Joint press conference – Australia-Singapore Joint Ministerial Committee

Gan Kim Yong, Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore: Good afternoon, welcome to this press conference. My colleagues, Minister Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister Ng Eng Hen and I are pleased to meet with the Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles and Ministers Don Farrell and Penny Wong for the Singapore‑Australia Joint Ministerial Committee. Today's meeting marks the 14th round: a testament to the strong and enduring relationship between our two nations, one built on mutual trust and respect, complementarity, as well as our strategic interests and a shared vision for an open and inclusive region. These elements will be especially crucial as we navigate the world that is increasingly volatile and complex. We had a very fruitful meeting this afternoon, not just to take stock of what we are already working on, but to discuss how we can take our relationship to the next level. We have a wide-ranging bilateral relationship spanning areas such as defence, trade, energy, as well as our cooperation in the various multilateral platforms. I will speak briefly about our economic cooperation.

Singapore and Australia among each other's top 10 largest trading partners. Our total bilateral trade in goods in 2023 amounted to $29.6 billion, a 16% increase from 10 years ago. Two way investments have also increased, with Singapore being the sixth largest foreign investor in Australia in 2023, and Australian investments into Singapore doubling over the last 10 years. Singapore and Australia have collaborated on several leading-edge economic initiatives, such as the Singapore‑Australia Digital Economy Agreement and the Singapore-Australia Green Economy Agreement, which have become path finders for many bilateral and regional collaborations in these new and emerging areas.

We also jointly developed the 10 principles to guide the development of cross border electricity trading, as announced at our annual leaders’ meeting in March this year.

We continue to find new ways to expand bilateral cooperation, and we are now working on the next phase of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership for 2025‑2035. Singapore looks forward to embarking on ambitious, forward looking initiatives with Australia, such as in food security, and energy and climate change cooperation.

We are also actively working together to nurture and bolster the rules-based multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core. For example, Singapore and Australia, together with Japan, co-convened the Joint Statement Initiative on Electric Commerce at the WTO, which aims to deliver the first ever set of comprehensive, global digital rules among members. Besides the WTO, Singapore and Australia are partner economies on various multilateral and plurilateral fora such as Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). I look forward to our continuing close cooperation with our partners on these platforms to ensure that we are able to advance our interests for an open and connected world.

I also look forward to strengthening our bilateral partnership, especially as we celebrate our 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations next year. Thank you, and I will now invite Richard to speak.

Richard Marles, Deputy Prime Minister: Thank you. On behalf of Ministers Farrell and Wong, it's been an enormous pleasure and honour to be here with Deputy Prime Minister Gan and Ministers Ng and Balakrishnan in this 3+3 meeting between Australia and Singapore. Next year is the 60th anniversary of our bilateral relationship. It is also 10th anniversary of signing the first Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between our two countries. And as we have met during the course of the day, we have been reflecting upon the extent of our bilateral relationship, the closeness of our two countries across fields of security, diplomacy and in the economy, and it is a relationship which is very deep, where there are very strong people to people links, but a phrase that we've kept returning to throughout our discussions today is that it's a relationship which is underpinned by deep strategic trust. We are two countries that are very close to each other, who have a very intertwined history, who like each other and like working with each other, who have shared values, and have shared interests in the world going forward. And that really does develop a very significant relationship of strategic trust.

Earlier today, with Dr Ng, we had our bilateral Defence Ministers’ Meeting, which fed into our broader plenary today. And in that meeting, both our countries have agreed to pursue opportunities for increased access in respect of both of our defence facilities. This is a very significant step forward in what is already a broad and unique relationship. The level of training which occurs on the part of the Singapore defence forces in Australia is really unparalleled for both of our countries. This year, we celebrate the 30th anniversary of fast jet training at RAAF Base Pearce at Perth. The significance of that is that every fast jet pilot in the Singapore Air Force today has been trained in Australia. It says something about how close our defence forces are, and we want to make that closer.

