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The Singapore Lecture 1/4/92 [OA 6095] [1]
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26
17
5
5
28
Jan. 4 / Administration of George Bush, 1992
Administra
U.S. Role in the Pacific
against the Communists, and you prevailed.
throes of t
Q. There's been a lot of talk about how
You led your nation and your region in the
systems of
power in this region, particularly in the fu-
quest for peace and prosperity. It is my con-
liberty, der
ture, will not be military; it will be economic.
vinced view that future generations will
and interna
And that there is a perception among Asian
honor the name of Lee Kuan Yew. And as
As this SI
nations that the United States is a declining
you know well from your visits in my own
lectures ha
economic power and that you have put too
home in Kennebunkport, Barbara's and
confrontati
much emphasis on this tour as a panacea to
mine, I am pleased to know you as a friend.
operation.
America's economic ills. How do you answer
Prime Minister Goh, I salute you, sir, for
old ways of
that?
your wisdom, for your vigor in carrying
tions of n
The President. I answer it by referring
Singapore forward now on its path to the fu-
egories, No
to able leaders of ASEAN countries who tell
ture. I am grateful for the wonderful talks
communist
me what it is they'd like to see us do to be
we had this morning, and I pledge America's
ply belong
more active in Asian markets. I answer it by
steadfast friendship as you lead Singapore in
the cutting
saying we are a Pacific power, and we're
facing the challenges of the coming genera-
tion, nation
going to stay involved in the Pacific. We have
tion. And I'm also pleased that you, like many
harness the
disproportionate responsibilities for security
of your countrymen, came to the United
Individu
around the world. And I think the Prime
States of America for part of your education.
An innoval
Minister would probably agree with that, and
These too are ties that bind us together.
freedom to
we are going to keep those commitments.
Now, on to the business at hand. It's an
change the
And I'd leave it on a very broad basis like
honor to deliver this lecture, following such
ments that
that.
leaders as Brian Mulroney and Helmut
oly of pow
Schmidt and Rudd Lubbers, Bob Hawke,
freedom 0
Note: The President's 116th news conference
Mahathir bin Mohamad, and Valéry Giscard
wayside, SV
began at 11:40 a.m. in the courtyard at Istana
d'Estaing, and such distinguished thinkers as
ion and en
Palace. In the news conference, the following
Henry Kissinger and Milton Friedman. And
Liberatir
persons were referred to: Prime Minister
let me acknowledge Professor K.L. Sandhu,
Kiichi Miyazawa of Japan and Richard G.
director, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies;
puters, fac
Darman, Director of the Office of Manage-
A.V. Liventals, the chairman, Mobil Oil
and other
Singapore; Lee Hee Seng, deputy chairman
mation, an-
ment and Budget. A tape was not available
for verification of the content of this news
and board of trustees, ISEAS; and Dr. Rich-
and at evel
conference.
ard Hu, chairman of the Monetary Authority
weapons O.
The old
of Singapore and Finance Minister.
Let me also salute the members of the
ideologies
U.S.-ASEAN Business Council with whom
village un:
I just met, who are here with us in this audi-
of individ
Remarks and a Question-and-Answer
trade and
Session With the Singapore Lecture
torium today.
Group
The addresses in this series reflect the
to tyranny
January 4, 1992
changes in our world. Your first lecturers fo-
If we a
cused on the ideological and military struggle
this new f
The President. Thank you, Mr. Minister,
between socialism and democratic capital-
twined cha
Prime Minister Goh, Senior Minister Lee.
ism, and especially between the United
peace and
I'm delighted to be here, and thank you, sir,
States and what we used to call the Soviet
ing democ
for that very kind introduction. Let me take
Union.
ing greate.
this opportunity to say a few words about
Think of that phrase for just a moment,
around the
these two gentlemen I've just referred to.
"what we used to call the Soviet Union."
Conside
Minister Lee, a quarter of a century ago,
When citizens pulled down the hammer and
security. T
you led this small island of cultural and eth-
sickle 10 days ago and hauled up a new tri
Vorld W:
nic diversity, of limited physical resources,
color of freedom over the Kremlin, the Soviet
Minister I
to independence. And then, through your vi-
Union ceased to exist, and the prospect of
Hussein's
sion and your force of intellect and will, you
a new world opened before us.
war can b
forged Singapore's nationhood. You stood
That act culminated a decade of liberation,
gressors de
courageously in a life and death struggle
a time in which we witnessed the death
erful to the
George Bush, 1992
Administration of George Bush, 1992 / Jan. 4
29
and you prevailed
throes of totalitarianism and the triumph of
As a nation that straddles two great oceans,
your region in the
systems of government devoted to individual
a nation tempered by painful wartime experi-
liberty, democratic pluralism, free markets,
ence, the United States remains committed
perity. It is my con-
3 generations will
and international engagement.
to engagement in the Atlantic community
Kuan Yew. And as
As this struggle has drawn to a close, these
and the Asia-Pacific region, and we are unal-
r visits in my own
lectures have shifted their focus from military
terably opposed to isolationism. That's my
rt, Barbara's and
confrontation to matters of economic co-
vow to you, as long as I am President of the
operation. Our new world has little use for
United States of America.
ow you as a friend
salute you, sir, for
old ways of thinking about the roles and rela-
A quarter century ago, many feared that
vigor in carrying
tions of nation-states. The cold war cat-
free nations would fall like dominoes, re-
n its path to the fu-
egories, North-South, East-West, capitalist-
member the domino theory, fall like dom-
he wonderful talks
communist, no longer apply. The future sim-
inoes to the subversion of communism. Now,
I pledge America's
ply belongs to nations that can remain on
we can say with pride and a robust sense
u lead Singapore in
the cutting edge of innovation and informa-
of irony that the totalitarian powers, the pow-
the coming genera-
tion, nations that can develop the genius and
ers that fomented conflict the world over,
that you, like many
harness the aspirations of their own people.
have indeed become the dominoes of the
me to the United
Individuals wield power as never before.
1990's.
t of your education.
An innovator, equipped with ideas and the
This end to the cold war gives the United
d us together.
freedom to turn them into inventions, can
States an opportunity to restructure its mili-
ess at hand. It's an
change the way we live and think. Govern-
tary. Having said that, I want to assure you
ture, following such
ments that strive only to maintain a monop-
and all of our many friends in this part of
oney and Helmut
oly of power, rather than to strengthen the
the world that the closing of bases in the Phil-
obers, Bob Hawke,
freedom of the individual, will fall by the
ippines will not spell an end to American en-
and Valéry Giscard
wayside, swept away by the tides of innova-
gagement. We will maintain a visible, credi-
nguished thinkers as
ble presence in the Asia-Pacific region with
tion and entrepreneurship.
iton Friedman. And
our forward deployed forces and through bi-
Liberating technologies, telephones, com-
fessor K.L. Sandhu,
lateral defense arrangements with nations of
puters, facsimile machines, satellite dishes,
heast Asian Studies;
the region.
and other devices that transmit news, infor-
airman, Mobil Oil
That is why I'm pleased to announce that
mation, and culture in ever greater volumes
g, deputy chairman
this morning we've reached agreement with
and at ever greater speeds, have disabled the
EAS; and Dr. Rich-
the Government of Singapore to explore in
weapons of tyranny.
Monetary Authority
detail how we can transfer a naval logistics
The old world of splintered regions and
e Minister.
facility from Subic Bay in the Philippines to
ne members of the
ideologies has begun to give way to a global
Singapore in the next year. We appreciate
Council with whom
village universally committed to the values
Singapore's far-sighted approach to the secu-
with us in this audi-
of individual liberty, democracy, and free
rity requirements of a new era.
trade and universally opposed, I might add,
The United States does not maintain our
.S series reflect the
to tyranny and aggression.
security presence as some act of charity. Your
our first lecturers fo-
If we are to realize the opportunities of
security and your prosperity serve our inter-
and military struggle
this new era, we must address three inter-
ests because you can better help build a more
democratic capital-
twined challenges: The new requirements of
stable, more prosperous world. An unstable
tween the United
peace and security, the challenge of promot-
Asia burdened with repression does not serve
ed to call the Soviet
ing democracy, and the challenge of generat-
our interests, nor does an Asia mired in pov-
ing greater economic growth and prosperity
erty and despair. We need you as free and
around the world.
for just a moment,
productive as you can be, and we understand
the Soviet Union.
Consider first the challenge of peace and
that our security presence can provide a
wn the hammer and
security. The world has learned, through two
foundation for our mutual prosperity and
hauled upa new tri
Vorld Wars, and most recently, as Senior
shared defense.
e Kremlin, the Soviet
Minister Lee talked about, through Saddam
But we also need your support in address-
and the prospect of
Hussein's naked aggression, that the dogs of
ing the new threats of this new era, regional
ore us.
war can be unleashed anytime would-be ag-
conflicts, weapons proliferation. And so, I'm
decade of liberation,
gressors doubt the commitment of the pow-
pleased that the ASEAN nations are working
vitnessed the death
erful to the security of the powerless.
with us to craft new and flexible arrange-
30
Jan. 4 / Administration of George Bush, 1992
Administration
ments to ensure the common defense. Access
open markets, form the building blocks for
agreements and increased ASEAN-U.S. dia-
what I've called the new world order.
in order to expi
log can help us work cooperatively to pro-
to free and fai
This movement toward democracy leads
mote stability in the whole region. By work-
learn' more ab
us to the third challenge for the future, the
ing cooperatively, we better share the secu-
challenge of economic growth and building
they will also W
rity responsibilities of the post-cold-war era.
a world of open and fair trade.
pete fairly thrc
Strong, credible security arrangements en-
Everyone agrees that political rivalry and
today also are t'
abled us to meet the second challenge, the
the ASEAN cou
military adventurism threaten international
challenge of democracy, a challenge of
to the United {
stability. But no one should doubt that eco-
shared interests and shared ideals.
businesses there
nomic isolationism, protectionism, can be at
Again, ASEAN is helping to spread posi-
least as threatening to world order. The pro-
exist in ASEAN.
tive political change in ways that reflect the
tectionist wars of the twenties and thirties
The United S
values, aspirations, and cultures of the na-
deepened the Great Depression and set in
economic opera
tions in this region. ASEAN is trying to help
motion conflicts that hastened the Second
and to encourag
the former Communist States in Indochina
World War.
ber we agreed t
reintegrate themselves in a world that re-
On the other hand, during the past half
framework agre
spects free markets and free people. Those
century, engagement and trade have pro-
I propose that
efforts are starting to produce very hopeful
duced unprecedented peace and prosperity
ment by negot
results.
here in Singapore, throughout free Asia, in
treaty. When c
Just a few weeks ago American diplomats
Europe, and in the United States. This pros-
forts through (
arrived in Phnom Penh for the first time in
perity also has led naturally to democracy,
tiatives through
16 years. We owe that breakthrough to years
a fact that illustrates the indivisible relation-
approach can e
of effort by many nations. But the Cam-
ship between security, democracy, and indi-
nomic challeng
bodian peace accord signed by Secretary
vidual liberty.
Americans be
Baker in Paris last October could not have
The United States will remain engaged
Nations can a
existed without the help and the cooperation
economically, especially in this part of the
prosperity wher
of ASEAN. This historic agreement offers
world. The Asian-Pacific region has become
of the marketpla
the very real hope of national reconciliation
the world's economic dynamo. Our trade
The General
to the long-suffering people of Cambodia.
with Singapore, it's increased tenfold during
Trade can play
And additionally, when the Paris con-
the past 16 years. We now export more to
expanding fre
ference agreed on a peace settlement for
Singapore than to Italy or Spain, more to In-
And that's why
Cambodia, my Government offered to re-
donesia than to the whole of Eastern Europe.
trip I'm calling
move our trade embargo as the United Na-
The economies here continue to grow at an
of the internati
tions advance mission began to implement
astonishing rate while enjoying impressive in-
ing the world's
the settlement. And today I am pleased to
come equality and general prosperity.
us in making C
announce the lifting of that embargo. Work-
The ASEAN countries, along with other
posed draft agr
ing with others, we need to turn attention
nations in the region, helped initiate the Asia-
cessful conclusi
to the economic reconstruction of that deeply
Pacific Economic Cooperation process 2
While all of
wounded land, and so its new political rec-
years ago, APEC. APEC offers a powerful
tions of that di
onciliation has a home from which to grow.
vehicle for sustaining free, market-based
let the progres
We are now normalizing our ties with Laos
trade, for advancing the cause of regional and
the past. Now
and have begun to move with Vietnam along
global trade liberalization, and for strength-
collective response
a path marked by implementation of the
ening the cohesion and interdependence of
the dynamic t
Paris accords, and for the sake of many, many
the Asia-Pacific region.
to help us to con
American families, the satisfactory resolution
Now this is important to us. Most of Amer-
to build the mo
of our concerns, our deep concerns about
ica's recent economic growth has come from
ment. A succe
POW and MIA's.
export industries. Each billion dollars' worth
guay round ca
The key point is this: After being strong,
of U.S. exports support many thousands
greater trade li
determined, and patient, we finally can en-
good American jobs.
and greater pro
tertain realistic hopes of building lasting ties
A delegation of executives from major
GATT ensur
of interest and affection with Indochina. Or-
American businesses, from the automobile
moving toward
ganizations such as ASEAN, which promote
industry to computer and electronics firms,
and not toward
security, more open political systems, and
to food and energy companies, has joined me
point out to an
cially an infor
George Bush, 1992
Administration of George Bush, 1992 / Jan. 4
31
building blocks for
orld order.
in order to express our national commitment
there's a huge difference between a free
to free and fair trade. Our executives will
trade zone, an oasis of free trade, and a trade
1 democracy leads
for the future, the
learn more about opportunities here, and
bloc that attempts to hold the rest of the
they will also work to help other firms com-
world at bay. We resolutely oppose efforts
de. owth and building
pete fairly throughout the world. With us
to create economic fortresses anywhere.
political rivalry and
today also are the American Ambassadors to
On the other hand, we wholeheartedly en-
the ASEAN countries. They will be returning
dorse free trade agreements. Let me be clear
eaten international
to the United States soon to tell American
Id doubt that eco-
on something. Our North American free
businesses there about the opportunities that
trade agreement will beckon all nations to
ctionism, can be at
exist in ASEAN.
make the best of the resources and opportu-
-ld order. The pro-
enties and thirties
The United States is trying to establish an
nities that the United States, Canada, and
ression and set in
economic operating framework to facilitate
Mexico have to offer. NAFTA, that North
American free trade agreement, is not a
tened the Second
and to encourage these ties. This past Octo-
ber we agreed to a new trade and investment
threat to Asia. It would not encourage the
framework agreement with Singapore. And
division of the world into trading blocs.
ring the past half
trade have pro-
I propose that we complement that agree-
Instead, our increased growth can stimu-
ment by negotiating a bilateral investment
late more trade with Asia. And we support
ice and prosperity
hout free Asia, in
treaty. When combined with our global ef-
efforts to build free trade agreements else-
States. This pros-
forts through GATT and our regional ini-
where, including among the ASEAN nations.
ally to democracy,
tiatives through APEC, this comprehensive
Consider your own experience. A regime
approach can enable us to meet the eco-
of free trade has enabled Singapore to be-
ndivisible relation.
nomic challenges of the post-cold-war era.
come one of the Four Tigers of Asia and one
nocracy, and indi
Americans believe in free and open trade.
of the fastest developing nations on Earth.
Nations can achieve astonishing levels of
When other nations' economies falter, you
remain engaged
a this part of the
prosperity when they embrace the challenge
suffer. The worldwide economic slowdown
egion has become
of the marketplace.
has slowed your rate of economic growth this
year, although most nations would be over-
namo. Our trade
The General Agreement on Tariffs and
ed tenfold during
Trade can play an especially crucial role in
joyed to settle for 6-percent growth. [Laugh-
V export more to
expanding freedom's economic frontiers.
ter] And I can speak for one. [Laughter]
Spain, more to In-
And that's why on each stop of this important
Singapore has one of the most open econo-
trip I'm calling for urgent action on behalf
mies on Earth, and I appreciate Singapore's
Eastern Europe.
of the international trading system. I am urg-
leadership on pressing for even greater mar-
nue to grow at an
ing impressive in
ing the world's trading nations to join with
ket freedom around the world.
prosperity.
us in making GATT Director Dunkel's pro-
But we also need to consider the full im-
along with other
posed draft agreement the basis for the suc-
port of economic development. An economy
d initiate the Asia-
cessful conclusion of the Uruguay round.
is the aggregate work, ingenuity, and opti-
ration process 2
While all of us have problems with por-
mism of a nation. The term "economy" en-
offers a powerful
tions of that draft, none of us can afford to
compasses what millions of people do with
e, market-based
let the progress it represents slip away into
their lives. And therefore, when we talk
the past. Now is the moment for a strong
about strengthening economies, about
:se of regional and
and for strength-
collective response. And I particularly urge
growth, about opportunity, we mean much
the dynamic trading nations of this region
more than signing trade pacts. We mean
erdependence of
to help us to convince all GATT participants
building better lives for our people.
to build the momentum to achieve this agree-
Americans understand that no nation will
IS. Most of Amer
th has come from
ment. A successful conclusion to this Uru-
prosper long without a first-rate educational
on dollars' worth
guay round can prepare the way for even
system. And I've encouraged Americans to
any thousands
greater trade liberalization in years to come
mount a revolution in education. We call it
and greater prosperity for everyone.
the America 2000 education strategy. Amer-
GATT ensures that the world will continue
ica 2000 challenges our citizens to set high
ves from major
moving toward broad economic integration
standards for their schools. It encourages all
the automobile
electronics firms
and not toward trade blocs. I don't have to
Americans to join forces in creating world-
es, has joined me
point out to an audience in Singapore, espe-
class schools. And meanwhile, we will con-
cially an informed audience like this, that
tinue to strengthen our university system, we
Administration of George
32
Jan. 4 / Administration of George Bush, 1992
Trading Blocs
think the world's finest and the host today
the counsels of defeatism and ignorance, we
to over 200,000 students from Asia. Perhaps
will build a better world, a world bound by
Q. Mr. President, the t
one may be a future Prime Minister. I am
common interests and goals.
nomic interaction within t
certain she'll be a good one. [Laughter] And
Like you, Americans desperately want a
rope forging a single ma
our APEC educational partnership initiative
world at peace, one in which no blood must
Canada, and Mexico mov.
is seeking to link these educational ties to
be shed for the ideals we all share. So, we
American free trade area,
our mutual economic interests.
will maintain a vigorous security presence in
tum in the 1990's. How, i
Once we have given students basic skills,
order to prevent despots and tyrants from
we ensure that these trei
we must give them the freedom to make the
undermining the triumphs of freedom and
inward-looking economic
most of the knowledge they have acquired.
democracy.
APEC as a body promot
Tax cuts and deregulation in the 1980's
Like you, Americans want to live in a world
openness and counter t}
helped unleash the greatest peacetime eco-
enriched and enlivened by international
trends? Thank you.
nomic recovery in American history. And
trade in goods, in ideas, in cultures, and in
The President. One,
while in my country reducing the tax on cap-
dreams for the future. We want the oppor-
cessful conclusion in
ital gains is somewhat controversial politi-
tunity to compete aggressively in the inter-
Therein lies the most ir:
cally, most of our competitors impose very
national marketplace. And at the same time
that can guarantee again:
low taxes on capital gains. Some, like Singa-
our consumers want access to the best goods
ondly, accept my word
pore, don't tax capital gains at all. We can
and services that your economies have to
North American free tra
learn from you. We can create a climate even
offer. We want to live in a world made better
to contribute to dividing
more conducive to risk, to innovation, to the
by the genius and achievement of every cul-
ing blocs, into blocs tha
bold exploration of new technologies and
ture. So, we will advance the prospects for
ple's goods. That is no
ideas, and I'm confident that we will.
more open trade.
we are successful in th
Beyond that, the nations of the world want
to enjoy the blessings of growth without de-
And like you, Americans want a world unit-
increase markets for A
stroying the environment. And we need to
ed and enlightened by freedom and justice,
America which has bee
by political pluralism, by the universal com-
economic help.
achieve environmental protection without
denying developing nations the opportunity
mitment to individual liberty and prosperity.
So, the first answer
So, we will stand fast by our principles and
successful conclusion of
to develop. The United States has environ-
mental expertise and state-of-the-art envi-
remain confident, strong, and vigilant.
And the second answer
Since 1784, when an American trading
that NAFTA, and I can
ronmental technology. The Asian nations
have environmental challenges.
ship, the Empress of China, sailed for Canton
ican participation there
I am pleased to announce today that AID,
from New York, the United States has tried
true of President Salin
the U.S. Trade Development Program, the
to build strong ties of commerce with Asia.
