation is also
transparent and we've made that point both privately to China and also
publicly.
KIERAN GILBERT: But are you concerned as some strategists are
suggesting that we've got the military Alliance, the bedrock Alliance as you
describe it, and then on the other hand this economic reliance on China and
China buying our commodities?
STEPHEN SMITH: Well we have a very strong economic relationship with
China but we're not the only country that does. China and the United States
have a very close economic relationship so there is in some respects an
economic interdependence there.
The enhancement of trade, the growth of economic and social and people to
people links is a very good thing because that increases understanding
between two countries and two peoples. It increases the ties, and so we work
very hard on our economic relationship with China.
But the United States and China also have a close economic relationship and
that's a good thing but in all of these areas it's important to use the jargon or
to use the phrase that we minimise risk, that we minimise the chance for
miscalculation which means we have to do things which maximise
understanding, which maximise certainty between countries and that's why
we strongly encourage a good and positive productive relationship including
defence and military cooperation between the United States and China just
as we ourselves do that with China, recently engaging in some naval
exercises with them.
KIERAN GILBERT: Minister just quickly, I know you've got to go, one
last question, on the Afghanistan draw down will today's talks lock in the
draw down of our forces as part of the broader ISAF commitment?
STEPHEN SMITH: Well we are committed to completing our mission in
Uruzgan Province, which is a training mission. We think we can do that
over the next two to four years. The international community has set 2014 as
an aspiration for the transfer of security to the Afghan National Security
Forces. So we'll be talking about the transition arrangements and it is
conditions-based not timetable led.
The upcoming conference, the NATO ISAF Summit in Lisbon that the
Prime Minister and I will attend,
will be a very important feature on the
international community calendar as we work through the detail of
transitioning to Afghan responsibility.
So we're not talking in terms of a timetable, we're talking in terms of
meeting our objective, meeting the conditions so that we can transfer
security responsibility to Afghanistan. We think we can do that on a two to
four year time table which matches the 2014 aspiration that President Karzai
and the Afghan Government has but also the international community has,
which was effectively the decision made at the Afghan Conference in Kabul
in July-August.
KIERAN GILBERT: Defence Minister Stephen Smith, appreciate your
time. Thanks a lot for that.
STEPHEN SMITH: Thanks Kieran. Thanks very much.
NEWS 