Today we have met on the eve of the updating of the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership which will occur next year, as we sign the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership 2.0 between our two leaders. And the discussion was really about what sort of agreement we would seek to make next year. And again, ambition is the word which has been a driving motivation and force behind all of our conversations today. The CSP that we enter into next year will be characterised by ambition in respect of countries which have a deep strategic trust between the two of us. And in a difficult world, we understand that this is a moment to double down with friends, and that is the description of Australia and Singapore. We are the closest of friends, and we intend to see that reflected in next year's CSP. The meeting today gave us a real sense of optimism about what we are seeking to do in the course of next year. And so we finish today with excitement about the future of our relationship and excitement about what will be contained in the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership that will be signed by our two leaders next year.

Deputy Prime Minister Gan: Thank you. I now invite Dr Ng.

Dr Ng Eng Hen, Minister of Defence of Singapore: Let me thank Deputy Prime Minister Marles for those kind words. Our bilateral defence relationship between Australia and Singapore, I should begin by acknowledging that Australia has been one of our staunchest and long-standing defence partners. Their investments in our ability to defend ourselves, as well as stability of the region go way back. Very soon after our independence in 1965, the Five Power Defence Arrangement 1971, which this year celebrates, commemorates 53 years, that is an annual event and it’s been growing in scale as well as complexity. And to reflect Australia’s commitment, for the first time this year, they included six F-35s for the exercise. And next year, as the UK Prime Minister has said, the Aircraft Carrier Group, Strike Group will probably be involved. As Deputy Prime Minister Marles mentioned, our basic fixed wing pilots are trained in Australia. For Shoalwater Bay Training Area, which many NSmen are familiar with, this year will be 35 years of Shoalwater Bay Training Area. Every year, thousands of SAF soldiers have their formative experience in Australia.

The other milestone was CSP 1.0 as Richard said, now nearly 10 years. It transformed our relationship, deepened it further, it gave us the confidence, because it was very successful, to aim high for CSP 2.0, to deepen even the bilateral relations. Our officials have been meeting, and as Deputy Prime Minister Marles said, we met as a delegation this morning, and we hope that over the next few months we will finalise the details. If the defence relationship, as outlined by CSP 2.0 is realised, it will result for Singapore that Australia will be one of our closest and most valuable defence partners, and hopefully us them. So let me thank them for their support over the years and I look forward to that agreement.

Deputy Prime Minister Gan: Thank you, I will hand over to Penny.

Penny Wong, Foreign Minister: Thank you very much, Deputy Prime Minister. Can I join with DPM Marles in thanking you, Deputy Prime Minister Gan, to Defence Minister Ng and to Minister Vivian, an old friend. Thank you so much for your hospitality. Thank you for your warm welcome. But most of all, thank you for the closeness of the relationship and the openness of the discussion today.

I'd like to make three points: the first is our two countries share geography and we share history. And the Defence Minister Ng spoke to some extent about that, and this grounds the very deep reservoir of strategic trust that we share. As ministers, we want to not only reflect that today, but we want to reflect that ambition in the next iteration of our relationship. And there was a lot of discussion about our hope and our determination to ensure that the next iteration of our comprehensive strategic partnership reflects both the history but also the ambition for the future that our closeness brings.

Secondly, I wanted to make a point about economic engagement. I think possibly one of the last times I was here, I was speaking about the importance of Australia engaging more economically with the countries of Southeast Asia. We launched the Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040. I am very pleased that Australia has announced today the next step in our implementation of that strategy, which is an investment under the Southeast Asia Investment Financing Facility, and Senator Farrell will speak a bit more about the details of that investment.

And if I may, on another issue, because I know this is something some of the international or Australian media may ask. We did discuss in our meeting today, the need for the peaceful resolution of many conflicts.

In relation to the Middle East, Australia stresses the vital need for a ceasefire the release of hostages in Gaza and for the ceasefire in Lebanon to be upheld to prevent further suffering.

In conclusion, I do again want to thank our colleagues, our Singaporean colleagues, and the country of Singapore for its steadfast friendship and the work we do together to assure a more peaceful, a more stable and a more prosperous region. Thank you.

Don Farrell, Trade Minister: Thank you, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister Gan is my trade equivalent, but it's always fantastic to see a Trade Minister promoted to Deputy Prime Minister. So congratulations on that. And I think it's an indication of just how successful you have been in this trade portfolio.

Next year marks 50 years since I first arrived in Singapore, I was a young law student from Adelaide University.