Brian Mulroney of Can
We remain committed to that vision. And to-
of having that free tra
Overseas Private Insurance [Investment]
gether, the United States and its Asian-Pa-
be a bloc to ASEAN
Corporation, OPIC, and our Ex-Im Bank
cific allies can indeed build a world filled
about it. That isn't goin
have developed a creative approach in part-
nership with this region to better address the
with economic tigers, nations growing rap-
If I could think of a
challenge of balancing the environmental
idly, pioneering new intellectual, commer-
you. [Laughter] But t'
protection with development. We hope we
cial, and cultural terrain, spreading the bless-
got.
can coordinate our effort with those of other
ings of free markets, democracy, and peace.
U.S. Role in the Pacif
developed nations through various types of
My trip through Asia this week marks a new
support, including U.S. equipment and tech-
start. The next step is up to all of us.
Q. Mr. President,
Thank you again. And may God bless you,
countries in the Asia-
nology. This will be good; it will be good for
the people of Singapore, people of the Unit-
see the U.S. continue
Asia's environment, good for American jobs.
In conclusion, the nations committed to
ed States of America. Thank you all very, very
nomic and security ro
democracy and free markets have brought
much.
cific. But many are W
Q. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a tight
become the leader i
the world to a new era, one that promises
schedule, certain to squeeze out the ques
etition especially in
unprecedented freedom from violence and
tion-and-answer session. We have a very few
in the Asia-Pacific re
deprivation. But this world will not simply
happen. It will require hard work, tough ne-
questions that the President has offered to
spond to this Japane
gotiation, sacrifice, and the courage of our
meet. So, can I ask the questioners and to get be
and stay in the con
Japan eventually beco.
rge Bush, 1992
Administration of George Bush, 1992 / Jan. 4
H ignorance, we
Trading Blocs
remain engaged in the economies and the
vorld bound by
Q. Mr. President, the trend in closer eco-
security of the region?
nomic interaction within the region, with Eu-
The President. Good question, and the
berately want a
rope forging a single market and the U.S.,
answer is yes. We are, regardless of what hap-
no blood must
Canada, and Mexico moving towards a North
pens, we are going to continue our coopera-
1 share. So, we
American free trade area, all grow in momen-
tion in terms of security. That's a given.
rity presence in
tum in the 1990's. How, in your opinion, can
That's important. It's important, I think, to
d tyrants from
we ensure that these trends do not result in
ASEAN. And I think it's very, very important
of freedom and
inward-looking economic blocs? How can
to my country, the United States of America.
APEC as a body promote greater economic
I'm not as gloomy as the question implied
0 live in a world
openness and counter these inward-looking
in terms of Japan dominating ASEAN. I
/ international
trends? Thank you.
would be worried about it if I thought that
cultures, and in
The President. One, help us reach a suc-
we would all acquiesce, including Singapore,
ant the oppor-
cessful conclusion in the GATT round.
in a bloc to offset Canada or to offset a per-
ly in the inter-
Therein lies the most important single step
ceived trading bloc in Europe. Then I would
be concerned about that. But I don't think
the same time
that can guarantee against trading blocs. Sec-
the best goods
ondly, accept my word that nothing in the
that is going to be the reality because we
homies have to
North American free trade agreement wants
are going to forcefully, with our best we can
offer in terms of economics and investment
rld made better
to contribute to dividing the world into trad-
and two-way trade, stay involved in the area.
nt of every cul-
ing blocs, into blocs that shut out other peo-
If you predicated it by saying the world
e prospects for
ple's goods. That is not what it's about. If
will divide into three blocs, do we have any
we are successful in the NAFTA, that will
concern about domination from an economic
nt a world unit-
increase markets for Asian goods in South
om and justice,
America which has been an area that needs
superpower, which is Japan, I'd say you could
have some concerns there. But that's not
universal com-
economic help.
what I see as the reality. And I hope that
and prosperity.
So, the first answer is, help with GATT,
in some way this trip contributes to the idea
principles and
successful conclusion of the Uruguay round.
that we want to avoid blocs that shut people
vigilant.
And the second answer is, please understand
out and we want to open markets that cause
nerican trading
that NAFTA, and I can only speak for Amer-
people to come in.
uiled for Canton
ican participation therein, and I'm sure it's
And so, that is the way that I look at it
States has tried
true of President Salinas of Mexico and of
right now. But we will stay engaged. I'm
ierce with Asia
Brian Mulroney of Canada, have no intention
looking forward to the part of my trip that
vision And to-
of having that free trade between ourselves
takes me to Japan. We have trade problems
d its Asian-Pa
be a bloc to ASEAN goods. Stop worrying
there. They' aware of it; we're going to talk
a world filled
about it. That isn't going to happen.
to them. But it's not going to be exclusively
:S growing rap.
If I could think of a third reason, I'd tell
on that. I'm interested, as you know, in creat-
ctual, commer
you. [Laughter] But those are the two I've
ing jobs for Americans through fair trade,
ading the bless
got.
through access to markets, through matters
acy, and peace
ek marks a new
U.S. Role in the Pacific
of this nature. But we also have a wide array
of other considerations that I will be discuss-
of us.
Q. Mr. President, I believe that most
ing with the very able leaders of Japan. And
God bless you,
countries in the Asia-Pacific region want to
it might well be that we will talk about the
ple of the Unit-
see the U.S. continue to play a major eco-
idea that we ought not to see this world di-
ou all very, very
nomic and security role in the western Pa-
vided up into regional blocs.
cific. But many are worried that Japan may
So, I'll do my best in that regard.
we have a tight
become the leader in the economic com-
out the ques-
setition especially in trade and investments
Europe
have a very few
in the Asia-Pacific region. Will the U.S. re-
Q. It was with some irony that I read re-
has offered to
spond to this Japanese economic challenge
cently in the observation of Li Peng, Chinese
estioners to be
and stay in the competition? However, if
Prime Minister, China's Prime Minister, that
name, and get
Japan eventually becomes the preeminent in-
in fact, with events surrounding the dis-
vestor and trader in the region, will the U.S.
solution of the ex-Soviet empire, events in
34
Jan. 4 / Administration of George Bush, 1992
Administration of
Yugoslavia, that in fact the single source of
By that, I can't say that we think the only-
from the interch
threat to your new world order is no longer
threats to worldwide security might emerge
leaders from the
security in Asia-Pacific but in fact Europe.
in this area; we don't. But we've had a Pacific
only representative
Your comments, please.
presence, and we're going to continue to
many of them, a
The President. Mike, please elaborate. I
have a Pacific presence.
our leading busine
didn't see the comment by Li Peng, and I
Still not sure I got to the point, but anyway,
So, they'll go back
need a little more of what he was talking
that's the answer.
of how we further
about. Threat to Europe, in what sense?
Note: The President spoke at 12:50 p.m. at
I will say that I'
Q. In the sense of the threat to the new
of the United St
world order that you referred to earlier, the
the Westin Stamford Hotel in Singapore. A
theater of threat from a sort of geopolitical
tape was not available for verification of the
protection that a.
and military sense is no longer question
content of these remarks.
one's own econo
marks over Asia-Pacific but more question
one way to make
marks over the European theater.
resort to protectic
to do that. But we
The President. Well, see, I wouldn't agree
I'm sure some of
with the premise that in the past the concern
Remarks at a Breakfast With Korean
heck does this n
wasn't about the Soviet Union, if that's what
and American Business Groups in
he was talking about. The major so-called
Seoul
commitment to fr
"superpower confrontation" has been be-
I just want to assi
January 6, 1992
tween the United States and the Soviet
committed. I th
Union, Soviet Union with its satellites and
First, let me just thank our Korean busi-
want that in spite
the United States with its friends and allies.
ness guests for taking time away from fantas-
tion.
And now, with the dissolution of the Soviet
tically busy schedules to be with us today.
I would like to
Union, we see that this doesn't exist. That
I view this as an important meeting. I view
person here, fro
major cold war security threat, if we handle
this as a meeting where I undoubtedly will
Korea, use whate
things properly with the emergence of the
learn.
your trading part
Republics or this Commonwealth, should no
Secondly, I'd like to comment overall on
where to get a Si
longer concern us.
our trip. A lot of this trip is about business
GATT round. Th
We're going to stay engaged with the Re-
and how we can do more, and thus creating
vitally important
publics. We're going to stay engaged with the
opportunities in the United States, job op-
should most be
Commonwealth, helping in every way we can
portunities; and similarly, if you believe as
conclusion of that
these now-fledgling democracies as they
we do, and I'm sure everyone here does, of
is important.
emerge and strengthen their independence.
free trade, job opportunities here in Korea.
And the last pc
We want to see that there isn't a security
But in saying that, I wanted to also empha-
some look at the
threat from that part of the world.
size that I am not neglecting, because of this
agreement in Asi:
I may be missing what he's getting at, but
emphasis, my sincere concern about security
States worried
I just think we have to guard against unpre-
considerations that bind us together, the cul-
round not finishi
dictability, and thus the security presence
tural aspects, the scientific aspects that bind
planning on form
will remain in Asia. It may be different than
Korea and the United States together. So the
America and Sou
it's been in the past. The whole makeup of
trip is about a lot of things. But this breakfast,
on down past M
the U.S. defenses has been changing, as you
and obviously and properly, the focus is on
Let me tell al.
know, but we are going to retain, because
business.
friends, that I de
of unforeseen circumstances and with the
We watch in admiration the success of the
to acquiesce in
welcome of our friends in this area, a security
companies that you all represent around
trading blocs. Ar
presence here.
here. We have with us a distinguished group
when successfull
So, if the distinguished leader of China was
of American businessmen who have taken a
markets, force
implying that wasn't necessary anymore, fine.
lot of time from their own busy lives to go
with me. And I wondered at the beginning
more prosperous
That's a good-and I'm confident that China
ica. We're convi
is not seeking external hegemony. There was
how all of this would be received by our for-
I am, and I think
a time when everybody was much, much
more concerned about that But we'll be
eign hosts. But in Australia and Singapore I
that a successful
and
here
REVISED
THE SINGAPORE LECTURE
WESTIN STAMFORD HOTEL
JANUARY 4, 1991
1 P.M.
12:50 1:47
28
PRIME MINISTER GOH, SENIOR MINISTER LEE, THANK YOU
FOR THAT VERY KIND INTRODUCTION. LET ME TAKE THIS
OPPORTUNITY TO SAY A FEW WORDS ABOUT THESE TWO
GENTLEMEN.
MINISTER LEE, A QUARTER CENTURY AGO, YOU LED THIS
SMALL ISLAND OF CULTURAL AND ETHNIC DIVERSITY, OF
LIMITED PHYSICAL RESOURCES, TO INDEPENDENCE. THEN,
THROUGH YOUR VISION AND YOUR FORCE OF INTELLECT AND
WILL, YOU FORGED SINGAPORE'S NATIONHOOD. YOU STOOD
COURAGEOUSLY IN A LIFE AND DEATH STRUGGLE AGAINST THE
COMMUNISTS -- AND YOU PREVAILED. YOU LED YOUR NATION
AND YOUR REGION IN THE QUEST FOR PEACE AND PROSPERITY.
FUTURE GENERATIONS WILL HONOR THE NAME OF LEE KWAN YEW.
AND AS YOU KNOW WELL FROM YOUR VISITS TO MY HOME IN
KENNEBUNKPORT, I AM PLEASED TO KNOW YOU AS A FRIEND.
- 2 -
PRIME MINISTER GOH, I SALUTE YOU FOR YOUR WISDOM
AND YOUR VIGOR IN CARRYING SINGAPORE FORWARD ON ITS
PATH TO THE FUTURE. I PLEDGE AMERICA'S STEADFAST
FRIENDSHIP AS YOU LEAD SINGAPORE IN FACING THE
CHALLENGES OF THE COMING GENERATION. AND I AM ALSO
PLEASED THAT YOU, LIKE MANY OF YOUR COUNTRYMEN, CAME TO
MY COUNTRY FOR PART OF YOUR EDUCATION. THESE, Too, ARE
TIES THAT BIND US TOGETHER.
IT'S AN HONOR TO DELIVER THIS LECTURE, FOLLOWING
SUCH LEADERS AS BRIAN MULRONEY, HELMUT SCHMIDT, RUUD
LUBBERS, BOB HAWKE, MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD AND VALERY
GISCARD D'ESTAING AND SUCH DISTINGUISHED THINKERS AS
HENRY KISSINGER AND MILTON FRIEDMAN. AND LET ME
ACKNOWLEDGE: A. V. LIVENTALS [CHAIRMAN, MOBIL OIL
SINGAPORE], LEE HEE SENG [DEPUTY CHAIRMAN AND BOARD OF
TRUSTEES, ISEAS], AND DR. RICHARD HU [CHAIRMAN,
MONETARY AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE AND FINANCE MINISTER].
LET ME ALSO SALUTE THE MEMBERS OF THE U.S.-ASEAN
BUSINESS COUNCIL WHO ARE WITH US TODAY.
- 3 -
THE ADDRESSES IN THIS SERIES REFLECT THE CHANGES IN
OUR WORLD. YOUR FIRST LECTURERS FOCUSED ON THE
IDEOLOGICAL AND MILITARY STRUGGLE BETWEEN SOCIALISM AND
DEMOCRATIC CAPITALISM -- AND ESPECIALLY BETWEEN THE
UNITED STATES AND WHAT WE USED TO CALL THE SOVIET
UNION.
THINK OF THAT PHRASE FOR A MOMENT - -- "WHAT WE USED
TO CALL THE SOVIET UNION." WHEN CITIZENS PULLED DOWN
THE HAMMER AND SICKLE TEN DAYS AGO, AND HAULED UP A NEW
TRICOLOR OF FREEDOM OVER THE KREMLIN, THE SOVIET UNION
CEASED TO EXIST - -- AND THE PROSPECT OF A NEW WORLD
OPENED BEFORE US.
THAT ACT CULMINATED A DECADE OF LIBERATION -- A
TIME IN WHICH WE WITNESSED THE DEATH THROES OF
TOTALITARIANISM, AND THE TRIUMPH OF SYSTEMS OF
GOVERNMENT DEVOTED TO INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY, DEMOCRATIC
PLURALISM, FREE MARKETS AND INTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENT.
- 4 -
AS THIS STRUGGLE HAS DRAWN TO A CLOSE, THESE
LECTURES HAVE SHIFTED THEIR FOCUS FROM MILITARY
CONFRONTATION TO MATTERS OF ECONOMIC COOPERATION.
OUR NEW WORLD HAS LITTLE USE FOR OLD WAYS OF
THINKING ABOUT THE ROLES AND RELATIONS OF NATION-
STATES. THE COLD WAR CATEGORIES -- NORTH-SOUTH, EAST-
WEST, CAPITALIST-COMMUNIST -- NO LONGER APPLY. THE
FUTURE SIMPLY BELONGS TO NATIONS THAT CAN REMAIN ON THE
CUTTING EDGE OF INNOVATION AND INFORMATION; NATIONS
THAT CAN DEVELOP THE GENIUS AND HARNESS THE ASPIRATIONS
OF THEIR PEOPLE.
INDIVIDUALS WIELD POWER AS NEVER BEFORE. AN
INNOVATOR EQUIPPED WITH IDEAS AND THE FREEDOM TO TURN
THEM INTO INVENTIONS CAN CHANGE THE WAY WE LIVE AND
THINK. GOVERNMENTS THAT STRIVE ONLY TO MAINTAIN A
MONOPOLY OF POWER, RATHER THAN TO STRENGTHEN THE
FREEDOM OF THE INDIVIDUAL, WILL FALL BY THE WAYSIDE,
SWEPT AWAY BY THE TIDES OF INNOVATION AND
ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
- 5 -
LIBERATING TECHNOLOGIES -- TELEPHONES, COMPUTERS,
FACSIMILE MACHINES, SATELLITE DISHES AND OTHER DEVICES
THAT TRANSMIT NEWS, INFORMATION AND CULTURE IN EVER
GREATER VOLUMES AND AT EVER GREATER SPEEDS - -- HAVE
DISABLED THE WEAPONS OF TYRANNY.
THE OLD WORLD OF SPLINTERED REGIONS AND IDEOLOGIES
HAS BEGUN TO GIVE WAY TO A GLOBAL VILLAGE UNIVERSALLY
COMMITTED TO THE VALUES OF INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY,
DEMOCRACY, AND FREE TRADE -- AND UNIVERSALLY OPPOSED TO
TYRANNY AND AGGRESSION.
IF WE ARE TO REALIZE THE OPPORTUNITIES OF THIS NEW
ERA, WE MUST ADDRESS THREE INTERTWINED CHALLENGES: THE
NEW REQUIREMENTS OF PEACE AND SECURITY, THE CHALLENGE
OF PROMOTING DEMOCRACY, AND THE CHALLENGE OF GENERATING
GREATER ECONOMIC GROWTH AND PROSPERITY AROUND THE
WORLD.
. 6 -
CONSIDER FIRST THE CHALLENGE OF PEACE AND SECURITY.
THE WORLD HAS LEARNED -- THROUGH TWO WORLD WARS, AND
MOST RECENTLY, THROUGH SADDAM HUSSEIN'S NAKED
AGGRESSION -- THAT THE DOGS OF WAR CAN BE UNLEASHED ANY
TIME WOULD-BE AGGRESSORS DOUBT THE COMMITMENT OF THE
POWERFUL TO THE SECURITY OF THE POWERLESS.
AS A NATION THAT STRADDLES TWO GREAT OCEANS -- A
NATION TEMPERED BY PAINFUL WARTIME EXPERIENCE -- THE
UNITED STATES REMAINS COMMITTED TO ENGAGEMENT IN THE
ATLANTIC COMMUNITY AND THE ASIA PACIFIC REGION -- AND
WE ARE UNALTERABLY OPPOSED TO ISOLATIONISM. THAT'S MY
VOW TO YOU, AS LONG AS I AM PRESIDENT.
A QUARTER CENTURY AGO, MANY FEARED THAT FREE
NATIONS WOULD FALL LIKE DOMINOES TO THE SUBVERSION OF
COMMUNISM. NOW, WE CAN SAY WITH PRIDE AND A ROBUST
SENSE OF IRONY THAT THE TOTALITARIAN POWERS -- THE
POWERS THAT FOMENTED CONFLICT THE WORLD OVER -- HAVE
BECOME THE DOMINOES OF THE 1990'S.
- 7 -
THIS END TO THE COLD WAR GIVES THE UNITED STATES AN
OPPORTUNITY TO RESTRUCTURE ITS MILITARY. BUT I WANT TO
ASSURE YOU AND ALL OF OUR MANY FRIENDS IN THIS PART OF
THE WORLD, THAT THE CLOSING OF BASES IN THE PHILIPPINES
WILL NOT SPELL THE END TO AMERICAN ENGAGEMENT. WE WILL
MAINTAIN A VISIBLE, CREDIBLE PRESENCE IN THE ASIA-
PACIFIC REGION WITH OUR FORWARD DEPLOYED FORCES, AND
THROUGH BILATERAL DEFENSE ARRANGEMENTS WITH NATIONS OF
THE REGION.
THAT IS WHY I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT THIS
MORNING THE UNITED STATES HAS REACHED AGREEMENT WITH
THE GOVERNMENT OF SINGAPORE TO EXPLORE IN DETAIL HOW WE
CAN TRANSFER A NAVAL LOGISTICS FACILITY FROM SUBIC BAY
IN THE PHILLIPINES TO SINGAPORE IN THE NEXT YEAR. WE
APPRECIATE SINGAPORE'S FAR-SIGHTED APPROACH TO THE
SECURITY REQUIREMENTS OF A NEW ERA.
- 8 -
THE UNITED STATES DOES NOT MAINTAIN OUR SECURITY
PRESENCE AS AN ACT OF CHARITY. YOUR SECURITY AND
PROSPERITY SERVE OUR INTERESTS BECAUSE YOU CAN BETTER
HELP BUILD A MORE STABLE, MORE PROSPEROUS WORLD. AN
UNSTABLE ASIA BURDENED WITH REPRESSION DOES NOT SERVE
OUR INTERESTS. NOR DOES AN ASIA MIRED IN POVERTY AND
DESPAIR. WE NEED YOU AS FREE AND PRODUCTIVE AS YOU CAN
BE, AND WE UNDERSTAND THAT OUR SECURITY PRESENCE CAN
PROVIDE A FOUNDATION FOR OUR MUTUAL PROSPERITY AND
SHARED DEFENSE.
BUT WE ALSO NEED YOUR SUPPORT IN ADDRESSING THE NEW
THREATS OF THIS NEW ERA -- REGIONAL CONFLICTS AND
WEAPONS PROLIFERATION. SO I AM PLEASED THAT THE ASEAN
NATIONS ARE WORKING WITH US TO CRAFT NEW AND FLEXIBLE
ARRANGEMENTS TO ENSURE THE COMMON DEFENSE. ACCESS
AGREEMENTS AND INCREASED ASEAN-US DIALOGUE CAN HELP US
WORK COOPERATIVELY TO PROMOTE STABILITY IN THIS REGION.
BY WORKING COOPERATIVELY, WE BETTER SHARE THE SECURITY
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE POST-COLD WAR ERA.
- 9 -
STRONG, CREDIBLE SECURITY AGREEMENTS ENABLE US TO
MEET THE SECOND CHALLENGE, THE CHALLENGE OF DEMOCRACY
-- A CHALLENGE OF SHARED INTERESTS AND IDEALS.
AGAIN, ASEAN IS HELPING TO SPREAD POSITIVE
POLITICAL CHANGE, IN WAYS THAT REFLECT THE VALUES,
ASPIRATIONS, AND CULTURES OF THE NATIONS IN THIS
REGION. ASEAN IS TRYING TO HELP THE FORMER COMMUNIST
STATES IN INDOCHINA REINTEGRATE THEMSELVES IN A WORLD
THAT RESPECTS FREE MARKETS AND FREE PEOPLE. THOSE
EFFORTS ARE STARTING TO PRODUCE HOPEFUL RESULTS.
- 10 -
JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO AMERICAN DIPLOMATS ARRIVED IN
PHNOM PENH FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 16 YEARS. WE OWE THAT
BREAKTHROUGH TO YEARS OF EFFORT BY MANY NATIONS. BUT,
THE CAMBODIAN PEACE ACCORD SIGNED BY SECRETARY BAKER IN
PARIS LAST OCTOBER COULD NOT HAVE EXISTED WITHOUT THE
HELP AND COOPERATION OF ASEAN. THIS HISTORIC AGREEMENT
OFFERS THE VERY REAL HOPE OF NATIONAL RECONCILIATION TO
THE LONG-SUFFERING PEOPLE OF CAMBODIA. ADDITIONALLY,
WHEN THE PARIS CONFERENCE AGREED ON A PEACE SETTLEMENT
FOR CAMBODIA, MY GOVERNMENT OFFERED TO REMOVE OUR TRADE
U.N.
EMBARGO AS THE UN ADVANCE MISSION BEGAN TO IMPLEMENT
THE SETTLEMENT. TODAY I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE
LIFTING OF THAT EMBARGO. WORKING WITH OTHERS, WE NEED
TO TURN ATTENTION TO THE ECONOMIC RECONSTRUCTION OF
THAT DEEPLY WOUNDED LAND, SO ITS NEW POLITICAL
RECONCILIATION HAS A HOME FROM WHICH TO GROW.
WE ARE NOW NORMALIZING OUR TIES WITH LAOS AND HAVE
BEGUN TO MOVE WITH VIETNAM ALONG A PATH MARKED BY
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PARIS ACCORDS, AND FOR THE SAKE
OF MANY, MANY AMERICAN FAMILIES, THE SATISFACTORY
RESOLUTION OF OUR CONCERNS ABOUT POW/MIA'S.
- 11 -
THE KEY POINT IS THIS: AFTER BEING STRONG,
DETERMINED, AND PATIENT, WE FINALLY CAN ENTERTAIN
REALISTIC HOPES OF BUILDING LASTING TIES OF INTEREST
AND AFFECTION WITH INDOCHINA. ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS
ASEAN, WHICH PROMOTE SECURITY, MORE OPEN POLITICAL
SYSTEMS, AND OPEN MARKETS, FORM THE BUILDING BLOCKS FOR
WHAT I HAVE CALLED THE NEW WORLD ORDER.
THIS MOVEMENT TOWARD DEMOCRACY LEADS US TO THE
THIRD CHALLENGE FOR THE FUTURE, THE CHALLENGE OF
ECONOMIC GROWTH AND BUILDING A WORLD OF OPEN AND FAIR
TRADE.
EVERYONE AGREES THAT POLITICAL RIVALRY AND MILITARY
ADVENTURISM THREATEN INTERNATIONAL STABILITY. BUT NO
ONE SHOULD DOUBT THAT ECONOMIC ISOLATIONISM --
PROTECTIONISM -- CAN BE AT LEAST AS THREATENING TO
WORLD ORDER. THE PROTECTIONIST WARS OF THE 1920'S AND
1930'S DEEPENED THE GREAT DEPRESSION, AND SET IN MOTION
CONFLICTS THAT HASTENED THE SECOND WORLD WAR.
- 12 -
ON THE OTHER HAND, DURING THE PAST HALF CENTURY,
ENGAGEMENT AND TRADE HAVE PRODUCED UNPRECEDENTED PEACE
AND PROSPERITY -- HERE, IN SINGAPORE; THROUGHOUT FREE
ASIA; IN EUROPE AND THE UNITED STATES. THIS PROSPERITY
ALSO HAS LED NATURALLY TO DEMOCRACY -- A FACT THAT
ILLUSTRATES THE INDIVISIBLE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
SECURITY, DEMOCRACY AND INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY.
THE UNITED STATES WILL REMAIN ENGAGED ECONOMICALLY,
ESPECIALLY IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD. THE ASIAN-
PACIFIC REGION HAS BECOME THE WORLD'S ECONOMIC DYNAMO.
OUR TRADE WITH SINGAPORE HAS INCREASED TENFOLD DURING
THE PAST 16 YEARS. WE NOW EXPORT MORE TO SINGAPORE
THAN TO ITALY OR SPAIN; MORE TO INDONESIA THAN TO THE
WHOLE OF EASTERN EUROPE. THE ECONOMIES HERE CONTINUE
TO GROW AT AN ASTONISHING RATE, WHILE ENJOYING
IMPRESSIVE INCOME EQUALITY AND GENERAL PROSPERITY.
- 13 .
THE ASEAN COUNTRIES, ALONG WITH OTHER NATIONS IN
THE REGION, HELPED INITIATE THE ASIA-PACIFIC ECONOMIC
COOPERATION PROCESS TWO YEARS AGO. APEC OFFERS A
POWERFUL VEHICLE FOR SUSTAINING FREE, MARKET-BASED
TRADE, FOR ADVANCING THE CAUSE OF REGIONAL AND GLOBAL
TRADE LIBERALIZATION, AND FOR STRENGTHENING THE
COHESION AND INTERDEPENDENCE OF THE ASIA-PACIFIC
REGION.
THIS IS IMPORTANT TO US. MOST OF AMERICA'S RECENT
ECONOMIC GROWTH HAS COME FROM EXPORT INDUSTRIES. EACH
BILLION DOLLARS' WORTH OF U.S. EXPORTS SUPPORT MANY
THOUSANDS OF GOOD AMERICAN JOBS.
A DELEGATION OF EXECUTIVES FROM MAJOR AMERICAN
BUSINESSES -- FROM THE AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY TO COMPUTER
AND ELECTRONICS FIRMS, TO FOOD AND ENERGY COMPANIES --
HAS JOINED ME IN ORDER TO EXPRESS OUR NATIONAL
COMMITMENT TO FREE AND FAIR TRADE. OUR EXECUTIVES WILL
LEARN MORE ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES HERE, AND THEY WILL ALSO
WORK TO HELP OTHER FIRMS COMPETE FAIRLY THROUGHOUT THE
WORLD.
- 14 -
WITH US TODAY ARE THE AMERICAN AMBASSADORS TO THE
ASEAN COUNTRIES. THEY WILL BE RETURNING TO THE UNITED
STATES SOON TO TELL AMERICAN BUSINESSES THERE ABOUT THE
OPPORTUNITIES THAT EXIST HERE IN ASEAN.
THE UNITED STATES IS TRYING TO ESTABLISH AN
ECONOMIC OPERATING FRAMEWORK TO FACILITATE AND
ENCOURAGE THESE TIES. THIS PAST OCTOBER WE AGREED TO A
NEW TRADE AND INVESTMENT FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT WITH
SINGAPORE. I PROPOSE THAT WE COMPLEMENT THAT AGREEMENT
BY NEGOTIATING A BILATERAL INVESTMENT TREATY. WHEN
COMBINED WITH OUR GLOBAL EFFORTS THROUGH GATT, AND OUR
REGIONAL INITIATIVES THROUGH APEC, THIS COMPREHENSIVE
APPROACH CAN ENABLE US TO MEET THE ECONOMIC CHALLENGES
OF THE POST-COLD WAR ERA.
AMERICANS BELIEVE IN FREE AND OPEN TRADE. NATIONS
CAN ACHIEVE ASTONISHING LEVELS OF PROSPERITY WHEN THEY
EMBRACE THE CHALLENGE OF THE MARKETPLACE.
- 15 -
THE GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TARIFFS AND TRADE CAN PLAY
AN ESPECIALLY CRUCIAL ROLE IN EXPANDING FREEDOM'S
ECONOMIC FRONTIERS. THAT'S WHY ON EACH STOP OF THIS
TRIP I'M CALLING FOR URGENT ACTION ON BEHALF OF THE
INTERNATIONAL TRADING SYSTEM. I AM URGING THE WORLD'S
TRADING NATIONS TO JOIN WITH US IN MAKING GATT DIRECTOR
DUNKEL'S PROPOSED DRAFT AGREEMENT THE BASIS FOR A
SUCCESSFUL CONCLUSION OF THE URUGUAY ROUND. WHILE ALL
OF US HAVE PROBLEMS WITH PORTIONS OF THAT DRAFT, NONE
OF US CAN AFFORD TO LET THE PROGRESS IT REPRESENTS SLIP
AWAY. NOW IS THE MOMENT FOR A STRONG COLLECTIVE
RESPONSE. I PARTICULARLY URGE THE DYNAMIC TRADING
NATIONS OF THIS REGION TO HELP US TO CONVINCE ALL GATT
PARTICIPANTS TO BUILD THE MOMENTUM TO ACHIEVE THIS
AGREEMENT. A SUCCESSFUL CONCLUSION TO THE URUGUAY
ROUND CAN PREPARE THE WAY FOR EVEN GREATER TRADE
LIBERALIZATION IN YEARS TO COME -- AND GREATER
PROSPERITY FOR EVERYONE.
- 16 -
GATT ENSURES THAT THE WORLD WILL CONTINUE MOVING
TOWARD BROAD ECONOMIC INTEGRATION -- AND NOT TOWARD
TRADE BLOCS. I DON'T HAVE TO POINT OUT TO AN AUDIENCE
IN SINGAPORE THAT THERE'S A HUGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A
FREE TRADE ZONE -- AN OASIS OF FREE TRADE -- AND A
TRADE BLOC THAT ATTEMPTS TO HOLD THE REST OF THE WORLD
AT BAY. WE RESOLUTELY OPPOSE EFFORTS TO CREATE
ECONOMIC "FORTRESSES" -- ANYWHERE.
ON THE OTHER HAND, WE WHOLEHEARTEDLY ENDORSE FREE-
TRADE AGREEMENTS. OUR NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE
AGREEMENT WILL BECKON ALL NATIONS TO MAKE THE BEST OF
THE RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES THAT THE UNITED STATES,
CANADA AND MEXICO HAVE TO OFFER. NAFTA IS NOT A THREAT
TO ASIA. IT WOULD NOT ENCOURAGE THE DIVISION OF THE
WORLD INTO TRADING BLOCS. INSTEAD, OUR INCREASED
GROWTH CAN STIMULATE MORE TRADE WITH ASIA. AND WE
SUPPORT EFFORTS TO BUILD FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS
ELSEWHERE, INCLUDING AMONG THE ASEAN NATIONS.
- 17 -
CONSIDER YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE. A REGIME OF FREE
TRADE HAS ENABLED SINGAPORE TO BECOME ONE OF THE FOUR
TIGERS OF ASIA, AND ONE OF THE FASTEST DEVELOPING
NATIONS ON EARTH. WHEN OTHER NATIONS' ECONOMIES
FALTER, YOU SUFFER. THE WORLDWIDE ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN
HAS SLOWED YOUR RATE OF ECONOMIC GROWTH THIS YEAR --
ALTHOUGH MOST NATIONS WOULD BE OVERJOYED TO SETTLE FOR
SIX-PERCENT GROWTH. SINGAPORE HAS ONE OF THE MOST OPEN
ECONOMIES ON EARTH, AND I APPRECIATE SINGAPORE'S
LEADERSHIP IN PRESSING FOR EVEN GREATER MARKET FREEDOM
AROUND THE WORLD.
BUT WE ALSO NEED TO CONSIDER THE FULL IMPORT OF
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. AN ECONOMY IS THE AGGREGATE OF
WORK, INGENUITY AND OPTIMISM OF A NATION. THE TERM
"ECONOMY" ENCOMPASSES WHAT MILLIONS OF PEOPLE DO WITH
THEIR LIVES. THEREFORE, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT
STRENGTHENING ECONOMIES, ABOUT GROWTH, ABOUT
OPPORTUNITY, WE MEAN MUCH MORE THAN SIGNING TRADE
PACTS. WE MEAN BUILDING BETTER LIVES FOR OUR PEOPLE.
- 18 -
AMERICANS UNDERSTAND THAT NO NATION WILL PROSPER
LONG WITHOUT A FIRST-RATE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM. I HAVE
ENCOURAGED AMERICANS TO MOUNT A REVOLUTION IN
EDUCATION, WHICH WE CALL THE AMERICA 2000 EDUCATION
STRATEGY. AMERICA 2000 CHALLENGES CITIZENS TO SET HIGH
STANDARDS FOR THEIR SCHOOLS, AND IT ENCOURAGES ALL
AMERICANS TO JOIN FORCES IN CREATING WORLD-CLASS
SCHOOLS. MEANWHILE, WE WILL CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN OUR
UNIVERSITY SYSTEM, THE WORLD'S FINEST -- AND THE HOST
TODAY TO OVER 200,000 STUDENTS FROM ASIA. PERHAPS ONE
MAY BE A FUTURE PRIME MINISTER. [[ I AM CERTAIN SHE
WILL BE A GOOD ONE. ]] AND OUR APEC EDUCATIONAL
PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVE IS SEEKING TO LINK THESE
EDUCATIONAL TIES TO OUR MUTUAL ECONOMIC INTERESTS.
- 19 .
ONCE WE HAVE GIVEN STUDENTS BASIC SKILLS, WE MUST
GIVE THEM THE FREEDOM TO MAKE THE MOST OF THE KNOWLEDGE
THEY HAVE ACQUIRED. TAX CUTS AND DEREGULATION IN THE
1980'S HELPED UNLEASH THE GREATEST PEACETIME ECONOMIC
RECOVERY IN AMERICAN HISTORY. WHILE IN MY COUNTRY
REDUCING THE TAX ON CAPITAL GAINS IS CONTROVERSIAL,
MOST OF OUR COMPETITORS IMPOSE VERY LOW TAXES ON
CAPITAL GAINS. SOME, LIKE SINGAPORE, DON'T TAX CAPITAL
GAINS AT ALL. WE CAN LEARN FROM YOU -- WE CAN CREATE A
CLIMATE EVEN MORE CONDUCIVE TO RISK, TO INNOVATION, TO
THE BOLD EXPLORATION OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND IDEAS --
AND I'M CONFIDENT THAT WE WILL.
BEYOND THAT, THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD WANT TO ENJOY
THE BLESSINGS OF GROWTH WITHOUT DESTROYING THE
ENVIRONMENT. YET WE NEED TO ACHIEVE ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION WITHOUT DENYING DEVELOPING NATIONS THE
OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOP. THE UNITED STATES HAS
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERTISE AND STATE-OF-THE-ART
ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY. THE ASIAN NATIONS HAVE
ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES.
- 20 -
I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE TODAY THAT A.I.D., THE
U.S. TRADE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, THE OVERSEAS PRIVATE
INSURANCE CORPORATION, AND OUR EXIMBANK HAVE DEVELOPED
A CREATIVE APPROACH IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THIS REGION TO
BETTER ADDRESS THE CHALLENGE OF BALANCING ENVIROMENTAL
PROTECTION WITH DEVELOPMENT. WE HOPE WE CAN
COORDINATE OUR EFFORT WITH THOSE OF OTHER DEVELOPED
NATIONS, THROUGH VARIOUS TYPES OF SUPPORT, INCLUDING
U.S. EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY. THIS WILL BE GOOD FOR
ASIA'S ENVIRONMENT AND GOOD FOR AMERICAN JOBS.
IN CONCLUSION, THE NATIONS COMMITTED TO DEMOCRACY
AND FREE MARKETS HAVE BROUGHT THE WORLD TO A NEW ERA,
ONE THAT PROMISES UNPRECEDENTED FREEDOM FROM VIOLENCE
AND DEPRIVATION. BUT THIS WORLD WILL NOT SIMPLY
HAPPEN. IT WILL REQUIRE HARD WORK, TOUGH NEGOTIATION,
SACRIFICE, AND THE COURAGE OF OUR CONVICTIONS. IF WE
CAST OUR LOT WITH THE FORCES OF ENLIGHTENMENT AND
FREEDOM OVER THE COUNSELS OF DEFEATISM AND IGNORANCE,
WE WILL BUILD A BETTER WORLD -- A WORLD BOUND BY COMMON
INTERESTS AND GOALS.
- 21 -
LIKE YOU, AMERICANS WANT A WORLD AT PEACE, ONE IN
WHICH NO BLOOD MUST BE SHED FOR THE IDEALS WE ALL
SHARE. SO WE WILL MAINTAIN A VIGOROUS SECURITY
PRESENCE IN ORDER TO PREVENT DESPOTS AND TYRANTS FROM
UNDERMINING THE TRIUMPHS OF FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY.
LIKE YOU, AMERICANS WANT TO LIVE IN A WORLD
ENRICHED AND ENLIVENED BY INTERNATIONAL TRADE -- IN
GOODS, IN IDEAS, IN CULTURES, AND IN DREAMS FOR THE
FUTURE. WE WANT THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMPETE
AGGRESSIVELY IN THE INTERNATIONAL MARKETPLACE. AND AT
THE SAME TIME OUR CONSUMERS WANT ACCESS TO THE BEST
GOODS AND SERVICES THAT YOUR ECONOMIES HAVE TO OFFER.
WE WANT TO LIVE IN A WORLD MADE BETTER BY THE GENIUS
AND ACHIEVEMENT OF EVERY CULTURE. SO WE WILL ADVANCE
THE PROSPECTS FOR MORE OPEN TRADE.
- 22 -
AND LIKE YOU, AMERICANS WANT A WORLD UNITED AND
ENLIGHTENED BY FREEDOM AND JUSTICE, BY POLITICAL
PLURALISM, AND BY THE UNIVERSAL COMMITMENT TO
INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY AND PROSPERITY. so WE WILL STAND
FAST BY OUR PRINCIPLES - -- AND REMAIN CONFIDENT, STRONG,
AND VIGILANT.
SINCE 1784, WHEN AN AMERICAN TRADING SHIP, THE
EMPRESS OF CHINA, SAILED FOR CANTON FROM NEW YORK, THE
UNITED STATES HAS TRIED TO BUILD STRONG TIES OF
COMMERCE WITH ASIA. WE REMAIN COMMITTED TO THAT
VISION.
TOGETHER, THE UNITED STATES AND ITS ASIAN-PACIFIC
ALLIES CAN BUILD A WORLD FILLED WITH ECONOMIC TIGERS
-- NATIONS GROWING RAPIDLY; PIONEERING NEW
INTELLECTUAL, COMMERCIAL AND CULTURAL TERRAIN;
SPREADING THE BLESSINGS OF FREE MARKETS, DEMOCRACY AND
PEACE. MY TRIP THROUGH ASIA THIS WEEK MARKS A NEW
START. THE NEXT STEP IS UP TO US ALL.
- 23 -
THANK YOU AGAIN. MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA.
#
#
# #
KL Sandhu,
Prof.
SANDA
enton Food avelue
REVISED
THE SINGAPORE LECTURE
WESTIN STAMFORD HOTEL
JANUARY 4, 1991
1 P.M.
PRIME MINISTER GOH, SENIOR MINISTER LEE, THANK YOU
FOR THAT VERY KIND INTRODUCTION. LET ME TAKE THIS
OPPORTUNITY TO SAY A FEW WORDS ABOUT THESE TWO
GENTLEMEN.
MINISTER LEE, A QUARTER CENTURY AGO, YOU LED THIS
SMALL ISLAND OF CULTURAL AND ETHNIC DIVERSITY, OF
LIMITED PHYSICAL RESOURCES, TO INDEPENDENCE. THEN,
THROUGH YOUR VISION AND YOUR FORCE OF INTELLECT AND
WILL, YOU FORGED SINGAPORE'S NATIONHOOD. YOU STOOD
COURAGEOUSLY IN A LIFE AND DEATH STRUGGLE AGAINST THE
COMMUNISTS -- AND YOU PREVAILED. YOU LED YOUR NATION
AND YOUR REGION IN THE QUEST FOR PEACE AND PROSPERITY.
FUTURE GENERATIONS WILL HONOR THE NAME OF LEE KWAN YEW.
AND AS YOU KNOW WELL FROM YOUR VISITS TO MY HOME IN
KENNEBUNKPORT, I AM PLEASED TO KNOW YOU AS A FRIEND.