Minister Ng: You’re still young Don, still young.

Minister Farrell: Thank you, Doctor. And I still remember the excitement of crossing the Causeway and entering Singapore for the first time, and I had the same excitement a couple of days ago when I arrived here. But the most exciting part about Singapore is, of course, is the wonderful success you've made, both economically and culturally, of this wonderful island, island nation. So I think that deserves congratulations. And it's really important, I think, from Australia's point of view, from the Deputy Prime Minister, from the Foreign Minister's point of view, that we continue those links between our two countries.

Last week, the Australian Parliament passed the Future Made in Australia program. And of course, it commits $24 billion to the ambition of achieving net zero. Now, we've worked very closely over the last three years, almost three years, with the Singaporean Government and Minister Gan to promote that net zero ambition. And I'm very pleased today to announce a $75 million contribution from Australia to your so called FAST-P program. This is a program that will accelerate the move to net zero in this region, and we are very privileged to be part of that program, and we look forward just as you are going to make developments here in Southeast Asia to get to that net zero ambition, we want to work with you through our Future Made in Australia program. So it's a great ambition, but it's an achievable ambition.

We've talked over the last few hours about things like underwater cables that will connect Darwin to Singapore, bringing solar energy from Australia into Singapore through the sun cables project. So thank you for having us Deputy Prime Minister. We really appreciate the opportunity to discuss all of the issues between our two countries, and we look forward to even stronger ties into the future. Thank you.

Deputy Prime Minister Gan: Thank you, Don for your $75 million in the investment in FAST-P. We look forward to partnering with Australia in pushing ahead with the carbon transition for the Asia Pacific region. Thank you very much.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Foreign Minister of Singapore: Well, you've heard three words consistently in all the preceding presentations. First - trust. Second - interdependence. And third – ambition. A comprehensive strategic partnership has almost become diplomatic jargon, but when we say Australia and Singapore are comprehensive strategic partners, we mean it in the fullest and most literal sense of the word. The foundation of trust, level of interdependence, and our ambition to face the future collectively is unequal. And I say this as someone who has been involved in this scene for quite a few years.

Singapore and Australia have been beneficiaries of the post-World War II peace based on economic integration, free trade, global supply chains, the growth of multinational corporations, the Bretton Woods institutions, the WTO, IMF, World Bank, the UN and the UN Charter.

We have also both been beneficiaries of the reform and opening of China, and we have done very well for the past six or seven decades. But the fact of the matter is we are now at an inflection point, the contestation between the two super powers. The simultaneous technological revolutions, in the digital space, in biotechnology and in renewable energy also present another inflection point. And if you look at what we have done so far with Australia, the economic front, the defence front and now in the CSP 2.0 focusing on the future, the frontiers, as well as the transition to net zero and deepening our people to people ties, what you see is evidence of a doubling down in this time of volatility and challenge, and that's why this relationship is so vital.

So I thank Richard, Penny and Don for being stalwart supporters of this process. We've all got busy political calendars in the months to come, but we commit that we will continue to work very closely with our officials to bring all these ideas to fruition and to deliver a real, substantive, comprehensive partnership - fit for purpose, for the future. Thank you.

Journalist: Good afternoon to the Ministers. My name is Mike Yeo. I'm from The Straits Times in Singapore. So, my question to all of you is, can you please tell us a bit more details about what your respective portfolios will be seeking to do in CSP 2.0. And on the energy front, Singapore currently imports liquefied natural gas from Australia, and as Minister Farrell was saying, perhaps solar energy from the Sun Cable projects as well. So how can Australia play a part in ensuring Singapore's future energy security? And why is that important? And how will Australia benefit from it as well?

Minister Farrell: Well, I might answer that question, and thank you for that question. We have both the Future Made in Australia and the FAST-P project are all about making that transition to net zero. But of course, you can't flick your fingers and make that transition overnight. Running a 4,200 kilometre cable from Darwin to Singapore, not only is it very ambitious, it's going to take some time. During that period of time, of course, we need to ensure that Australia continues to provide the energy needs of Singapore. And you're right. We provide natural gas from Australia., We will continue to provide that natural gas until such time as we can successfully make that transition from fossil fuel to renewables. That's our commitment to Singapore. Australia is a reliable supplier of both natural gas, but will also be a very reliable supplier of the renewable energy that's going to be needed for the future.