- 2 -
PRIME MINISTER GOH, I SALUTE YOU FOR YOUR WISDOM
AND YOUR VIGOR IN CARRYING SINGAPORE FORWARD ON ITS
PATH TO THE FUTURE. I PLEDGE AMERICA'S STEADFAST
FRIENDSHIP AS YOU LEAD SINGAPORE IN FACING THE
CHALLENGES OF THE COMING GENERATION. AND I AM ALSO
PLEASED THAT YOU, LIKE MANY OF YOUR COUNTRYMEN, CAME TO
MY COUNTRY FOR PART OF YOUR EDUCATION. THESE, Too, ARE
TIES THAT BIND US TOGETHER.
IT'S AN HONOR TO DELIVER THIS LECTURE, FOLLOWING
SUCH LEADERS AS BRIAN MULRONEY, HELMUT SCHMIDT, RUUD
LUBBERS, BOB HAWKE, MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD AND VALERY
GISCARD D'ESTAING AND SUCH DISTINGUISHED THINKERS AS
HENRY KISSINGER AND MILTON FRIEDMAN. AND LET ME
ACKNOWLEDGE: A. V. LIVENTALS [CHAIRMAN, MOBIL OIL
SINGAPORE], LEE HEE SENG [DEPUTY CHAIRMAN AND BOARD OF
TRUSTEES, ISEAS], AND DR. RICHARD HU [CHAIRMAN,
MONETARY AUTHORITY OF SINGAPORE AND FINANCE MINISTER].
LET ME ALSO SALUTE THE MEMBERS OF THE U.S.-ASEAN
BUSINESS COUNCIL WHO ARE WITH US TODAY.
- 3 -
THE ADDRESSES IN THIS SERIES REFLECT THE CHANGES IN
OUR WORLD. YOUR FIRST LECTURERS FOCUSED ON THE
IDEOLOGICAL AND MILITARY STRUGGLE BETWEEN SOCIALISM AND
DEMOCRATIC CAPITALISM - -- AND ESPECIALLY BETWEEN THE
UNITED STATES AND WHAT WE USED TO CALL THE SOVIET
UNION.
THINK OF THAT PHRASE FOR A MOMENT : -- "WHAT WE USED
TO CALL THE SOVIET UNION." WHEN CITIZENS PULLED DOWN
THE HAMMER AND SICKLE TEN DAYS AGO, AND HAULED UP A NEW
TRICOLOR OF FREEDOM OVER THE KREMLIN, THE SOVIET UNION
CEASED TO EXIST -- AND THE PROSPECT OF A NEW WORLD
OPENED BEFORE US.
THAT ACT CULMINATED A DECADE OF LIBERATION -- A
TIME IN WHICH WE WITNESSED THE DEATH THROES OF
TOTALITARIANISM, AND THE TRIUMPH OF SYSTEMS OF
GOVERNMENT DEVOTED TO INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY, DEMOCRATIC
PLURALISM, FREE MARKETS AND INTERNATIONAL ENGAGEMENT.
- 4 -
AS THIS STRUGGLE HAS DRAWN TO A CLOSE, THESE
LECTURES HAVE SHIFTED THEIR FOCUS FROM MILITARY
CONFRONTATION TO MATTERS OF ECONOMIC COOPERATION.
OUR NEW WORLD HAS LITTLE USE FOR OLD WAYS OF
THINKING ABOUT THE ROLES AND RELATIONS OF NATION-
STATES. THE COLD WAR CATEGORIES -- NORTH-SOUTH, EAST-
WEST, CAPITALIST-COMMUNIST -- NO LONGER APPLY. THE
FUTURE SIMPLY BELONGS TO NATIONS THAT CAN REMAIN ON THE
CUTTING EDGE OF INNOVATION AND INFORMATION; NATIONS
THAT CAN DEVELOP THE GENIUS AND HARNESS THE ASPIRATIONS
OF THEIR PEOPLE.
INDIVIDUALS WIELD POWER AS NEVER BEFORE. AN
INNOVATOR EQUIPPED WITH IDEAS AND THE FREEDOM TO TURN
THEM INTO INVENTIONS CAN CHANGE THE WAY WE LIVE AND
THINK. GOVERNMENTS THAT STRIVE ONLY TO MAINTAIN A
MONOPOLY OF POWER, RATHER THAN TO STRENGTHEN THE
FREEDOM OF THE INDIVIDUAL, WILL FALL BY THE WAYSIDE,
SWEPT AWAY BY THE TIDES OF INNOVATION AND
ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
- 5 -
LIBERATING TECHNOLOGIES -- TELEPHONES, COMPUTERS,
FACSIMILE MACHINES, SATELLITE DISHES AND OTHER DEVICES
THAT TRANSMIT NEWS, INFORMATION AND CULTURE IN EVER
GREATER VOLUMES AND AT EVER GREATER SPEEDS -- HAVE
DISABLED THE WEAPONS OF TYRANNY.
THE OLD WORLD OF SPLINTERED REGIONS AND IDEOLOGIES
HAS BEGUN TO GIVE WAY TO A GLOBAL VILLAGE UNIVERSALLY
COMMITTED TO THE VALUES OF INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY,
DEMOCRACY, AND FREE TRADE -- AND UNIVERSALLY OPPOSED TO
TYRANNY AND AGGRESSION.
IF WE ARE TO REALIZE THE OPPORTUNITIES OF THIS NEW
ERA, WE MUST ADDRESS THREE INTERTWINED CHALLENGES: THE
NEW REQUIREMENTS OF PEACE AND SECURITY, THE CHALLENGE
OF PROMOTING DEMOCRACY, AND THE CHALLENGE OF GENERATING
GREATER ECONOMIC GROWTH AND PROSPERITY AROUND THE
WORLD.
- 6 -
CONSIDER FIRST THE CHALLENGE OF PEACE AND SECURITY.
THE WORLD HAS LEARNED -- THROUGH TWO WORLD WARS, AND
MOST RECENTLY, THROUGH SADDAM HUSSEIN'S NAKED
AGGRESSION -- THAT THE DOGS OF WAR CAN BE UNLEASHED ANY
TIME WOULD-BE AGGRESSORS DOUBT THE COMMITMENT OF THE
POWERFUL TO THE SECURITY OF THE POWERLESS.
AS A NATION THAT STRADDLES TWO GREAT OCEANS -- A
NATION TEMPERED BY PAINFUL WARTIME EXPERIENCE -- THE
UNITED STATES REMAINS COMMITTED TO ENGAGEMENT IN THE
ATLANTIC COMMUNITY AND THE ASIA PACIFIC REGION -- AND
WE ARE UNALTERABLY OPPOSED TO ISOLATIONISM. THAT'S MY
VOW TO YOU, AS LONG AS I AM PRESIDENT.
A QUARTER CENTURY AGO, MANY FEARED THAT FREE
NATIONS WOULD FALL LIKE DOMINOES TO THE SUBVERSION OF
COMMUNISM. NOW, WE CAN SAY WITH PRIDE AND A ROBUST
SENSE OF IRONY THAT THE TOTALITARIAN POWERS -- THE
POWERS THAT FOMENTED CONFLICT THE WORLD OVER -- HAVE
BECOME THE DOMINOES OF THE 1990'S.
- 7 -
THIS END TO THE COLD WAR GIVES THE UNITED STATES AN
OPPORTUNITY TO RESTRUCTURE ITS MILITARY. BUT I WANT TO
ASSURE YOU AND ALL OF OUR MANY FRIENDS IN THIS PART OF
THE WORLD, THAT THE CLOSING OF BASES IN THE PHILIPPINES
WILL NOT SPELL THE END TO AMERICAN ENGAGEMENT. WE WILL
MAINTAIN A VISIBLE, CREDIBLE PRESENCE IN THE ASIA-
PACIFIC REGION WITH OUR FORWARD DEPLOYED FORCES, AND
THROUGH BILATERAL DEFENSE ARRANGEMENTS WITH NATIONS OF
THE REGION.
THAT IS WHY I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT THIS
MORNING THE UNITED STATES HAS REACHED AGREEMENT WITH
THE GOVERNMENT OF SINGAPORE TO EXPLORE IN DETAIL HOW WE
CAN TRANSFER A NAVAL LOGISTICS FACILITY FROM SUBIC BAY
IN THE PHILLIPINES TO SINGAPORE IN THE NEXT YEAR. WE
APPRECIATE SINGAPORE'S FAR-SIGHTED APPROACH TO THE
SECURITY REQUIREMENTS OF A NEW ERA.
- 8 -
THE UNITED STATES DOES NOT MAINTAIN OUR SECURITY
PRESENCE AS AN ACT OF CHARITY. YOUR SECURITY AND
PROSPERITY SERVE OUR INTERESTS BECAUSE YOU CAN BETTER
HELP BUILD A MORE STABLE, MORE PROSPEROUS WORLD. AN
UNSTABLE ASIA BURDENED WITH REPRESSION DOES NOT SERVE
OUR INTERESTS. NOR DOES AN ASIA MIRED IN POVERTY AND
DESPAIR. WE NEED YOU AS FREE AND PRODUCTIVE AS YOU CAN
BE, AND WE UNDERSTAND THAT OUR SECURITY PRESENCE CAN
PROVIDE A FOUNDATION FOR OUR MUTUAL PROSPERITY AND
SHARED DEFENSE.
BUT WE ALSO NEED YOUR SUPPORT IN ADDRESSING THE NEW
THREATS OF THIS NEW ERA -- REGIONAL CONFLICTS AND
WEAPONS PROLIFERATION. so I AM PLEASED THAT THE ASEAN
NATIONS ARE WORKING WITH US TO CRAFT NEW AND FLEXIBLE
ARRANGEMENTS TO ENSURE THE COMMON DEFENSE. ACCESS
AGREEMENTS AND INCREASED ASEAN-US DIALOGUE CAN HELP US
WORK COOPERATIVELY TO PROMOTE STABILITY IN THIS REGION.
BY WORKING COOPERATIVELY, WE BETTER SHARE THE SECURITY
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE POST-COLD WAR ERA.
- 9 -
STRONG, CREDIBLE SECURITY AGREEMENTS ENABLE US TO
MEET THE SECOND CHALLENGE, THE CHALLENGE OF DEMOCRACY
-- A CHALLENGE OF SHARED INTERESTS AND IDEALS.
AGAIN, ASEAN IS HELPING TO SPREAD POSITIVE
POLITICAL CHANGE, IN WAYS THAT REFLECT THE VALUES,
ASPIRATIONS, AND CULTURES OF THE NATIONS IN THIS
REGION. ASEAN IS TRYING TO HELP THE FORMER COMMUNIST
STATES IN INDOCHINA REINTEGRATE THEMSELVES IN A WORLD
THAT RESPECTS FREE MARKETS AND FREE PEOPLE. THOSE
EFFORTS ARE STARTING TO PRODUCE HOPEFUL RESULTS.
- 10 -
JUST A FEW WEEKS AGO AMERICAN DIPLOMATS ARRIVED IN
PHNOM PENH FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 16 YEARS. WE OWE THAT
BREAKTHROUGH TO YEARS OF EFFORT BY MANY NATIONS. BUT,
THE CAMBODIAN PEACE ACCORD SIGNED BY SECRETARY BAKER IN
PARIS LAST OCTOBER COULD NOT HAVE EXISTED WITHOUT THE
HELP AND COOPERATION OF ASEAN. THIS HISTORIC AGREEMENT
OFFERS THE VERY REAL HOPE OF NATIONAL RECONCILIATION TO
THE LONG-SUFFERING PEOPLE OF CAMBODIA. ADDITIONALLY,
WHEN THE PARIS CONFERENCE AGREED ON A PEACE SETTLEMENT
FOR CAMBODIA, MY GOVERNMENT OFFERED TO REMOVE OUR TRADE
EMBARGO AS THE UN ADVANCE MISSION BEGAN TO IMPLEMENT
THE SETTLEMENT. TODAY I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE
LIFTING OF THAT EMBARGO. WORKING WITH OTHERS, WE NEED
TO TURN ATTENTION TO THE ECONOMIC RECONSTRUCTION OF
THAT DEEPLY WOUNDED LAND, so ITS NEW POLITICAL
RECONCILIATION HAS A HOME FROM WHICH TO GROW.
WE ARE NOW NORMALIZING OUR TIES WITH LAOS AND HAVE
BEGUN TO MOVE WITH VIETNAM ALONG A PATH MARKED BY
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PARIS ACCORDS, AND FOR THE SAKE
OF MANY, MANY AMERICAN FAMILIES, THE SATISFACTORY
RESOLUTION OF OUR CONCERNS ABOUT POW/MIA'S.
- 11 -
THE KEY POINT IS THIS: AFTER BEING STRONG,
DETERMINED, AND PATIENT, WE FINALLY CAN ENTERTAIN
REALISTIC HOPES OF BUILDING LASTING TIES OF INTEREST
AND AFFECTION WITH INDOCHINA. ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS
ASEAN, WHICH PROMOTE SECURITY, MORE OPEN POLITICAL
SYSTEMS, AND OPEN MARKETS, FORM THE BUILDING BLOCKS FOR
WHAT I HAVE CALLED THE NEW WORLD ORDER.
THIS MOVEMENT TOWARD DEMOCRACY LEADS US TO THE
THIRD CHALLENGE FOR THE FUTURE, THE CHALLENGE OF
ECONOMIC GROWTH AND BUILDING A WORLD OF OPEN AND FAIR
TRADE.
EVERYONE AGREES THAT POLITICAL RIVALRY AND MILITARY
ADVENTURISM THREATEN INTERNATIONAL STABILITY. BUT NO
ONE SHOULD DOUBT THAT ECONOMIC ISOLATIONISM --
PROTECTIONISM -- CAN BE AT LEAST AS THREATENING TO
WORLD ORDER. THE PROTECTIONIST WARS OF THE 1920'S AND
1930'S DEEPENED THE GREAT DEPRESSION, AND SET IN MOTION
CONFLICTS THAT HASTENED THE SECOND WORLD WAR.
- 12 -
ON THE OTHER HAND, DURING THE PAST HALF CENTURY,
ENGAGEMENT AND TRADE HAVE PRODUCED UNPRECEDENTED PEACE
AND PROSPERITY -- HERE, IN SINGAPORE; THROUGHOUT FREE
ASIA; IN EUROPE AND THE UNITED STATES. THIS PROSPERITY
ALSO HAS LED NATURALLY TO DEMOCRACY -- A FACT THAT
ILLUSTRATES THE INDIVISIBLE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
SECURITY, DEMOCRACY AND INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY.
THE UNITED STATES WILL REMAIN ENGAGED ECONOMICALLY,
ESPECIALLY IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD. THE ASIAN-
PACIFIC REGION HAS BECOME THE WORLD'S ECONOMIC DYNAMO.
OUR TRADE WITH SINGAPORE HAS INCREASED TENFOLD DURING
THE PAST 16 YEARS. WE NOW EXPORT MORE TO SINGAPORE
THAN TO ITALY OR SPAIN; MORE TO INDONESIA THAN TO THE
WHOLE OF EASTERN EUROPE. THE ECONOMIES HERE CONTINUE
TO GROW AT AN ASTONISHING RATE, WHILE ENJOYING
IMPRESSIVE INCOME EQUALITY AND GENERAL PROSPERITY.
- 13 -
THE ASEAN COUNTRIES, ALONG WITH OTHER NATIONS IN
THE REGION, HELPED INITIATE THE ASIA-PACIFIC ECONOMIC
COOPERATION PROCESS TWO YEARS AGO. APEC OFFERS A
POWERFUL VEHICLE FOR SUSTAINING FREE, MARKET-BASED
TRADE, FOR ADVANCING THE CAUSE OF REGIONAL AND GLOBAL
TRADE LIBERALIZATION, AND FOR STRENGTHENING THE
COHESION AND INTERDEPENDENCE OF THE ASIA-PACIFIC
REGION.
THIS IS IMPORTANT TO US. MOST OF AMERICA'S RECENT
ECONOMIC GROWTH HAS COME FROM EXPORT INDUSTRIES. EACH
BILLION DOLLARS' WORTH OF U.S. EXPORTS SUPPORT MANY
THOUSANDS OF GOOD AMERICAN JOBS.
A DELEGATION OF EXECUTIVES FROM MAJOR AMERICAN
BUSINESSES -- FROM THE AUTOMOBILE INDUSTRY TO COMPUTER
AND ELECTRONICS FIRMS, TO FOOD AND ENERGY COMPANIES --
HAS JOINED ME IN ORDER TO EXPRESS OUR NATIONAL
COMMITMENT TO FREE AND FAIR TRADE. OUR EXECUTIVES WILL
LEARN MORE ABOUT OPPORTUNITIES HERE, AND THEY WILL ALSO
WORK TO HELP OTHER FIRMS COMPETE FAIRLY THROUGHOUT THE
WORLD.
- 14 .
WITH US TODAY ARE THE AMERICAN AMBASSADORS TO THE
ASEAN COUNTRIES. THEY WILL BE RETURNING TO THE UNITED
STATES SOON TO TELL AMERICAN BUSINESSES THERE ABOUT THE
OPPORTUNITIES THAT EXIST HERE IN ASEAN.
THE UNITED STATES IS TRYING TO ESTABLISH AN
ECONOMIC OPERATING FRAMEWORK TO FACILITATE AND
ENCOURAGE THESE TIES. THIS PAST OCTOBER WE AGREED TO A
NEW TRADE AND INVESTMENT FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT WITH
SINGAPORE. I PROPOSE THAT WE COMPLEMENT THAT AGREEMENT
BY NEGOTIATING A BILATERAL INVESTMENT TREATY. WHEN
COMBINED WITH OUR GLOBAL EFFORTS THROUGH GATT, AND OUR
REGIONAL INITIATIVES THROUGH APEC, THIS COMPREHENSIVE
APPROACH CAN ENABLE US TO MEET THE ECONOMIC CHALLENGES
OF THE POST-COLD WAR ERA.
AMERICANS BELIEVE IN FREE AND OPEN TRADE. NATIONS
CAN ACHIEVE ASTONISHING LEVELS OF PROSPERITY WHEN THEY
EMBRACE THE CHALLENGE OF THE MARKETPLACE.
- 15 -
THE GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TARIFFS AND TRADE CAN PLAY
AN ESPECIALLY CRUCIAL ROLE IN EXPANDING FREEDOM'S
ECONOMIC FRONTIERS. THAT'S WHY ON EACH STOP OF THIS
TRIP I'M CALLING FOR URGENT ACTION ON BEHALF OF THE
INTERNATIONAL TRADING SYSTEM. I AM URGING THE WORLD'S
TRADING NATIONS TO JOIN WITH US IN MAKING GATT DIRECTOR
DUNKEL'S PROPOSED DRAFT AGREEMENT THE BASIS FOR A
SUCCESSFUL CONCLUSION OF THE URUGUAY ROUND. WHILE ALL
OF US HAVE PROBLEMS WITH PORTIONS OF THAT DRAFT, NONE
OF US CAN AFFORD TO LET THE PROGRESS IT REPRESENTS SLIP
AWAY. NOW IS THE MOMENT FOR A STRONG COLLECTIVE
RESPONSE. I PARTICULARLY URGE THE DYNAMIC TRADING
NATIONS OF THIS REGION TO HELP US TO CONVINCE ALL GATT
PARTICIPANTS TO BUILD THE MOMENTUM TO ACHIEVE THIS
AGREEMENT. A SUCCESSFUL CONCLUSION TO THE URUGUAY
ROUND CAN PREPARE THE WAY FOR EVEN GREATER TRADE
LIBERALIZATION IN YEARS TO COME -- AND GREATER
PROSPERITY FOR EVERYONE.
- 16 -
GATT ENSURES THAT THE WORLD WILL CONTINUE MOVING
TOWARD BROAD ECONOMIC INTEGRATION -- AND NOT TOWARD
TRADE BLOCS. I DON'T HAVE TO POINT OUT TO AN AUDIENCE
IN SINGAPORE THAT THERE'S A HUGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A
FREE TRADE ZONE -- AN OASIS OF FREE TRADE -- AND A
TRADE BLOC THAT ATTEMPTS TO HOLD THE REST OF THE WORLD
AT BAY. WE RESOLUTELY OPPOSE EFFORTS TO CREATE
ECONOMIC "FORTRESSES" -- ANYWHERE.
ON THE OTHER HAND, WE WHOLEHEARTEDLY ENDORSE FREE-
TRADE AGREEMENTS. OUR NORTH AMERICAN FREE TRADE
AGREEMENT WILL BECKON ALL NATIONS TO MAKE THE BEST OF
THE RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES THAT THE UNITED STATES,
CANADA AND MEXICO HAVE TO OFFER. NAFTA IS NOT A THREAT
TO ASIA. IT WOULD NOT ENCOURAGE THE DIVISION OF THE
WORLD INTO TRADING BLOCS. INSTEAD, OUR INCREASED
GROWTH CAN STIMULATE MORE TRADE WITH ASIA. AND WE
SUPPORT EFFORTS TO BUILD FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS
ELSEWHERE, INCLUDING AMONG THE ASEAN NATIONS.