Deputy Prime Minister Gan: Thank you. Let me just very briefly touch on the question. I think I'll leave it to my colleagues to elaborate on their respective portfolio.

Between Don and I, we have been working on several fronts. One of them is energy security. As you mentioned, specifically on natural gas, we continue to import from Australia. Australia continues to be an important source of natural gas for us. At the same time, we also looking at hydrogen as an alternative, and Australia has the ambition to be a hydrogen supply centre. And we are also exploring the use of hydrogen and ammonia as hydrogen derivatives. Some of you may know that we do have a pilot project on hydrogen as for both power generation as well as bunkering fuel. This is an area of new energy that we are exploring with Australia. At the same time, we're also looking at the development of digital and green shipping corridors within Singapore and Australia and seeing how we can link up the green maritime, sustainable maritime strategy.

We are also looking at the alternative low carbon solutions such as carbon capture and storage. And this is an area that I think we have been working with Australia to explore the possibility of carbon capture and storage in Australian sites that we are exploring at the moment.

And beyond energy, we are also looking at the digital collaboration. As you know, we are, we have a digital economy agreement between Singapore and Australia, and this has gone in a big way, in facilitating digital trade, or digital documentation for trade. We are looking at how we can further expand the collaboration in the digital economy, including AI and generative AI, particularly in the development of guided guardrails and guidelines on the development of AI systems.

And beyond digital and green economy, we are also looking at the food security as one area. And as you know, we have chilled chicken importer from Australia, and we continue to explore the possibility of importing other food supplies from Australia, particularly in times of emergency in times of a critical shortage. We want to see how we can work together to ensure continuity of supply, and these are areas that we'll be looking at in the next iteration of the CSP. Maybe I asked other colleagues to elaborate on any other particular areas.

Deputy Prime Minister Marles: Look at the heart of the defence relationship is, on the one hand, a very unique training relationship, which occurs with Singapore in Australia, both in terms of the Singaporean army, but also the Singaporean Air Force, and on the other, the presence that Australia has through our Navy and our Air Force in a tempo of visits through Singapore, In respect of all of that, we have both agreed to increase each other's access to each other's facilities. We want to expand all of that, and that's going to be a very important component of the CSP 2.0 that's signed next year.

But beyond that, we're looking at how we can do more in terms of working together between our defence science organisations, and we have a greater defence science cooperation between our two countries. We're looking at greater opportunities for more senior level exchanges between our two Defence Forces, and we have a very developed architecture in relation to operating together in respect of logistics, but we both feel that there is an opportunity for us to do more with that architecture, and so part of the way forward will also be looking at how we can explore ways in which we can work more closely together on logistics.

Minister Ng: You couldn't have summarised it better.

Deputy Prime Minister Gan: I should just add that our partnership between Australia and Singapore, on the economic side, is not just bilateral. We also work with each other at multilateral platforms and regional platforms. One example is CPTPP. We next year, with Australia, will be chairing the CPTPP Commission, and we are looking, we look forward to supporting Australia in its chairmanship year. And we have also worked together very closely advancing the interests of CPTPP. So I think those are areas that we work very closely together.

Journalist: Hi, good afternoon, Ministers. This is Josh from Bloomberg News, I was wondering about the prospects for Quad with a Trump presidency, and also given Chinese New Year is coming soon, I was wondering about, do you have any more updates on the lifting of import ban on Australian lobsters? Thank you.

Minister Wong: As you know, there are a range of regional architectures through throughout the Indo Pacific, there are also minilaterals, and the Quad is an important one of those, and one that is an arrangement that Australia values greatly. In fact, the Quad was first elevated to Foreign Minister level under President Trump in his first term. We see the Quad as bringing great benefits to the Indo Pacific, as one of the structures that contributes to stability and to public goods, and that's the way we've approached it.