- 17 -
CONSIDER YOUR OWN EXPERIENCE. A REGIME OF FREE
TRADE HAS ENABLED SINGAPORE TO BECOME ONE OF THE FOUR
TIGERS OF ASIA, AND ONE OF THE FASTEST DEVELOPING
NATIONS ON EARTH. WHEN OTHER NATIONS' ECONOMIES
FALTER, YOU SUFFER. THE WORLDWIDE ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN
HAS SLOWED YOUR RATE OF ECONOMIC GROWTH THIS YEAR --
ALTHOUGH MOST NATIONS WOULD BE OVERJOYED TO SETTLE FOR
SIX-PERCENT GROWTH. SINGAPORE HAS ONE OF THE MOST OPEN
ECONOMIES ON EARTH, AND I APPRECIATE SINGAPORE'S
LEADERSHIP IN PRESSING FOR EVEN GREATER MARKET FREEDOM
AROUND THE WORLD.
BUT WE ALSO NEED TO CONSIDER THE FULL IMPORT OF
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. AN ECONOMY IS THE AGGREGATE OF
WORK, INGENUITY AND OPTIMISM OF A NATION. THE TERM
"ECONOMY" ENCOMPASSES WHAT MILLIONS OF PEOPLE DO WITH
THEIR LIVES. THEREFORE, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT
STRENGTHENING ECONOMIES, ABOUT GROWTH, ABOUT
OPPORTUNITY, WE MEAN MUCH MORE THAN SIGNING TRADE
PACTS. WE MEAN BUILDING BETTER LIVES FOR OUR PEOPLE.
- 18 -
AMERICANS UNDERSTAND THAT NO NATION WILL PROSPER
LONG WITHOUT A FIRST-RATE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM. I HAVE
ENCOURAGED AMERICANS TO MOUNT A REVOLUTION IN
EDUCATION, WHICH WE CALL THE AMERICA 2000 EDUCATION
STRATEGY. AMERICA 2000 CHALLENGES CITIZENS TO SET HIGH
STANDARDS FOR THEIR SCHOOLS, AND IT ENCOURAGES ALL
AMERICANS TO JOIN FORCES IN CREATING WORLD-CLASS
SCHOOLS. MEANWHILE, WE WILL CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN OUR
UNIVERSITY SYSTEM, THE WORLD'S FINEST -- AND THE HOST
TODAY TO OVER 200,000 STUDENTS FROM ASIA. PERHAPS ONE
MAY BE A FUTURE PRIME MINISTER. [[ I AM CERTAIN SHE
WILL BE A GOOD ONE. 11 AND OUR APEC EDUCATIONAL
PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVE IS SEEKING TO LINK THESE
EDUCATIONAL TIES TO OUR MUTUAL ECONOMIC INTERESTS.
- 19 -
ONCE WE HAVE GIVEN STUDENTS BASIC SKILLS, WE MUST
GIVE THEM THE FREEDOM TO MAKE THE MOST OF THE KNOWLEDGE
THEY HAVE ACQUIRED. TAX CUTS AND DEREGULATION IN THE
1980'S HELPED UNLEASH THE GREATEST PEACETIME ECONOMIC
RECOVERY IN AMERICAN HISTORY. WHILE IN MY COUNTRY
REDUCING THE TAX ON CAPITAL GAINS IS CONTROVERSIAL,
MOST OF OUR COMPETITORS IMPOSE VERY LOW TAXES ON
CAPITAL GAINS. SOME, LIKE SINGAPORE, DON'T TAX CAPITAL
GAINS AT ALL. WE CAN LEARN FROM YOU -- WE CAN CREATE A
CLIMATE EVEN MORE CONDUCIVE TO RISK, TO INNOVATION, TO
THE BOLD EXPLORATION OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND IDEAS --
AND I'M CONFIDENT THAT WE WILL.
BEYOND THAT, THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD WANT TO ENJOY
THE BLESSINGS OF GROWTH WITHOUT DESTROYING THE
ENVIRONMENT. YET WE NEED TO ACHIEVE ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION WITHOUT DENYING DEVELOPING NATIONS THE
OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOP. THE UNITED STATES HAS
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERTISE AND STATE-OF-THE-ART
ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY. THE ASIAN NATIONS HAVE
ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES.
- 20 -
I AM PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE TODAY THAT A.I.D., THE
U.S. TRADE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM, THE OVERSEAS PRIVATE
INSURANCE CORPORATION, AND OUR EXIMBANK HAVE DEVELOPED
A CREATIVE APPROACH IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THIS REGION TO
BETTER ADDRESS THE CHALLENGE OF BALANCING ENVIROMENTAL
PROTECTION WITH DEVELOPMENT. WE HOPE WE CAN
COORDINATE OUR EFFORT WITH THOSE OF OTHER DEVELOPED
NATIONS, THROUGH VARIOUS TYPES OF SUPPORT, INCLUDING
U.S. EQUIPMENT AND TECHNOLOGY. THIS WILL BE GOOD FOR
ASIA'S ENVIRONMENT AND GOOD FOR AMERICAN JOBS.
IN CONCLUSION, THE NATIONS COMMITTED TO DEMOCRACY
AND FREE MARKETS HAVE BROUGHT THE WORLD TO A NEW ERA,
ONE THAT PROMISES UNPRECEDENTED FREEDOM FROM VIOLENCE
AND DEPRIVATION. BUT THIS WORLD WILL NOT SIMPLY
HAPPEN. IT WILL REQUIRE HARD WORK, TOUGH NEGOTIATION,
SACRIFICE, AND THE COURAGE OF OUR CONVICTIONS. IF WE
CAST OUR LOT WITH THE FORCES OF ENLIGHTENMENT AND
FREEDOM OVER THE COUNSELS OF DEFEATISM AND IGNORANCE,
WE WILL BUILD A BETTER WORLD -- A WORLD BOUND BY COMMON
INTERESTS AND GOALS.
- 21 -
LIKE YOU, AMERICANS WANT A WORLD AT PEACE, ONE IN
WHICH NO BLOOD MUST BE SHED FOR THE IDEALS WE ALL
SHARE. so WE WILL MAINTAIN A VIGOROUS SECURITY
PRESENCE IN ORDER TO PREVENT DESPOTS AND TYRANTS FROM
UNDERMINING THE TRIUMPHS OF FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY.
LIKE YOU, AMERICANS WANT TO LIVE IN A WORLD
ENRICHED AND ENLIVENED BY INTERNATIONAL TRADE -- IN
GOODS, IN IDEAS, IN CULTURES, AND IN DREAMS FOR THE
FUTURE. WE WANT THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMPETE
AGGRESSIVELY IN THE INTERNATIONAL MARKETPLACE. AND AT
THE SAME TIME OUR CONSUMERS WANT ACCESS TO THE BEST
GOODS AND SERVICES THAT YOUR ECONOMIES HAVE TO OFFER.
WE WANT TO LIVE IN A WORLD MADE BETTER BY THE GENIUS
AND ACHIEVEMENT OF EVERY CULTURE. so WE WILL ADVANCE
THE PROSPECTS FOR MORE OPEN TRADE.
- 22 -
AND LIKE YOU, AMERICANS WANT A WORLD UNITED AND
ENLIGHTENED BY FREEDOM AND JUSTICE, BY POLITICAL
PLURALISM, AND BY THE UNIVERSAL COMMITMENT TO
INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY AND PROSPERITY. so WE WILL STAND
FAST BY OUR PRINCIPLES -- AND REMAIN CONFIDENT, STRONG,
AND VIGILANT.
SINCE 1784, WHEN AN AMERICAN TRADING SHIP, THE
EMPRESS OF CHINA, SAILED FOR CANTON FROM NEW YORK, THE
UNITED STATES HAS TRIED TO BUILD STRONG TIES OF
COMMERCE WITH ASIA. WE REMAIN COMMITTED TO THAT
VISION.
TOGETHER, THE UNITED STATES AND ITS ASIAN-PACIFIC
ALLIES CAN BUILD A WORLD FILLED WITH ECONOMIC TIGERS
-- NATIONS GROWING RAPIDLY; PIONEERING NEW
INTELLECTUAL, COMMERCIAL AND CULTURAL TERRAIN;
SPREADING THE BLESSINGS OF FREE MARKETS, DEMOCRACY AND
PEACE. MY TRIP THROUGH ASIA THIS WEEK MARKS A NEW
START. THE NEXT STEP IS UP TO US ALL.
- 23 -
THANK YOU AGAIN. MAY GOD BLESS YOU AND THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA.
#
#
# #
SNOW/NIX
SING.TS
DRAFT Four
December 27, 1991
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS: THE SINGAPORE LECTURE
SINGAPORE WESTIN HOTEL
JANUARY 4, 1991
1 P.M.
Prime Minister Goh, Senior Minister Lee, thank you for that
very kind introduction. Let me take this opportunity to say a
few words about these two gentlemen.
Minister Lee, a quarter century ago, you led this small
island of cultural and ethnic diversity, of limited physical
resources, to independence. Then, through your vision and your
force of intellect and will, you forged Singapore's nationhood.
You stood courageously in a life and death struggle against the
communists -- and you prevailed. You led your nation and your
region in the quest for peace and prosperity. Future generations
will honor the name of Lee Kwan Yew. And as you know well from
your visits to my home in Kennebunkport, I am pleased to know you
as a friend.
Prime Minister Goh, I salute you for your wisdom and your
vigor in carrying Singapore forward on its path to the future. I
pledge America's steadfast friendship as you lead Singapore in
facing the challenges of the coming generation. And I am also
pleased that you, like many of your countrymen, came to my
country for part of your education. These, too, are ties that
bind us together.
2
It's an honor to deliver this lecture, following and such
accomplished leaders as Brian Mulroney, Helmut Schmidt, Rudd
Lubbers, Bob Hawke, Mahathir bin Mohamad and Valery Giscard
D'Estaing and such distinguished thinkers as Henry Kissinger and
Milton Friedman. [additional acknowledgments]
The addresses in this series reflect the changes in our
world. Your first lecturers focused on the ideological and
military struggle between socialism and democratic capitalism --
and especially between the United States and what we used to call
the Soviet Union.
Think of that phrase for a moment -- "what we used to call
the Soviet Union.' When citizens pulled down the hammer and
sickle ten days ago, and hauled up a new tricolor of freedom over
the Kremlin, the Soviet Union ceased to exist -- and the prospect
of a new world opened before us.
That act culminated a decade of liberation -- a time in
which we witnessed the death throes of totalitarianism, and the
triumph of systems of government devoted to individual liberty,
democratic pluralism, free markets and international engagement.
As this struggle has drawn to a close, these lectures have
shifted their focus from military confrontation to matters of
economic cooperation.
Our new world has little use for old ways of thinking about
the roles and relations of nation-states. The Cold War
categories -- North-South, East-West, capitalist-communist -- no
longer apply. The future simply belongs to nations that can
3
remain on the cutting edge of innovation and information; nations
that can develop the genius and harness the aspirations their
people.
Individuals wield power as never before. An innovator
equipped with ideas and the freedom to turn them into inventions
can change the way we live and think. Governments that strive
only to maintain a monopoly of power, rather than to strengthen
the freedom of the individual, will fall by the wayside, swept
away by entrepreneurial and intellectual tides.
Liberating technologies -- telephones, computers, facsimile
machines, satellite dishes and other devices that transmit news,
information and culture in ever greater volumes and at ever
greater speeds -- have disabled the weapons of tyranny.
The old world of splintered regions and ideologies has begun
to give way to a global village universally committed to the
values of individual liberty, democracy, and free trade -- and
universally opposed to aggression and tyranny.
If we are to realize the opportunities of this new era, we
must address three intertwined challenges: the new requirements
of peace and security, the challenge of promoting democracy, and
the challenge of generating greater economic growth and
prosperity around the world.
Consider first the challenge of peace and security. The
world has learned -- through two world wars, and most recently,
through Saddam Hussein's naked aggression -- that the dogs of war
4
can be unleashed any time would-be aggressors doubt the
commitment of the powerful to the security of the powerless.
As a nation that straddles two great oceans -- a nation
tempered by painful wartime experience - the United States
remains committed to engagement in the Atlantic Community and the
Asia Pacific region -- and unalterably opposed to isolationism.
That's my VOW to you, as long as I am President.
A quarter century ago, many feared that free nations would
fall like dominoes to the subversion of communism. Now, we can
say with pride and a robust sense of irony that the totalitarian
powers -- the powers that fomented war all over the globe -- have
become the dominoes of the 1990s.
This end to the Cold War gives the United States an
opportunity to restructure its military. But I want to assure
you and all of those in this region, that the closing of bases in
the Philippines will not spell the end to American engagement.
We will maintain a visible, credible presence in the Asia-Pacific
region with our forward deployed forces, and through bilateral
defense arrangements with nations of the region.
That is why I am pleased to announce that this morning the
United States has reached agreement with the Government of
Singapore to explore in detail how we can transfer a naval
logistics facility from Subic Bay in the Phillipines to Singapore
over the next year. We appreciate Singapore's far-sighted
approach to the security requirements of a new era.
5
The United States does not maintain this presence as an act
of charity. Your security and prosperity serve our interests
because you can better help build a more stable, more prosperous
world. An unstable, unfree Asia does not serve our interests.
Nor does an Asia mired in poverty and despair. We need you as
free and productive as you can be, and we understand that our
security presence can provide a foundation for our mutual
prosperity.
But we also need your support in addressing the new threats
of this new era -- regional conflicts and weapons proliferation.
So I am pleased that the ASEAN nations are working with us to
craft new and flexible methods for protecting our mutual security
interests. Access agreements and increased ASEAN-US dialogue can
help us work in harmony to promote stability in this region. By
working cooperatively, we better share the security
responsibilities of the post-Cold War era.
Strong, credible security agreements enable us to meet the
second challenge, the challenge of democracy -- a challenge of
shared interests and ideals.
Again, ASEAN is helping to spread positive political change,
in ways that reflect the values, aspirations, and cultures of the
nations in this region. ASEAN is trying to help the former
communist states in Indochina reintegrate themselves in a world
that respects free markets and free people. Those efforts are
starting to produce hopeful results.
6
Just a few weeks ago American diplomats arrived in Phnom
Penh for the first time in 16 years. We owe that breakthrough to
years of effort by many of the nations. But, the Cambodian peace
accord signed by Secretary Baker in Paris last October could not
have existed without the help and cooperation of ASEAN. This
historic agreement offers the very real hope of national
reconciliation to the long-suffering people of Cambodia.
Additionally, when the Paris Conference agreed on a peace
settlement for Cambodia, my government offered to remove our
trade embargo as the UN Advance Mission began to implement the
settlement. Today I am pleased to announce the lifting of that
embargo. Working with others, we need to turn attention to the
economic reconstruction of that deeply wounded land, so its new
political reconciliation has a home from which to grow.
We are now normalizing our ties with Laos and have begun
with Vietnam along a path marked by implementation of the Paris
Accords, and for the sake of many, many American families, the
satisfactory resolution of our concerns about POW/MIAs.
The key point is this: after being strong, determined, and
patient, we finally can entertain realistic hopes of building
lasting ties of interest and affection with Indochina.
Organizations such as ASEAN, which promote security, more open
political systems, and open markets, form the building blocks for
what I have called the New World Order.
7
This movement toward democracy leads us to the third
challenge for the future, the challenge of economic growth and
building a world of open and fair trade.
Everyone agrees that political rivalry and military
adventurism threaten international stability. But no one should
doubt that economic isolationism -- protectionism -- can be at
least as threatening to world order. The protectionist wars of
the 1920s and 1930s deepened the Great Depression, and set in
motion conflicts that hastened the Second World War.
On the other hand, during the past half century, engagement
and trade have produced unprecedented peace and prosperity --
here, in Singapore; throughout free Asia; in Europe and the
United States. This prosperity also has led naturally to
democracy -- a fact that illustrates the indivisible relationship
between security, democracy and individual liberty.
The United States will remain engaged economically,
especially in this part of the world. The Asian-Pacific region
has become the world's economic dynamo. Our trade with Singapore
has increased tenfold during the past 16 years. We exported more
to Singapore last year than to Italy or Spain; more to Indonesia
than to the whole of Eastern Europe. The economies here continue
to grow at an astonishing rate, while enjoying impressive income
equality and general prosperity.
The ASEAN countries, along with other nations in the region,
helped initiate the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation process two
years ago. APEC offers a powerful vehicle for sustaining free,
8
market-based trade, for advancing the cause of regional and
global trade liberalization, and for strengthening the cohesion
and interdependence of the Asia-Pacific region.
This is important to us. Most of America's recent economic
growth has come from export industries. Each billion dollars'
worth of U.S. exports support many thousands of good American
jobs.
A delegation of executives from major American businesses --
from the automobile industry to computer and electronics firms,
to food and energy companies -- has joined me in order to express
our national commitment to free and fair trade. Our executives
will learn more about opportunities here, and they will also work
to help other firms compete fairly throughout the world.
The United States is trying to establish an economic
operating framework to facilitate and encourage these ties. This
past October we agreed to a new Trade and Investment Framework
Agreement with Singapore. I propose that we complement that
Agreement by negotiating a Bilateral Investment Treaty. When
combined with our global efforts through GATT, and our regional
initiatives through APEC, this comprehensive approach can enable
us to meet the economic challenges of the post-Cold War era.
I believe in free and open trade. Nations can achieve
astonishing levels of prosperity when they embrace the challenge
of the marketplace.
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade can play an
especially crucial role in expanding freedom's frontiers. That's
9
why on each stop of this trip I'm calling for urgent action on
behalf of the international trading system. I am urging others
to join with us in making GATT Director Dunkel's proposed draft
agreement the basis for a successful conclusion of the Uruguay
Round. While all of us have problems with portions of that
draft, none of us can afford to let the progress it represents
slip away. Now is the moment for a strong collective response.
I particularly urge the dynamic trading nations of this region to
help us to convince all GATT participants to build the momentum
to achieve this agreement. A successful conclusion to the
Uruguay Round can prepare the way for even greater trade
liberalization in years to come -- and greater prosperity for
everyone.
GATT ensures that the world will continue moving toward
broad economic integration -- and not toward trade blocs. I
don't have to me point out to an audience in Singapore that
there's a huge difference between a free trade zone -- an oasis
of free trade -- and a trade bloc that attempts to hold the rest
of the world at bay. We resolutely oppose efforts to create
economic "fortresses" -- anywhere.
On the other hand, we wholeheartedly endorse free-trade
agreements. Our North American Free Trade Agreement will beckon
all nations to make the best of the resources and opportunities
that the United States, Canada and Mexico have to offer. NAFTA
is not a threat to Asia. It would not encourage the division of
10
the world into trading blocs. Instead, our increased growth can
stimulate more trade with Asia. And we support efforts to build
free trade agreements elsewhere, including among the ASEAN
nations.
Consider your own experience. A regime of free trade has
enabled Singapore to become one of the Four Tigers of Asia, and
one of the fastest developing nations on earth. When other
nations' economies falter, you suffer. The worldwide economic
slowdown has slowed your rate of economic growth this year --
although most nations would be overjoyed to settle for six-
percent growth. Singapore has one of the most open economies on
earth, and I appreciate Singapore's leadership in pressing for
even greater market freedom around the world.
But we also need to consider the full import of economic
development. An economy is the aggregate work, ingenuity and
optimism of a nation. The term "economy," encompasses what
millions of people do with their lives. Therefore, when we talk
about strengthening economies, about growth, about opportunity,
we mean much more than signing trade pacts. We mean building
better lives for our people.
Americans understand that no nation will prosper long
without a first-rate educational system. I have encouraged
Americans to mount a revolution in education, which we call the
America 2000 Education Strategy. America 2000 challenges
citizens to set high standards for their schools, and it
encourages all Americans to join forces in creating world-class
11
schools. Meanwhile, we will continue to strengthen our
university system, the world's finest -- and the host today to
over 200,000 students from Asia. Perhaps one may be a future
Prime Minister. [[ I am certain she will be a good one. ]] And
our APEC Educational Partnership initiative is seeking to link
these educational ties to our mutual economic interests.
Once we have given students basic skills, we must give them
the freedom to make the most of the knowledge they have acquired.
Tax cuts and deregulation in the 1980s helped unleash the
greatest peacetime economic recovery in American history. While
in my country reducing the tax on capital gains is controversial,
most of our competitors impose very low taxes on capital gains.
Some, like Singapore, don't tax capital gains at all. We can
learn learn from you -- we can create a climate even more
conducive to risk, to innovation, to the bold exploration of new
technologies and ideas -- and I'm confident that we will.
Beyond that, the nations of the world want to enjoy the
blessings of growth without destroying the environment. Yet we
need to achieve environmental protection without denying
developing nations the opportunity to develop. The United States
has environmental expertise and state-of-the-art environmental
technology. The Asian nations have environmental challenges.
I am pleased to announce today that AID, the US Trade
Development Program, the Overseas Private Insurance Corporation,
and our Eximbank have developed a creative approach in
partnership with the region to address your environmental
12
concerns while promoting the export of U.S. equipment and
technology. This will be good for Asia's environment and good
for American jobs.