In terms of the relationship with China, we came to government with a very clear commitment that I spoke at length about, as did others, to stabilise the relationship. We recognise, as Singapore does, that there are differences, there will be differences, and wisely navigating those differences is an important act of leadership and diplomacy for your country. And so, we have sought to be calm and consistent in how we engage with China from the very first engagement, which was my bilateral with Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the G20 in Bali. Since that time, the Government, from the Prime Minister, the Trade Minister in particular, as well as me have worked to seek to remove, one by one, the impediments that existed in the relationship. I am very pleased - and Minister Farrell may wish to speak about it more - we have good news this morning on two of the facilities, the beef exporting facilities in Australia that have been the subject of some challenges in terms of the Chinese market, have had those impediments lifted. We continue to work in relation to lobster, but I'll leave that to the Trade Minister.

Minister Farrell: Thank you, Penny. Well, as Penny said, when we came to government two and a half years ago, we faced $20 billion worth of trade impediments with our largest trading partner, China. We've sought, over that two and a half years to stabilise our relationship with China. And of course, as Penny has just said, the good news overnight is that the two remaining impediments on beef establishments, supplying wonderful Australian beef into the Chinese market, have been removed. I raised this issue with my counterpart Wang Wentao a couple of weeks ago in Shanghai, and I'm very pleased that he has ensured that those two remaining abattoirs will be able to sell their product back into China.

I also raised with Wang Wentao the issue of when the lobsters will be returning to China. That's now the only remaining impediment. And he assured me that the timetable that Prime Minister Albanese and Premier Li settled on will be met. So this is really good news. Whether you're a grain farmer in Western Australia, or a wine maker in South Australia, or a beef producer in in Queensland, this is really good news. It's stabilised our relationship with our largest trading partner. It's good for Chinese consumers because they're getting top quality Australian produce, but it's great news for jobs in Australia, because what we know is, if you're an export focused company, your profits are higher, but the wages of your workers are also higher, and we look forward in the coming weeks to the removal of all of those impediments from our trading relationship with China.

Journalist: Good afternoon, Ministers. I'm Jeraldine from CAN. So my question is about the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two countries, you're marking 10 years of that next year, and I think there's also been mention of the CSP 2.0. So I just wanted to ask how both sides see this relationship evolving, given the changing environment, you know, with super power contestation and also with the upcoming second term of the US President, President-elect Donald Trump?

Minister Balakrishnan: Well, the first point is that CSP 1 has been a success. I would also add that there was a stress test, and that was during COVID 19. And it may be worth me highlighting that even in the depths of COVID, SIA never stopped flying to Australia. We kept those logistics chains open. The vaccines that reached Australia came via Singapore, and when Australia needed an additional consignment of vaccines, we were able to, in a sense, give an advance on the vaccines to Australia. So I say this as an example of how well we have worked together, how well we've depended on each other, and we've been reliable.

CSP 2.0 is an attempt to build on this great track record. And precisely because we are at an inflection point, as you've mentioned, the contestation between the super powers, the technological revolution in AI, in biotech and in renewable energy, is an opportunity for us to double down on our cooperation, and that's why I'm confident that next year, when our leaders meet, we'll be able to announce a set of ambitious, future ready projects which reflect the depth and breadth of our relationship, based on strategic trust, a proven track record, and really aiming for the future, Penny.

Minister Wong: Minister Vivian has outlined very eloquently, as always, the strengths of and the features of the bilateral relationship. I’d just make two points; we see the importance of this relationship, the weight of this relationship, there are two dimensions which matter. One is the bilateral relationship, what we do together, what we do for each other's economies, for each other's defence cooperation, for each other's net zero transition and so forth. But then what we also do as partners in a more turbulent world, as your Prime Minister has said. What we do as partners in that world, whether it's the work we do together in the East Asia Summit, in the ASEAN related fora, whether it's the work we do together multilaterally, whether it's the work we do together in the World Trade Organization, which your Deputy Prime Minister, has gone to. There's a lot of strategic convergence in the things we want. We want peace. We want stability. We want prosperity. We like a world in which norms, international law, predictability of how trade or other disputes are resolved. You know, we share a lot of very similar interests, and so our bilateral relationship is also a platform for what influence we can have in the region and in the world more generally.

Deputy Prime Minister Gan: Can I just add that, I talked about the CPTPP just now, and you will find that cooperation between Singapore and Australia in multilateral platforms like CPTPP is only possible because of the trust and confidence we have built over the years, and this trust and confidence are built also because of the CSP that we have established. So CSP is not just a list of projects that we do, not just a few focus areas that we want to develop, these are important, but what is more important is that through this to this platform, we build trust and confidence as well as mutual understanding, so we understand each other's interests and concerns and we can find ways to work together and to forge a common interest.

Journalist: Good afternoon, Ministers. I'm Xinghui from Reuters. My question is for both Defence Ministers. I think earlier on you said that you are looking to increase access to both defence facilities, right? Can I get a sense of what sort of increase in access? And I think even right now, which are some Singapore defence facilities that Australia is using?

Deputy Prime Minister Marles: Well, we operate through the main air base and naval base here in Singapore, and we want to look at ways in which we can increase the tempo of visits of both our Navy and our Air Force, and we will work together in respect of particularising that in the lead up to the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership 2.0 next year. In Australia, there is significant training which is undertaken now by the Singaporean Army at the Shoalwater Bay Training Area, north of Rockhampton in Queensland. And there are other projects which are currently being pursued in terms of other training opportunities for the Singaporean Army in Australia. Again, we want to look at all of that to see how we can meet Singapore's needs in respect of this. And the final point I make is that there is training today, there continues to be training, as there has for the last 30 years, of Singaporean fast jet pilots. And that's occurred at RAAF Base Pearce, which is inside of Perth- on the outskirts of Perth. And again, we want to look at more opportunities for Singapore to have access to and operate from RAAF Base Pearce.

Minister Ng: I understand your question, so let me help you by letting you in on a state secret: Singapore is small and Australia is large. But it's a strategic trust that allows us to use each other's geographic advantages. You can list, or you can find on record how we use the facilities and how they use ours, there’s no state secret there. But over the last seven decades, since FPDA and our founding, Australia's presence has added to regional stability. So from our perspective, since we are small and CSP 1 has worked very well with the developments of Shoalwater Bay, how do we increase more trading opportunities for soldiers, our airmen and our navy? That’s what we’ve been discussing. From Australia's perspective, because they see regional stability as integral to their national stability, and it makes sense, if their supply chains are choked here, Australia suffers, how can they add to the regional stability? And how can Singapore accommodate more ships and planes flying through our naval bases and air bases. So it's no secret, and I think we can come up with something which is mutually beneficial.

Journalist: Hi, Owen Walker here from the Financial Times. Thanks for your time this afternoon. Question, mainly to the Singaporean side, I’d like to get your response to the announcements overnight from the US on export controls, on chip makers exporting into China, and what impact that may have on industry and chip making in Singapore? And I suppose a broader follow up to both sides is: looking forward to towards the next Trump Presidency, what that might mean for trade with China in the next four years or so?

Deputy Prime Minister Gan: Thank you. I think Singapore has been watching the development of the contestation between China and US very closely, particularly in technology related areas. And chip making is one particular area that's related to technology. And therefore Singapore has been working with our industries very closely to understand their concerns and their challenges, and helping them to adjust to the new environment. And I would say that going forward, whether it's the current administration or the next administration, the contestation and competition between China and US will continue to intensify, and our industries are also watching this very carefully and preparing themselves for the new environment and new landscape. But even with competition and contestation, there will also be new opportunities that will emerge, because with this- tariffs and other trade restrictions, as well as investment regulation, will also mean that the entire supply chain will be restructured. This is not just restricted to semiconductors. It also applies to many other industries. And as the supply chain gets reorganised there will be new rules and supply notes that will emerge. And the key question is, really, how can Singapore play a role in this new format of supply chain for semiconductor, as well as other industries? So in a nutshell, I think it will be challenging for us. There will be new difficulties and new challenges, and there will be trade barriers. This will result in a change in the supply chain pattern, and we are working with our industries to see how Singapore can continue to seize these opportunities that may arise as a result of this new supply chain pattern, while at the same time address addressing the challenges that are faced by our industries.