In conclusion, the nations committed to democracy and free
markets have brought the world to a new era, one that promises
unprecedented freedom from violence and deprivation. But this
world will not simply happen. It will require hard work, tough
negotiation, sacrifice, and the courage of our convictions. If
we cast our lot with the forces of enlightenment and freedom over
the counsels of defeatism and ignorance, we will build a better
world -- a world bound by common interests and goals.
Like you, Americans want a world at peace, one in which no
blood must be shed for the ideals we all share. So we will
maintain a vigorous security presence in order to prevent despots
and tyrants from rolling back the triumphs of freedom and
democracy.
Like you, Americans want to live in a world enriched and
enlivened by international trade -- in goods, in ideas, in
cultures, and in dreams for the future. We want the opportunity
to compete aggressively in the international marketplace and at
the same time our consumers want access to the best goods and
services that your companies have to offer. We want to live in a
world made better by the genius and achievement of every culture.
So we will advance the prospects for more open trade.
And like you, Americans want a world united and enlightened
by freedom and justice, by political pluralism, and by the
13
universal commitment to individual liberty and prosperity. So we
will stand fast by our principles -- and remain confident,
strong, and vigilant.
Since 1784, when an American trading ship, the Empress of
China, sailed for Canton from New York, the United States has
tried to build strong ties of commerce with Asia. We remain
committed to that vision.
Together, the United States and its Asian-Pacific allies can
build a world filled with economic tigers -- nations growing
rapidly; pioneering new intellectual, commercial and cultural
terrain; spreading the blessings of free markets, democracy and
peace. My trip through Asia this week marks a new start. The
next step is up to us all.
Thank you again. May God bless you and the United States of
America.
#
#
#
#
To Sit Room C JB
2 January 1992
MEMORANDUM FOR CHRISTINA MARTIN
FROM:
MICHELE NIX g(3 for MN
SUBJECT:
FACT/SPELL CHECK OF SINGAPORE LECTURE SERIES
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS
EDITS
----
Page One: Slug should read: Singapore Westin-Samford Hotel,
January 4, 1992
First graph, 5th sentence: Bin Mohamad (captial B in
Bin)
Page 3:
6th graph, 2nd sentence: Tens of thousands bear (remove
extra of)
Page 5:
3rd graph, first sentence: Almost two months ago
(instead of Just a few weeks ago) per Robert Wang at
State Dept., Singapore Desk. First official arrival
Nov. 11)
5th graph, first sentence: have begun discussing
normalization with Vietnam (instead of have begun
normalizing relations with) per R. Wang
Page 6:
6th graph, second sentence: Ecomonic (delete extra m)
6th graph, 3rd sentence: Tiananmen Square (not
Tienanmen) as spelled by China desk at State
Page 7:
first graph, first word: democracy (add the a)
3rd graph , 2nd sentence: We exported more... delete
Italy -- actually our exports with Singapore equal
Italy (8.0 billion). Can substitute Switzerland (4.9
billion), Greece (765 million), or Isreal (3.2
billion). Info per Laura Anderson, USTR
Page 8:
last graph, last sentence: host close to 230,000
students (add close and change to new number) per
1990-91 figures form the Alfred Julian Institute
Page 10: 4th graph, last sentence: elsewhere (add the e after s)
Page 11: 2nd graph, first sentence: enlightenment (add en)
Hope all is well. Happy New Year. The year of the Monkey.
Changes phoned in by Michell NIR yam. 20am., 92 To Johnton
SNOW/NIX
SING.TS
DRAFT THREE
December 27, 1991
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS: THE SINGAPORE LECTURE
SINGAPORE WESTIN HOTEL WESTIN-STAMFORI
JANUARY #4 1992
1 P.M.
HOTEL
Prime Minister Goh, Senior Minister Lee, thank you for that
very kind introduction. It's an honor to deliver this lecture,
following such distinguished thinkers as Henry Kissinger and
Milton Friedman and such accomplished leaders as Brian Mulroney,
B
Helmut Schmidt, Rudd Lubbers, Bob Hawke, Mahathir bin Mohamad and
Valery Giscard D'Estaing. [additional acknowledgments]
The addresses in this series reflect the changes in our
world. Your first lecturers focused on the ideological and
military struggle between socialism and democratic capitalism --
and especially between the United States and what we used to call
the Soviet Union.
Think of that phrase for a moment -- "what we used to call
the Soviet Union." When citizens pulled down the hammer and
sickle last week, and hauled up a new tricolor of freedom over
the Kremlin, the Soviet Union ceased to exist -- and the prospect
of a new world blossomed before us.
That act culminated a decade of liberation -- a time in
which we witnessed the death throes of totalitarianism, and the
triumph of systems of government devoted to individual liberty,
democratic pluralism, free markets and international engagement.
3
The old world of splintered regions and ideologies has begun
to give way to a global village universally committed to the
values of individual liberty, democracy, free trade, and
universally opposed to aggression and tyranny.
This world poses three intertwined challenges: the challenge
of peace and security, the challenge of democracy, and the
challenge of market freedom.
Consider first the challenge of peace and security.
The world has learned -- through two world wars, and most
recently, through Saddam Hussein's naked aggression -- that
isolationism invites provocation and war.
As a nation that straddles two great oceans, the United
States remains committed to engagement in the Atlantic Community
and the Asia Pacific region -- and unalterably opposed to
isolationism.
Engagement serves the interests of long-term peace. More
than 58,000 Americans died in Vietnam. Tens of thousands of bear
physical and psychological scars for their service. Although
doubters of the age tried to demean their sacrifice, you
understood their achievements. I know that many in Singapore
argue that our engagement in Vietnam granted this nation a
quarter century's head-start on its future.
A quarter century ago, we feared that free nations would
fall like dominoes. Now, we can say with satisfaction, relief
and a robust sense of irony that the totalitarian powers, the
5
Strong, credible security agreements enable us to meet the
second challenge, the challenge of democracy -- a challenge of
shared interests and ideals.
singapore desk, State Dept.
Again, ASEAN has played a crucial role in spreading
First official arrival Nov. per Robert WANG,
democracy, in ways that reflect the values, aspirations, and
cultures of the nations in this region. ASEAN has worked hard to
drag Burma away from the dark shadows of dictatorial tyranny; it
has helped former communist states in Indochina to join a new
order for the ages. I am happy to say that those efforts already
have produced hopeful results.
Just a few weeks ago American diplomats arrived in Phnom
Almost two months ago
Penh for the first time in 16 years. We owe that breakthrough to
many of the nations represented here today.
By the same token, the Cambodian peace accord signed by
Secretary Baker in Paris last October would not have existed
without the help and cooperation of ASEAN. This historic
agreement offers the very real hope of peace and freedom to the
long-suffering people of Cambodia.
[*]
We have ation normalized our ties with Laos and have begun discussing
normalizing with Vietnam. With your help, we hope to
[&ISuggusted language by wang
resolve our remaining concerns with Vietnam -- the full
implementation of the Paris Accords, and for the sake of many,
many American families, the satisfactory resolution of our
concerns about POW/MIAs.
The key point is this: We finally can entertain realistic
hopes of building lasting ties of interest and affection with
6
Indochina. Organizations such as ASEAN, which promote security,
democracy and open markets, form the building blocks for what I
have called the New World Order.
This victory for democracy leads us to the third challenge
for the future, the challenge of building a world of open and
fair trade.
Everyone agrees that political and military isolationism
threaten to destabilize the world. But no one should doubt that
economic isolationism -- protectionism -- can be at least as
devastating.
The protectionist wars of the 1920s and 1930s deepened the
Great Depression, and set in motion conflicts that hastened the
Second World War. The collapse of the international economic
system enabled demagogues to sell the poisons of socialism and
state control -- and to enslave whole nations for decades.
During the past half century, on the other hand, engagement
and trade have produced unprecedented peace and prosperity --
here, in Singapore; throughout free Asia; in Europe and the
United States. This prosperity also has led naturally to
democracy -- a fact that illustrates the indivisible relationship
between security, democracy and individual liberty.
Consider the recent history of China. Econmomic reforms in
1978 set off a decade of rapid economic growth -- with average
annual growth rates of ten percent. This prosperity also
fostered hopes of democracy -- hopes that were crushed brutally
in Tienanmen Square. Since that horrifying moment, Chinese
Spelling per China desk Stake Dept.
7
democrcy has suffered -- and so has the Chinese economy. This is
only natural. People who fear for their futures aren't likely to
engage in the kinds of activities -- hard work, savings,
education, planning -- that keep an economy and a society moving.
In any event, the United States will remain engaged
economically, especially in this part of the world. The Asian-
Pacific region has become the world's economic dynamo. The
economies here continue to grow at an astonishing rate, while
enjoying impressive income equality and general prosperity. You
have lifted yourselves up. Through hard work and dedication, you
have transformed this region. Today, the United States conducts
more trade with the Asian-Pacific region than with Europe.
Our trade with Singapore has increased tenfold during the
past 16 years. We exported more to Singapore last year than to
can substitute Switzerland
equal that
me
X exports w/singapore
or Spain; more to Indonesia than to the whole of Eastern
Europe. And our trade with ASEAN nations now approaches our
total trade volume with Germany.
The ASEAN countries, along with other nations in the region,
initiated the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation process two years
ago. APEC offers a powerful vehicle for sustaining free, market-
based trade, for advancing the cause of regional and global trade
liberalization, and for strengthening the cohesion and
(INFO PER LAURA
interdependence of the Asia-Pacific region.
This is important to us. Most of America's recent economic
growth has come from export industries. Each billion dollars'
worth of merchandise exports can support more than 19,000 good
8
American jobs. Each billion dollars worth of agricultural
exports can support more than 25,000 jobs.
A delegation of major American businesses -- from the
automobile industry to computer and electronics firms -- has
joined me in order to express our national commitment to free and
open trade. Our executives will learn more about trade
opportunities here, and they will also work to help our companies
compete fairly throughout the world.
But we should not think of economic development too
narrowly. An economy is nothing more than the collected work,
ingenuity and optimism of a nation. The term "economy,"
encompasses what millions of people do with their lives.
Therefore, when we talk of strengthening economies, we mean much
more than signing trade pacts. We mean building better lives for
everyone through policies that make us more competitive in the
international marketplace.
Americans understand that no nation will prosper long
without a first-rate educational system. In recent years, our
primary and secondary educational system has not kept pace with
the world. I have encouraged Americans to mount a revolution in
education, which we call the America 2000 Education Strategy.
America 2000 challenges citizens to set high standards for their
schools, and it encourages all Americans to join forces in
creating world-class schools. Meanwhile, we will continue to
strengthen our university system, the world's finest -- and the
host today to 205 000 students from Asia.
close 230,000
1990-91 finings nna 829 Der Affred Julian Inst.
10
many countries maintain trade barriers for cultural or political
reasons, those barriers make no more sense than the wall that
once divided the city of Berlin.
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade will play a
crucial role in expanding freedom's frontiers. A successful
conclusion to the Uruguay Round can prepare the way for even
greater trade liberalization in years to come -- and greater
prosperity for everyone.
GATT ensures that the world will continue moving toward
broad economic integration -- and not toward trade blocs. We in
the United States have no desire to break into trade factions.
There's a huge difference between a free trade zone -- an oasis
of free trade -- and a trade bloc that attempts to hold the rest
of the world at bay. We resolutely oppose efforts to create
economic "fortresses" -- anywhere.
On the other hand, we wholeheartedly endorse free-trade
agreements. Our North American Free Trade Agreement will beckon
all nations to make the best of the resources and opportunities
that the United States, Canada and Mexico have to offer. And we
support efforts to build free trade agreements elswhere.
Consider your own experience. A regime of free trade has
enabled Singapore to become one of the Four Tigers of Asia, and
one of the fastest developing nations on earth. When other
nations' economies falter, you suffer. The worldwide economic
slowdown has slowed your rate of economic growth this year --
although most nations would be overjoyed to settle for six-
11
percent growth. Singapore has one of the most open economies on
earth, and I appreciate Singapore's leadership in pressing for
even greater market freedom around the world.
Together, nations committed to democracy and free markets
have brought the world to the brink of a new era, one that
promises unprecedented freedom from violence and deprivation.
But we can achieve that future only if we work together to create
it. This world will not simply happen: It will require hard
work, tough negotiation, sacrifice, and the courage of our
convictions.
Yet if we cast our lot with the forces of enlightment over
the counsels of defeatism and ignorance; if we cast our lot with
the forces of freedom; we will build a better world. We will
build a world bound by common interests and goals; a world united
in its determination to avoid depression and global war.
I know I have covered an enormous amount of ground in my
talk. So let me describe in concrete terms what the United
States seeks -- in its own interests -- from the new world we
will build.
Americans want a world at peace, one in which no American
will have to shed blood for the ideals we all share. Americans
want to maintain a vigorous security presence in order to prevent
despots from fomenting war, and to stall tyrants who want to roll
back the triumphs of freedom and democracy.
Americans want to live in a world enriched and enlightened
by international trade -- in goods, in ideas, in cultures, and in
Document No.
91 DEC 3WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
DATE: 1/3/92
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY: ---
SUBJECT: PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: SINGAPORE LECTURE SERIES
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
HORNER
SKINNER
MCCLURE
SCOWCROFT
PETERSMEYER
DARMAN
PORTER
BRADY
ROGICH
BROMLEY
SMITH
CARD
BOSKIN
DEMAREST
DELAND
FITZWATER
FINDLAY
GRAY
SNOW
HOLIDAY
REMARKS:
The attached has been forwarded to the President.
RESPONSE:
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
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92 JAN 3 A 9 : 00
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
December 23, 1991
INFORMATION
MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT
THROUGH:
DAVID DEMAREST
FROM:
TONY SNOW
SUBJECT:
SINGAPORE LECTURE SERIES
I. SUMMARY
on Saturnay, January 4, 1992. at 12.15 n.m. in the Raffles
Ballroom of the Weslin-Stamfcrd Hotel, you will deliver remarks
to approximately 2,500 Singaporean and American business leaders
as part of the Singapore Lecture Series. You will be introduced
by Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew.
II. DISCUSSION
Your remarks (19 minutes, on prompter) focus on the progress
and promising future of the Southeast Asia region -- and what
that means for Americans and the region regarding matters of
trade and international peace.
CANBERRA AUSTRALIA
FRI 03 JAN 92 05:29
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SNOW/NIX
SING.TS
DRAFT THREE
December 27, 1991
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS: THE SINGAPORE LECTURE
SINGAPORE WESTIN HOTEL
JANUARY 7, 1991
1 P.M.
Prime Minister Goh, Senior Minister Lee, thank you for that
very kind introduction. It's an honor to deliver this lecture,
following such distinguished thinkers as Henry Kissinger and
Milton Friedman and such accomplished leaders as Brian Mulroney,
Helmut Schmidt, Rudd Lubbers, Bob Hawke, Mahathir bin Mohamad and
Valery Giscard D'Estaing. [additional acknowledgments]
The addresses in this series reflect the changes in our
world. Your first lecturers focused on the ideological and
military struggle between socialism and democratic capitalism --
and especially between the United States and what we used to call
the Soviet Union.
Think of that phrase for a moment -- "what we used to call
the Soviet Union." When citizens pulled down the hammer and
sickle last week, and hauled up a new tricolor of freedom over
the Kremlin, the Soviet Union ceased to exist -- and the prospect
of a new world blossomed before us.
That act culminated a decade of liberation --- a time in
which we witnessed the death throes of totalitarianism, and the
triumph of systems of government devoted to individual liberty,
democratic pluralism, free markets and international engagement.
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2
As this struggle has drawn to a close, these lectures have
shifted their focus from military confrontation to matters of
economic cooperation.
Today, we stand at the dawn of a new era in international
relations -- an era filled with its own dangers and challenges,
but bright with possibilities the likes of which we never have
seen.
This world has little use for our old ways of thinking about
the roles and relations of nation-states. The old categories --
North-South, East-West, capitalist-communist -- no longer apply.
We define national power more in terms of economic and
intellectual prowess than in terms of sheer military might. The
future belongs not necessarily to the nations with the greatest
armies, as to nations that can remain on the cutting edge of
innovation and information; nations that can develop the genius
and harness the ambitions of their people.
Individuals wield power as never before. An innovator
equipped with ideas and the freedom to turn them into inventions
can change the way we live and think. Governments that strive
only to maintain a monopoly on force, rather than to strengthen
the freedom and power of the individual, will fall by the
wayside, swept away by entrepreneurial and intellectual tides.
Liberation technologies -- telephones, computers, satellite
dishes and other devices that transmit news, information and
culture in ever greater volumes and at ever greater speeds --
CANBERRA AUSTRALIA
FRI 03 JAN 92 05:32
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FRI 03 JAN 92 04:36
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3
The old world of splintered regions and ideologies has begun
to give way to a global village universally committed to the
values of individual liberty, democracy, free trade, and
universally opposed to aggression and tyranny.
This world poses three intertwined challenges: the challenge
of peace and security, the challenge of democracy, and the
challenge of market freedom.
Consider first the challenge of peace and security.
The world has learned -- through two world wars, and most
recently, through Saddam Hussein's naked aggression -- that
isolationism invites provocation and war.
As a nation that straddles two great oceans, the United
States remains committed to engagement in the Atlantic Community
and the Asia Pacific region -- and unalterably opposed to
isolationism.
Engagement serves the interests of long-term peace. More
than 58,000 Americans died in Vietnam. Tens of thousands of bear
physical and psychological scars for their service. Although
doubters of the age tried to demean their sacrifice, you
understood their achievements. I know that many in singapore
argue that our engagement in Vietnam granted this nation a
quarter century's head-start on its future.
A quarter century ago, we feared that free nations would
fall like dominoes. Now, we can say with satisfaction, relief
and a robust sense of irony that the totalitarian powers, the
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4
powers that fomented war all over the globe, have become the
dominoes of the 1990s.
This end to the Cold War gives the United States an
opportunity to restructure its military. The closing of bases in
the Philippines will not spell the end to American engagement.
We will maintain a visible, credible presence in the Asia-Pacific
region with our forward deployed forces, and through bilateral
defense arrangements with nations of the region.
We don't maintain this presence out of charity. Your
security and prosperity serve our interests, not simply because
you share our basic ideals, not just because your market beckons,
not just because you command one of the most strategic waterways
on earth. Your wealth and health serve our interests. They will
help us build a world in which nations take full advantage of the
productivity, genius and ambitions of other nations.
An unstable Asia doesn't help us. An unfree Asia doesn't
help us. A poverty stricken Asia doesn't help us. We need you
as free and productive as you can be, and we understand that our
security presence can provide a foundation for our mutual
prosperity.
But we also need your support in devising arrangements that
suit our mutual interests. I'm happy that the ASEAN nations have
helped us craft new and flexible methods for protecting America's
security interests. Access agreements and ASEAN-US dialog about
issues of mutual concern car. help us work in harmony to promote
CANBERRA AUSTRALIA
FRI 03 JAN 92 05:34
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FRI 03 JAN 92 04:38
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5
Strong, credible security agreements enable us to meet the
second challenge, the challenge of democracy -- a challenge of
shared interests and ideals.
Again, ASEAN has played a crucial role in spreading
democracy, in ways that reflect the values, aspirations, and
cultures of the nations in this region. ASEAN has worked hard to
drag Burma away from the dark shadows of dictatorial tyranny; it
has helped former communist states in Indochina to join a new
order for the ages. I am happy to say that those efforts already
have produced hopeful results.
Just a few weeks ago American diplomats arrived in Phnom
Penh for the first time in 16 years. We owe that breakthrough to
many of the nations represented here today.
By the same token, the Cambodian peace accord signed by
Secretary Baker in Paris last October would not have existed
without the help and cooperation of ASEAN. This historic
agreement offers the very real hope of peace and freedom to the
long-suffering people of Cambodia.
We have normalized our ties with Laos and have begun
normalizing relations with Vitetnam. With your help, we hope to
resolve our remaining concerns with Vietnam -- the full
implementation of the Paris Accords, and IVI the sake of many
many American families, the satisfactory resolution of our
concerns about POW/MIAs.
The key point is this: We finally can entertain realistic
bones of building lasting ties of interest and affection with
CANBERRA AUSTRALIA
FRI 03 JAN 92 05:35
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FRI F3 JAN 92 04:39
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6
Indochina. Organizations such as ASEAN, which promote security,
democracy and open markets, form the building blocks for what I
have called the New World Order.
This victory for democracy leads us to the third challenge
for the future, the challenge of building a world of open and
fair trade.
Everyone agrees that political and military isolationism
threaten to destabilize the world. But no one should doubt that
economic isolationism -- protectionism -- can be at least as
devastating.
The protectionist wars o:5 the 1920s and 1930s deepened the
Great Depression, and set in motion conflicts that hastened the
Second World War. The collapse of the international economic
system enabled demagogues to sell the poisons of socialism and
state control -- and to enslave whole nations for decades.
During the past half century, on the other hand, engagement
and trade have produced unprecedented peace and prosperity --
here, in Singapore; throughout free Asia; in Europe and the
United States. This prosperity also has led naturally to
democracy -- a fact that illustrates the indivisible relationship
between security, democracy and individual liberty.
Consider the recent history of China. Econmomic reforms in
1978 set off a decade of rapid economic growth -- with average
annual growth ratoo of ten percent. This prosperity also
fostered hopes of democracy -- hopes that were crushed brutally
since that horrifying moment, Chinese
CANBERRA AUSTRALIA
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7
democrcy has suffered -- and BC has the Chinese economy. This is
only natural. People who fear for their futures aren't likely to
engage in the kinds of activit:.es -- hard work, savings,
education, planning -- that keep an economy and a society moving.
In any event, the United States will remain engaged
economically, especially in this part of the world. The Asian-
Pacific region has become the world's economic dynamo. The
economies here continue to grow at an astonishing rate, while
enjoying impressive income equality and general prosperity. You
have lifted yourselves up. Through hard work and dedication, you
have transformed this region. Today, the United States conducts
more trade with the Asian-Pacific region than with Europe.
Our trade with singapore has increased tenfold during the
past 10 years. We exported more to Singapore last year than to
Italy or Spain; mero to Indonesia than to the whole of Eastern
Europe. And our trade with ASEAN nations now approaches our
total trade volume with Germany.
The ASEAN countries, along with other nations in the region,
initiated the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation process two years
ago. APEC offers a powerful vehicle for sustaining free, market-
based trade, for advancing the cause of regional and global trade
liberalization, and for strengthening the cohesion and
interdependence of the Asia-Pacific region.
This is important to us. Most of America's recent economic
growth has come from export industries. Each billion dollars'
merchandise exports can subsert more than 19,000 good
CANBERRA AUSTRALIA
FRI 03 JAN 92 05:38
PG. 13
8
American jobs. Each billion dollars worth of agricultural
exports can support more than 25,000 jobs.
A delegation of major American businesses -- from the
automobile industry to computer and electronics firms -- has
joined me in order to express our national commitment to free and
open trade. Our executives will learn more about trade
opportunities here, and they will also work to help our companies
compete fairly throughout the world.
But we should not think of economic development too
narrowly. An economy is nothing more than the collected work,
ingenuity and optimism of a nation. The term "economy,"
encompasses what millions of people do with their lives.
Therefore, when we talk of strengthening economies, we mean much
more than signing trade pacts. We mean building better lives for
everyone through policies that make us more competitive in the
international marketplace.
Americans understand that no nation will prosper long
without a first-rate educational system. In recent years, our
primary and secondary educational system has not kept pace with
the world. I have encouraged Americans to mount a revolution in
education, which we call the America 2000 Education Strategy.
America 2000 challenges citizens to set high standards for their
schools, and it encourages all Americans to join forces in
creating world-class schools. Meanwhile, we will continue to
strengthen our university system, the world's finest --- and the
host today to 205,000 students from Asia.
CANBERRA AUSTRALIA
FRI 03 JAN_92 05:39
PG. H
9
Once we have given students basic skills, we must give them
the freedom to make the most of the knowledge they have acquired.
Tax cuts and deregulation in the 1980s unleashed the greatest
peacetime economic recovery in American history. I have trind to
build on that record by seeking a dramatic reduction in capital
gains taxes. After all, most of our competitors impose very low
taxes on capital gains. Some, like Singapore, don't tax capital
gains at all. We must create a climate conducive to risk, to
innovation, to the bold exploration of new technologies and ideas
-- and we will.
The nations of the world want to enjoy the blessings of
growth without destroying our environment. Yet we must struggle
to protect that environment without denying poorer nations the
opportunity to develop as they wish. We must understand that
regulations designed to protect the environment sometimes can
strangle economies and hamper our efforts to develop technologies
that would make our habitat even cleaner.
Politicians sometimes flatter themselves by pretending that
they can regulate troublesome problems out of existence. Too
often, however, those well-meaning efforts merely stall progress
toward real and lasting solutions. Together, we all must work to
discover the boundaries of prudent regulation -- and the best way
to cultivate new jobs, new development, new economic growth.
Above all, I believe in open and fair trade. Nations can
achieve astonishing levels of prosperity when they submit
themselves to the bracing competition of the marketplace. While
CANBERRA AUSTRALIA
FRI 03 JAN 92 05:41
PG.15
10
many countries maintain trade tarriers for cultural or political
reasons, those barriers make nc more sense than the wall that
once divided the city of Berlin.
The General Agreement on Mariffs and Trade will play a
crucial role in expanding freedom's frontiers, A successful
conclusion to the Uruguay Round can prepare the way for even
greater trade liberalization in years to come -- and greater
prosperity for everyone.
GATT ensures that the world will continue moving toward
broad economic integration -- and not toward trade blocs. We in
the United States have no desire to break into trade factions.
There's a huge difference between a free trade zone -- an oasis
of free trade -- and a trade bloc that attempts to hold the rest
of the world at bay. We resolutely oppose efforts to create
economic "fortresses" -- anywhere.
on the other hand, we wholeheartedly endorse free-trade
agreements. Our North American Free Trade Agreement will beckon
all nations to make the best of the resources and opportunities
that the United States, Canada and Mexico have to offer. And we
support efforts to build free trade agreements elswhere.
Consider your own experience. A regime of free trade has
enabled Singapore to become one of the Four Tigers of Asia, and
one of the fastest developing nations on earth. When other
nations' economies falter, you suffer. The worldwide economic
slowdown has slowed your rate of economic growth this year --
although most nations would be overjoyed to settle for six-
CANBERRA AUSTRALIA
FRI 03 JAN 92 05:42
PG. 16
11
percent growth. Singapore has one of the most open economies on
earth, and I appreciate Singapore's leadership in pressing for
even greater market freedom around the world.
Together, nations committed to democracy and free markets
have brought the world to the brink of a new era, one that
promises unprecedented freedom from violence and deprivation.
But we can achieve that future only if we work together to create
it. This world will not simply happen: It will require hard
work, tough negotiation, sacrifice, and the courage of our
convictions.
Yet if we cast our lot with the forces of enlightment over
the counsels of defeatism and ignorance; if we cast our lot with
the forces of freedom; we will build a better world. We will
build a world bound by common interests and goals; a world united
in its determination to avoid depression and global war.
I know I have covered an enormous amount of ground in my
talk. So let me describe in concrete terms what the United
States seeks -- in its own interests -- from the new world we
will build.
Americans want a world at peace, one in which no American
will have to shed blood for the ideals we all share. Americans
want to maintain a vigorous security presence in order to prevent
despots from fomenting war, and to stall tyrants who want to roll
back the triumphs of freedom and democracy.
Americans want to live in a world enriched and enlightened
by international trade -- in goods, in ideas, in cultures, and in
CANBERRA AUSTRALIA
FRI 03 JAN 92 05:43
AIR FORCE ONE
PG.17
FRI E3 JAN 92 04:44
PG.09
12
dreams for the future. We want to live in a world made better by
the geniuses and achievements of every culture.
Americans want the opportunity to compete aggressively in
the international marketplace. Workers in Seattle and Seacaucus
want the chance to compete for business in Singapore and beyond.
At the same time American consumers want access to the best goods
and services that your companies have to offer.
Americans want a world united and enlivened by free trade
and fair trade; by a universal commitment to individual liberty,
political pluralism, and greater individual prosperity and
personal fulfillment.
Since 1784, when the Empress of China sailed for Canton from
New York, the United States has tried to build strong ties of
commerce with Asia, while working to prevent hegemonic powers
from stalling freedom's progress. We remain committed to that
vision.
Together, the United States and its Asian-Pacific allies can
build a world filled with economic tigers -- nations growing
rapidly; pioneering new intellectual, commercial and cultural
terrain; spreading the blessings of liberty, democracy and free
markets. My trip through Asia this week marks a start: The next
step is up to us all.
Thank you again. May God bless you and the United States of
America.
SNOW/NIX
SING. TS
DRAFT THREE
December 27, 1991
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS: THE SINGAPORE LECTURE
SINGAPORE WESTIN HOTEL
JANUARY 4, 1991
1 P.M.
Prime Minister Goh, Senior Minister Lee, thank you for that
very kind introduction. Let me take this opportunity to say a
few words about these two gentlemen.
Minister Lee, a quarter century ago, you led this small
island of cultural and ethnic diversity, of limited physical
resources, to independence. Then, through your vision and your
force of intellect and will, you forged Singapore's nationhood.
You stood courageously in a life and death struggle against the
communists -- and you prevailed. You led your nation and your
region in the quest for peace and prosperity. Future generations
will honor the name of Lee Kwan Yew for years to come
will be honored
Prime Minister Goh, I salute you for your wisdom and your
bymany generations to come.
vigor in carrying Singapore forward on its path to the future. I
pledge America's steadfast friendship as you lead Singapore in
facing the challenges of the coming generation.
It's an honor to deliver this lecture, following such
distinguished thinkers as Henry Kissinger and Milton Friedman and
such accomplished leaders as Brian Mulroney, Helmut Schmidt, Rudd
Lubbers, Bob Hawke, Mahathir bin Mohamad and Valery Giscard
D'Estaing. [additional acknowledgments]
2
The addresses in this series reflect the changes in our
world. Your first lecturers focused on the ideological and
military struggle between socialism and democratic capitalism --
and especially between the United States and what we used to call
the Soviet Union.
Think of that phrase for a moment -- "what we used to call
the Soviet Union." When citizens pulled down the hammer and
sickle ten days ago, and hauled up a new tricolor of freedom over
the Kremlin, the Soviet Union ceased to exist -- and the prospect
of a new world blossomed before us.
That act culminated a decade of liberation -- a time in
which we witnessed the death throes of totalitarianism, and the
triumph of systems of government devoted to individual liberty,
democratic pluralism, free markets and international engagement.
As this struggle has drawn to a close, these lectures have
shifted their focus from military confrontation to matters of
economic cooperation.
Our new world has little use for old ways of thinking about
the roles and relations of nation-states. The Cold War
First world - Third would
categories North South East-West, capitalist-communist -- no
work
longer apply. The future belongs to nations that can remain on
with The
the cutting edge of innovation and information; nations that can
tools information of the
revolution
develop the genius and harness the aspirations their people.
and
at
Individuals wield power as never before. An innovator
equipped with ideas and the freedom to turn them into inventions
can change the way we live and think. Governments that strive
the tides of innovation and entrepreneurship,
3
only to maintain a monopoly of power, rather than to strengthen
the freedom of the individual, will fall by the wayside, swept
away by entrepreneurial and intellectual tides
TAXES, personal,
Liberation technologies -- telephones, computers, satellite
dishes and other devices that transmit news, information and
culture in ever greater volumes and at ever greater speeds --
have disabled the weapons of tyranny.
fast
guring
The old world of splintered regions and ideologies has begun
whose culture strenes
to give way to a global village universally committed to the
values of individual liberty, democracy, free trade and is
universally opposed to aggression and tyranny.
If we are to realize the opportunities of this new era, we
respond to
must address three intertwined challenges: the new requirements
of peace and security, the promotronof challenge of promoting democracy, and
the challenge of generating greater economic growth and
prosperity around the world.
Consider first the challenge of peace and security. The
world has learned -- through two world wars, and most recently,
through Saddam Hussein's naked aggression -- that the dogs of war
can be unleashed any time would-be aggressors doubt the
The self ree of
only
international community to defends
commitment of the powerful to the security of the powerless.
tempts aggiena. the
And as a nation that straddles two great oceans -- a nation
tempered by painful wartime experience - the United States
remains committed to engagement in the Atlantic Community and the
Asia Pacific region and unalterably opposed to isolationism.
weare)
4
A quarter century ago, many feared that free nations would
fall like dominoes to the subversion of communism. Now, we can
say with pride and a robust sense of irony that the totalitarian
instability and conflict the worldovers
powers -- the powers that fomented war all over the globe have
become the dominoes of the 1990s.
The ending of
now
This end to the Cold War gives the United States an
to reflect the challenges of the times
opportunity to restructure its military. The closing of bases in
the Philippines will not spell the end to American engagement in this region.
's security
We will maintain a visible, credible presence in the Asia-Pacific theater
region with our forward deployed forces, and through bilateral
our many friends in this part of the world.
defense arrangements with nations of the region. As a matter of
fact, this morning I reached agreement with the Government of
Singapore to explore in detail how we can transfer a naval
logistics facility from Subic Bay in the Philippines to Singapore
m the new
over the next year. Might I say, we appreciate Singapore's far-
sighted approach to the security requirements of a new era.
our securety
We don't maintain this presence as an act of charity. Your
security and prosperity serve our interests because you can
better help build a more stable, more prosperous world. An
burdened with poverty and repression
unstable, unfree Asia does not serve our interests. Nor does an
Asia mired in poverty and despair. We need you as free and
productive as you can be, and we understand that our security
presence can provide a foundation for our mutual prosperity / and shared
1BA we also need your support in addressing the new security threats
defense.
of
this
the port new Coldwar
era regional conflicts and weapons proliferation.
So I am pleased that the ASEAN nations have helped us craft new
lour
(friends are helping
to ensure the common defense.
5
and flexible methods for protecting our mutual security interests
to meet. Access agreements and increased ASEAN-US dialogue can will
help us work cooperatively in harmony to promote stability in this region.
also
Strong, credible security agreements enable us to meet the
second challenge, the challenge of democracy -- a challenge of
shared interests and ideals.
reflect the values, aspirations, and cultures of the nations in
Again, ASEAN is helping to spread democracy, in ways that of the Paufre. Asia-
this region. ASEAN is trying to help the former communist states of
promote reform and
into
is through on
in Indochina reintegrate themselves in a world that respects free
markets and free people. Those efforts are starting to produce
hopeful results.
Just a few weeks ago American diplomats arrived in Phnom
Penh for the first time in 16 years. We owe that breakthrough to
ASEAN to end the war over Cambodia
years of effort by many of the nations represented here today.
The Cambodian peace accord signed by Secretary Baker in Paris
last October could not have existed without the help and
cooperation of ASEAN. This historic agreement offers the very
real hope of national reconciliation to the long-suffering people
as part of our nations approch to promoting reconceliation throug bout
of Cambodia. Additionally, when the Paris Conference agreed on a Indorhina
peace settlement for Cambodia, my government offered to remove
against Cambodia
our trade embargo as the UN Advance Mission began to implement
Pasis
soon as
the settlement. Today I am pleased to announce the lifting of
that embargo.
We are now normalizing our ties with Laos and we have begun to walk
recently upgraded
with Vietnam along a path marked by implementation of the Paris
servicement still
our missing in action.
agreement on Camboda
6
Accords, and for the sake of many, many American families the
satisfactory resolution of our concerns about POW/MIAs
decades of struggle against totalitarian aggression,
The key point is this: after being strong, determined, and
patient we finally can entertain realistic hopes of building reconication
lasting ties of interest and affection with Indochina.
promoting
and
Organizations such as ASEAN, which promote security, democracy
reconstruction throughout,
and open markets, form the building blocks for what I have called
the New World
Order. peace adreconstriction in Southeast Asia
This victory for democracy leads us to the third challenge
for the future, the challenge of building a world of open and
fair trade.
Everyone agrees that political rivalry and military
adventurism threaten international stability. But no one should
doubt that economic isolationism -- protectionism -- can be at 3 just
least as threatening to world order. The protectionist wars of
the 1920s and 1930s deepened the Great Depression, and set in
motion conflicts that hastened the Second World War.
On the other hand, during the past half century, engagement
and trade have produced unprecedented peace and prosperity --
in
here, in Singapore; throughout free Asia; in Europe and the
United States. This prosperity also has led naturally A to the growth of
democracy -- a fact that illustrates the indivisible relationship
between security, democracy and individual liberty.
economic being
The United States will remain engaged economically,
dynamic regeon,
countries of the
are
especially in this part of the world. The Asian-Pacific region
has become the world's economic dynamo. Our trade with Singapore
7
over
now
has increased tenfold during the past 16 years. We exported more
to Singapore last year than to Italy or Spain; more to Indonesia
than to the whole of Eastern Europe. The economies here continue
to grow at an astonishing rate, while enjoying impressive income
equality and general prosperity.
The ASEAN countries, along with other nations in the region,
two years ago
initiated 1 the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation process two years
ago. APEC offers a powerful vehicle for sustaining free, market-
based trade, for advancing the cause of regional and global trade
liberalization, and for strengthening the cohesion and
interdependence of the Asia-Pacific region.
This is important to us. Most of America's recent economic
our
growth has come from export industries. Each billion dollars'
nearly twenty
worth of U.S. exports support thousands of good American jobs.
men
A delegation of major American businesses -- from the
automobile industry to computer and electronics firms -- has
joined me in order to express our national commitment to free and
open trade. Our executives will learn more about trade
opportunities here, and they will also work to help our companies
compete fairly throughout the world.
The United States is trying to establish an economic
operating framework to facilitate and encourage these ties. This
past October we agreed to a new Trade and Investment Framework
Agreement with Singapore. I also would propose that we negotiate
a Bilateral Investment Treaty. When combined with our global
efforts through GATT, and our regional initiatives through APEC,
8
this comprehensive approach can enable us to meet the economic
challenges of the post-Cold War era.
americans
believe in open and fair trade. Nations can achieve
astonishing levels of prosperity when they embrace the challenge
of the marketplace.
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade can play a
economic
crucial role in expanding freedom's frontiers. That's why on
in support
each stop of this trip I'm calling for urgent action on behalf of
the international trading system. I am urging others to join
the world's trading nations
with us in support of GATT Director Dunkel's proposed draft
agreement. While all of us have problems with portions of that
draft, none of us can afford to let the progress it represents
slip away. Now is the moment for a strong collaborative
from those who have prospered on open trade.
response. I particularly urge the dynamic trading nations of
this region to help us to convince all GATT participants to build
the momentum achieve this agreement. A successful conclusion to
the Uruguay Round can prepare the way for even greater trade
liberalization in years to come -- and greater prosperity for
mented into rual
everyone.
GATT ensures that the world will continue moving toward
broad economic integration -- and not toward trade blocs. Let me
point out that there's a huge difference between a free trade
zone -- an oasis of free trade -- and a trade bloc that attempts
to hold the rest of the world at bay. We resolutely oppose
efforts to create economic "fortresses" anywhere.
9
On the other hand, we wholeheartedly endorse free-trade
agreements. Our North American Free Trade Agreement will beckon
all nations to make the best of the resources and opportunities
that the United States, Canada and Mexico have to offer. Our
increased growth can stimulate more trade with Asia. And we
support efforts to build free trade agreements elsewhere,
including among the ASEAN nations.
Consider your own experience. A regime of free trade has
enabled Singapore to become one of the Four Tigers of Asia, and
one of the fastest developing nations on earth. When other
nations' economies falter, you suffer. The worldwide economic
slowdown has slowed your rate of economic growth this year --
although most nations would be overjoyed to settle for six-
percent growth. Singapore has one of the most open economies on
earth, and I appreciate Singapore's leadership in pressing for
even greater market freedom around the world.
But we also need to consider the full import of economic
development. An economy is the aggregate work, ingenuity and
optimism of a nation. The term "economy, encompasses what
millions of people do with their lives. Therefore, when we talk
of strengthening economies, we mean much more than signing trade
pacts. We mean building better lives for our people.
Americans understand that no nation will prosper long
without a first-rate educational system. I have encouraged
Americans to mount a revolution in education, which we call the
America 2000 Education Strategy. America 2000 challenges
10
citizens to set high standards for their schools, and it
encourages all Americans to join forces in creating world-class
schools. Meanwhile, we will continue to strengthen our
university system, the world's finest -- and the host today
to
of
over 200,000 students from Asia. And our APEC Educational
Partnership initiative is seeking to link these educational ties
to our mutual economic interests.
Once we have given students basic skills, we must give them
the freedom to make the most of the knowledge they have acquired.
Tax cuts and deregulation in the 1980s helped unleash the
greatest peacetime economic recovery in American history. While
in my country reducing the tax on capital gains is controversial,
most of our competitors impose very low taxes on capital gains.
Some, like Singapore, don't tax capital gains at all. We can
learn from you -- we can create a climate even more conducive to
risk, to innovation, to the bold exploration of new technologies
and ideas -- and I'm confident that we will.
Beyond that, the nations of the world want to enjoy the
blessings of growth without destroying the environment. Yet we
struggle to achieve environmental protection without denying
developing nations the opportunity to develop. The United States
has environmental expertise and state-of-the-art environmental
technology. The Asian nations have environmental challenges.
I am pleased to tell you that AID, the US Trade Development
Program, the Overseas Private Insurance Corporation, and our
Eximbank have developed a creative approach in partnership with
11
making available
the region to address your environmental concerns while promoting
the export of U.S. equipment and technology. This will be good
for Asia's environment and good for American jobs.