Minister Farrell: So, the American people have had an election. They're a democracy. They've made a decision about who their next administration is going to be, and Australia wholeheartedly respects that decision. And I think the first point to make is that we should not panic about this new administration. We will work with any government that the American people vote for, and we will work with, and constructively work with, the Trump administration. From Australia's point of view, the Americans have a trade surplus with Australia. It roughly works this way: America sells us about $70 billion worth of product, we sell them about $35 billion worth of product. So we would say that's a surplus in America's favour. I personally have reached out to my equivalents, that’s the Commerce Secretary and the United States Trade Representative. We want a constructive working relationship with this new administration. We've always had that in the past with whatever complexion the American government might be, and I'm very confident that we can put our case very strongly to the United States, and work with our great friends Singapore to ensure that we put our best foot forward. From Australia's point of view, we are a great trading nation. We rely on free and fair trade to provide the prosperity and the peace that we enjoy in our region. We want that to continue. We'll prosecute Australia's national interests in our discussions with the United States. And I believe that we can work sensibly, constructively and cooperatively with the new government of the United States.

Journalist: Good afternoon, Ministers. My name is Kayla from Mothership. So this year commemorates the 50th anniversary of ASEAN-Australia dialogue relations. In an increasingly fragmented world, how important are the relations between ASEAN and Australia, and how do you see this relationship evolving?

Minister Wong: Thank you very much for that question and yes, we were ASEAN’s first dialogue partner, and we were very proud and pleased to be able to celebrate the 50th anniversary, and we were very grateful to have all of the leaders of ASEAN come to Melbourne, Australia for the ASEAN-Australia special Summit. And I was asked once, not at the Shangri-La Dialogue, but at the Raisina Dialogue, you know, “tell me about Australian support for ASEAN centrality”, and I made the point that when we look up at the world, the first region we see and the first nations we look to is ASEAN, are ASEAN. And we see that centrality as so important, particularly now. It is important for stability, it is important for the management of difference, it is important for peace. And the interconnectivity, economically and in other ways, between ASEAN nations and the rest of the world is important also for prosperity.

Minister Balakrishnan: Australia was indeed the first dialog partner of ASEAN. And over the five decades, Australia has been a major trading partner and investor, as well as a source of ODA for the less developed members of ASEAN. So there's no question about the depth of the ASEAN-Australian relationship. And I should add for good measure, Singapore has always been an advocate for including Australia within the ASEAN overall architecture for our region, and that's why Australia is also part of the RCEP, which includes ASEAN, as well as Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan and South Korea. So that's first point.

The second point relates also to the earlier question. There are going to be new trade barriers. Part of that is related to the super power contestation, but not all of it. Because I think the scarring experience of COVID also reminded all countries that they do need to pay attention to supply chain resilience. Also, the re-emergence of industrial policy, even in developed economies, is also responsible to domestic political needs in those economies, to safeguard jobs and to provide good, well paying employment prospects. So we need to understand that the way the world was organised before is going to change, whether you like it or not. Now, having said that, for both Australia and Singapore, and actually even for the rest of ASEAN, we still do best in a world with free trade, with low barriers, with greater economic integration, with free flow of investments to build up our infrastructure. And certainly within ASEAN, we do need more investments in infrastructure. And to the extent that Australia has both the raw materials and the technology to invest in ASEAN, this is something which we will encourage. And then if you actually look at the figures, I'll have to double check with Don, but I think if you look at Australia's trade with ASEAN as a whole, I suspect we are larger than the EU and maybe would give even America a run for its money, and I expect that in the decades to come, the trade between Australia and ASEAN will increase even further.

Finally, as an aside, Don's reference to the American trade surplus with Australia has reminded me that every time I used to meet the officials from the first Trump administration, I always reminded them that America also has a trade surplus against Singapore. So we shouldn't be on any specific target, neither Australia nor Singapore should be on any specific target list. But putting that aside, between Australia and Singapore, and between ASEAN and Australia, let's continue to push the cause for free trade, for multilateralism, for the WTO and for rules-based multilateral system. I think that's still the safest way for us to continue to invest in our economies, to bring good jobs to our people and good wages.

Deputy Prime Minister Gan: Thank you. I think that's the last question. Maybe I will just wrap up by saying that I think the journey ahead is going to be challenging, given the complexity of the world landscape. But it's always easier and safer to travel this journey with partners, particularly reliable, trusted partners, and Australia is one of them. So we will look forward to continuing partnering with Australia as we develop a CSP 2.0. Thank you very much.