In conclusion, the nations committed to democracy and free
markets have brought the world to a new era, one that promises
unprecedented freedom from violence and deprivation. But this
world will not simply happen. It will require hard work, tough
negotiation, sacrifice, and the courage of our convictions. If
we cast our lot with the forces of enlightenment and freedom over
isolation and protection
the counsels of defeatism and ignorance, we will build a better
shared
world -- a world bound by common interests and goals.
Like you, Americans want a world at peace, one in which no
blood must be shed for the ideals we all share. So we will
maintain a vigorous security presence in order to prevent despots
and tyrants from undermining rolling back the triumphs of freedom and
democracy.
Like you, Americans want to live in a world enriched and
enlivened by international trade -- in goods, in ideas, in
cultures, and in dreams for the future. We want the opportunity
to compete aggressively in the international marketplace and at
the same time our consumers want access to the best goods and
economics
services that your companies have to offer. We want to live in a
world made better by the geniuses and achievements of every
culture. So we will advance the prospects for more open trade.
12
ennobled
And like you, Americans want a world united and enlightened
by freedom and justice, by political pluralism, and by the
universal commitment to individual liberty and prosperity.
Since 1784, when the Empress of China sailed for Canton from
New York, the United States has tried to build strong ties of
commerce with Asia. We remain committed to that vision.
Together, the United States and its Asian-Pacific allies can
build a world filled with economic tigers -- nations growing
rapidly; pioneering new intellectual, commercial and cultural
terrain; spreading the blessings of liberty, democracy and free
markets. My trip through Asia this week marks a start: The next
S are
step is up to us all.
voyage world: into this new
Thank you again. May God bless you and the United States of
America.
#
#
#
#
SNOW/NIX
SING. TS
DRAFT THREE
December 27, 1991
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS: THE SINGAPORE LECTURE
SINGAPORE WESTIN HOTEL
JANUARY 4, 1991
1 P.M.
Prime Minister Goh, Senior Minister Lee, thank you for that
very kind introduction. Let me take this opportunity to say a
few words about these two gentlemen.
Minister Lee, a quarter century ago, you led this small
island of cultural and ethnic diversity, of limited physical
resources, to independence. Then, through your vision and your
force of intellect and will, you forged Singapore's nationhood.
You stood courageously in a life and death struggle against the
communists -- and you prevailed. You led your nation and your
region in the quest for peace and prosperity. Future generations
(Rediment)
will honor the name of Lee Kwan Yew for years to come.
Prime Minister Goh, I salute you for your wisdom and your
vigor in carrying Singapore forward on its path to the future. I
pledge America's steadfast friendship as you lead Singapore in
facing the challenges of the coming generation.
It's an honor to deliver this lecture, following such
distinguished thinkers as Henry Kissinger and Milton Friedman and
such accomplished leaders as Brian Mulroney, Helmut Schmidt, Rudd
Lubbers, Bob Hawke, Mahathir bin Mohamad and Valery Giscard
D'Estaing.
and [additional acknowledgments]
2
The addresses in this series reflect the changes in our
world. Your first lecturers focused on the ideological and
military struggle between socialism and democratic capitalism --
and especially between the United States and what we used to call
the Soviet Union.
Think of that phrase for a moment -- "what we used to call
the Soviet Union." When citizens pulled down the hammer and
sickle ten days ago, and hauled up a new tricolor of freedom over
the Kremlin, the opened Soviet Union ceased to exist -- and the prospect
of a new world blossomed before us.
That act culminated a decade of liberation -- a time in
which we witnessed the death throes of totalitarianism, and the
triumph of systems of government devoted to individual liberty,
democratic pluralism, free markets and international engagement.
As this struggle has drawn to a close, these lectures have
shifted their focus from military confrontation to matters of
economic cooperation.
Our new world has little use for old ways of thinking about
the roles and relations of nation-states. The Cold War
categories --North-South, East-West, capitalist-communist -- no
longer apply. The future belongs to nations that can remain on
the cutting edge of innovation and information; nations that can
develop the genius and harness the aspirations their people.
Individuals wield power as never before. An innovator
equipped with ideas and the freedom to turn them into inventions
can change the way we live and think. Governments that strive
3
only to maintain a monopoly of power, rather than to strengthen
the freedom of the individual, will fall by the wayside, swept
away by entrepreneurial and intellectual tides.
Liberation technologies -- telephones, computers, satellite
dishes and other devices that transmit news, information and
culture in ever greater volumes and at ever greater speeds --
have disabled the weapons of tyranny.
The old world of splintered regions and ideologies has begun
to give way to a global village universally committed to the
values of individual liberty, democracy, free trade, and
universally opposed to aggression and tyranny.
If we are to realize the opportunities of this new era, we
must address three intertwined challenges: the new requirements
of peace and security, the challenge of promoting democracy, and
the challenge of generating greater economic growth and
prosperity around the world.
Consider first the challenge of peace and security. The
world has learned -- through two world wars, and most recently,
through Saddam Hussein's naked aggression -- that the dogs of war
can be unleashed any time would-be aggressors doubt the
commitment of the powerful to the security of the powerless.
And, as a nation that straddles two great oceans -- a nation
tempered by painful wartime experience - the United States
remains committed to engagement in the Atlantic Community and the
Asia Pacific region -- and unalterably opposed to isolationism.
4
A quarter century ago, many feared that free nations would
fall like dominoes to the subversion of communism. Now, we can
say with pride and a robust sense of irony that the totalitarian
powers -- the powers that fomented war all over the globe -- have
become the dominoes of the 1990s.
This end to the Cold War gives the United States an
opportunity to restructure its military. The closing of bases in
the Philippines will not spell the end to American engagement.
We will maintain a visible, credible presence in the Asia-Pacific
region with our forward deployed forces, and through bilateral
defense arrangements with nations of the region. As a matter of
fact, this morning I reached agreement with the Government of
Singapore to explore in detail how we can transfer a naval
logistics facility from Subic Bay in the Philippines to Singapore
over the next year. Might I say, we appreciate Singapore's far-
sighted approach to the security requirements of a new era.
We don't maintain this presence as an act of charity. Your
security and prosperity serve our interests because you can
better help build a more stable, more prosperous world. An
unstable, unfree Asia does not serve our interests. Nor does an
Asia mired in poverty and despair. We need you as free and
productive as you can be, and we understand that our security
presence can provide a foundation for our mutual prosperity.
But we also need your support in addressing the new threats
of this new era -- regional conflicts and weapons proliferation.
So I am pleased that the ASEAN nations have helped us craft new
5
and flexible methods for protecting our mutual security interests
to meet. Access agreements and increased ASEAN-US dialogue can
help us work in harmony to promote stability in this region.
Strong, credible security agreements enable us to meet the
second challenge, the challenge of democracy -- a challenge of
shared interests and ideals.
Again, ASEAN is helping to spread democracy, in ways that
reflect the values, aspirations, and cultures of the nations in
this region. ASEAN is trying to help the former communist states
in Indochina reintegrate themselves in a world that respects free
markets and free people. Those efforts are starting to produce
hopeful results.
Just a few weeks ago American diplomats arrived in Phnom
Penh for the first time in 16 years. We owe that breakthrough to
years of effort by many of the nations represented here today.
The Cambodian peace accord signed by Secretary Baker in Paris
last October could not have existed without the help and
cooperation of ASEAN. This historic agreement offers the very
real hope of national reconciliation to the long-suffering people
of Cambodia. Additionally, when the Paris Conference agreed on a
peace settlement for Cambodia, my government offered to remove
our trade embargo as the UN Advance Mission began to implement
the settlement. Today I am pleased to announce the lifting of
that embargo.
We are now normalizing our ties with Laos and have begun
with Vietnam along a path marked by implementation of the Paris
6
Accords, and for the sake of many, many American families, the
satisfactory resolution of our concerns about POW/MIAs.
The key point is this: after being strong, determined, and
patient we finally can entertain realistic hopes of building
lasting ties of interest and affection with Indochina.
Organizations such as ASEAN, which promote security, democracy
and open markets, form the building blocks for what I have called
the New World Order.
This victory for democracy leads us to the third challenge
for the future, the challenge of building a world of open and
fair trade.
Everyone agrees that political rivalry and military
adventurism threaten international stability. But no one should
doubt that economic isolationism -- protectionism -- can be at
least as threatening to world order. The protectionist wars of
the 1920s and 1930s deepened the Great Depression, and set in
motion conflicts that hastened the Second World War.
On the other hand, during the past half century, engagement
and trade have produced unprecedented peace and prosperity --
here, in Singapore; throughout free Asia; in Europe and the
United States. This prosperity also has led naturally to
democracy -- a fact that illustrates the indivisible relationship
between security, democracy and individual liberty.
The United States will remain engaged economically,
especially in this part of the world. The Asian-Pacific region
has become the world's economic dynamo. Our trade with Singapore
7
has increased tenfold during the past 16 years. We exported more
to Singapore last year than to Italy or Spain; more to Indonesia
than to the whole of Eastern Europe. The economies here continue
to grow at an astonishing rate, while enjoying impressive income
equality and general prosperity.
The ASEAN countries, along with other nations in the region,
initiated the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation process two years
ago. APEC offers a powerful vehicle for sustaining free, market-
based trade, for advancing the cause of regional and global trade
liberalization, and for strengthening the cohesion and
interdependence of the Asia-Pacific region.
This is important to us. Most of America's recent economic
growth has come from export industries. Each billion dollars'
worth of U.S. exports support thousands of good American jobs.
A delegation of major American businesses -- from the
automobile industry to computer and electronics firms -- has
joined me in order to express our national commitment to free and
open trade. Our executives will learn more about trade
opportunities here, and they will also work to help our companies
compete fairly throughout the world.
The United States is trying to establish an economic
operating framework to facilitate and encourage these ties. This
past October we agreed to a new Trade and Investment Framework
Agreement with Singapore. I also would propose that we negotiate
a Bilateral Investment Treaty. When combined with our global
efforts through GATT, and our regional initiatives through APEC,
8
this comprehensive approach can enable us to meet the economic
challenges of the post-Cold War era.
I believe in open and fair trade. Nations can achieve
astonishing levels of prosperity when they embrace the challenge
of the marketplace.
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade can play a
crucial role in expanding freedom's frontiers. That's why on
each stop of this trip I'm calling for urgent action on behalf of
the international trading system. I am urging others to join
with us in
support making of GATT Director Dunkel's proposed draft the basis
for successful conclusion of the urugery Round
agreement. While all of us have problems with portions of that
draft, none of us can afford to let the progress it represents
slip away. Now is the moment for a strong collaborative
response. I particularly urge the dynamic trading nations of
this region to help us to convince all GATT participants to build
the momentum achieve this agreement. A successful conclusion to
the Uruguay Round can prepare the way for even greater trade
liberalization in years to come -- and greater prosperity for
everyone.
GATT ensures that the world will continue moving toward
broad economic integration -- and not toward trade blocs. Let me
point out that there's a huge difference between a free trade
zone an oasis of free trade -- and a trade bloc that attempts
to hold the rest of the world at bay. We resolutely oppose
efforts to create economic "fortresses" -- anywhere.
NAFTA is nota threet
To cesia. It would not
evenuerage the division
9
the world into treating
blocs. Instead, its
On the other hand, we wholeheartedly endorse free-trade
agreements. Our North American Free Trade Agreement will beckon
all nations to make the best of the resources and opportunities
that the United States, Canada and Mexico have to offer.
Tour]
increased growth can stimulate more trade with Asia. And we
support efforts to build free trade agreements elsewhere,
including among the ASEAN nations.
Consider your own experience. A regime of free trade has
enabled Singapore to become one of the Four Tigers of Asia, and
one of the fastest developing nations on earth. When other
nations' economies falter, you suffer. The worldwide economic
slowdown has slowed your rate of economic growth this year --
although most nations would be overjoyed to settle for six-
percent growth. Singapore has one of the most open economies on
earth, and I appreciate Singapore's leadership in pressing for
even greater market freedom around the world.
But we also need to consider the full import of economic
development. An economy is the aggregate work, ingenuity and
optimism of a nation. The term "economy," encompasses what
millions of people do with their lives. Therefore, when we talk
of strengthening economies, we mean much more than signing trade
pacts. We mean building better lives for our people.
Americans understand that no nation will prosper long
without a first-rate educational system. I have encouraged
Americans to mount a revolution in education, which we call the
America 2000 Education Strategy. America 2000 challenges
10
citizens to set high standards for their schools, and it
encourages all Americans to join forces in creating world-class
schools. Meanwhile, we will continue to strengthen our
university system, the world's finest -- and the host today to
over 200,000 students from Asia. And our APEC Educational
Partnership initiative is seeking to link these educational ties
to our mutual economic interests.
Once we have given students basic skills, we must give them
the freedom to make the most of the knowledge they have acquired.
Tax cuts and deregulation in the 1980s helped unleash the
greatest peacetime economic recovery in American history. While
in my country reducing the tax on capital gains is controversial,
most of our competitors impose very low taxes on capital gains.
Some, like Singapore, don't tax capital gains at all. We can
learn from you -- we can create a climate even more conducive to
risk, to innovation, to the bold exploration of new technologies
and ideas -- and I'm confident that we will.
Beyond that, the nations of the world want to enjoy the
blessings of growth without destroying the environment. Yet we
struggle to achieve environmental protection without denying
developing nations the opportunity to develop. The United States
has environmental expertise and state-of-the-art environmental
technology. The Asian nations have environmental challenges.
I am pleased to tell you that AID, the US Trade Development
Program, the Overseas Private Insurance Corporation, and our
Eximbank have developed a creative approach in partnership with
11
the region to address your environmental concerns while promoting
the export of U.S. equipment and technology. This will be good
for Asia's environment and good for American jobs.
In conclusion, the nations committed to democracy and free
markets have brought the world to a new era, one that promises
unprecedented freedom from violence and deprivation. But this
world will not simply happen. It will require hard work, tough
negotiation, sacrifice, and the courage of our convictions. If
we cast our lot with the forces of enlightenment and freedom over
the counsels of defeatism and ignorance, we will build a better
world -- a world bound by common interests and goals.
Like you, Americans want a world at peace, one in which no
blood must be shed for the ideals we all share. So we will
maintain a vigorous security presence in order to prevent despots
and tyrants from rolling back the triumphs of freedom and
democracy.
Like you, Americans want to live in a world enriched and
enlivened by international trade -- in goods, in ideas, in
cultures, and in dreams for the future. We want the opportunity
to compete aggressively in the international marketplace and at
the same time our consumers want access to the best goods and
services that your companies have to offer. We want to live in a
world made better by the geniuses and achievements of every
culture. So we will advance the prospects for more open trade.
2 -
12
And like you, Americans want a world united and enlightened
by freedom and justice, by political pluralism, and by the
universal commitment to individual liberty and prosperity.
ship
Since 1784, when the Empress of China sailed for Canton from
New York, the United States has tried to build strong ties of
commerce with Asia. We remain committed to that vision.
Together, the United States and its Asian-Pacific allies can
build a world filled with economic tigers -- nations growing
rapidly; pioneering new intellectual, commercial and cultural
terrain; spreading the blessings of liberty, democracy and free
markets. My trip through Asia this week marks a start: The next
step is up to us all.
Thank you again. May God bless you and the United States of
America.
#
#
#
#
SNOW/NIX
SING.TS
DRAFT THREE
December 27, 1991
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS: THE SINGAPORE LECTURE
SINGAPORE WESTIN HOTEL
JANUARY 4, 1991
1 P.M.
Prime Minister Goh, Senior Minister Lee, thank you for that
very kind introduction. Let me take this opportunity to say a
few words about these two gentlemen.
Minister Lee, a quarter century ago, you led this small
island of cultural and ethnic diversity, of limited physical
resources, to independence. Then, through your vision and your
force of intellect and will, you forged Singapore's nationhood.
You stood courageously in a life and death struggle against the
communists -- and you prevailed. You led your nation and your
region in the quest for peace and prosperity. Future generations
will honor the name of Lee Kwan Yew for years to come.
1
also remember those personal moments jogging together in Kennelounhpat, long
Bobhary
Prime Minister Goh, I salute you for your wisdom and your
conversations
into the
vigor in carrying Singapore forward on its path to the future.
I
night
pledge America's steadfast friendship as you lead Singapore in
facing the challenges of the coming generation.
It's an honor to deliver this lecture, following such
distinguished thinkers as Henry Kissinger and Milton Friedman and
such accomplished leaders as Brian Mulroney, Helmut Schmidt, Rudd
Lubbers, Bob Hawke, Mahathir bin Mohamad and Valery Giscard
D'Estaing. [additional acknowledgments]
2
The addresses in this series reflect the changes in our
world. Your first lecturers focused on the ideological and
military struggle between socialism and democratic capitalism --
and especially between the United States and what we used to call
the Soviet Union.
Think of that phrase for a moment -- "what we used to call
the Soviet Union. " When citizens pulled down the hammer and
sickle ten days ago, and hauled up a new tricolor of freedom over
the Kremlin, the Soviet Union ceased to exist -- and the prospect
of a new world blossomed before us.
That act culminated a decade of liberation -- a time in
which we witnessed the death throes of totalitarianism, and the
triumph of systems of government devoted to individual liberty,
democratic pluralism, free markets and international engagement.
As this struggle has drawn to a close, these lectures have
shifted their focus from military confrontation to matters of
economic cooperation.
Our new world has little use for old ways of thinking about
the roles and relations of nation-states. The Cold War
categories --North-South, East-West, capitalist-communist -- no
longer apply. The future belongs to nations that can remain on
the cutting edge of innovation and information; nations that can
develop the genius and harness the aspirations their people.
Individuals wield power as never before. An innovator
equipped with ideas and the freedom to turn them into inventions
can change the way we live and think. Governments that strive
3
only to maintain a monopoly of power, rather than to strengthen
the freedom of the individual, will fall by the wayside, swept
away by entrepreneurial and intellectual tides.
Liberation technologies -- telephones, computers, satellite
dishes and other devices that transmit news, information and
culture in ever greater volumes and at ever greater speeds --
have disabled the weapons of tyranny.
The old world of splintered regions and ideologies has begun
to give way to a global village universally committed to the
values of individual liberty, democracy, free trade, and
universally opposed to aggression and tyranny.
If we are to realize the opportunities of this new era, we
must address three intertwined challenges: the new requirements
of peace and security, the challenge of promoting democracy, and
the challenge of generating greater economic growth and
prosperity around the world.
Consider first the challenge of peace and security. The
world has learned -- through two world wars, and most recently,
through Saddam Hussein's naked aggression -- that the dogs of war
can be unleashed any time would-be aggressors doubt the
commitment of the powerful to the security of the powerless.
And, as a nation that straddles two great oceans -- a nation
tempered by painful wartime experience - the United States
remains committed to engagement in the Atlantic Community and the
Asia Pacific region -- and unalterably opposed to isolationism.
4
A quarter century ago, many feared that free nations would
fall like dominoes to the subversion of communism. Now, we can
say with pride and a robust sense of irony that the totalitarian
powers -- the powers that fomented war all over the globe -- have
become the dominoes of the 1990s.
This end to the Cold War gives the United States an
opportunity to restructure its military. The closing of bases in
the Philippines will not spell the end to American engagement.
We will maintain a visible, credible presence in the Asia-Pacific
region with our forward deployed forces, and through bilateral
defense arrangements with nations of the region.
As a matter of
fact
this morning I reached agreement with the Government of
Singapore to explore in detail how we can transfer a naval
logistics facility from Subic Bay in the Philippines to Singapore
over the next year. Might I say, we appreciate Singapore's far-
sighted approach to the security requirements of a new era.
We don't maintain this presence as an act of charity. Your
security and prosperity serve our interests because you can
better help build a more stable, more prosperous world. An
unstable, unfree Asia does not serve our interests. Nor does an
Asia mired in poverty and despair. We need you as free and
productive as you can be, and we understand that our security
presence can provide a foundation for our mutual prosperity.
But we also need your support in addressing the new threats
of this new era -- regional conflicts and weapons proliferation.
So I am pleased that the ASEAN nations have helped us craft new
5
and flexible methods for protecting our mutual security interests
to meet. Access agreements and increased ASEAN-US dialogue can
help us work in harmony to promote stability in this region.
Strong, credible security agreements enable us to meet the
second challenge, the challenge of democracy -- a challenge of
shared interests and ideals.
Again, ASEAN is helping to spread democracy, in ways that
reflect the values, aspirations, and cultures of the nations in
this region. ASEAN is trying to help the former communist states
in Indochina reintegrate themselves in a world that respects free
markets and free people. Those efforts are starting to produce
hopeful results.
Just a few weeks ago American diplomats arrived in Phnom
Penh for the first time in 16 years. We owe that breakthrough to
years of effort by many of the nations represented here today.
The Cambodian peace accord signed by Secretary Baker in Paris
last October could not have existed without the help and
cooperation of ASEAN. This historic agreement offers the very
real hope of national reconciliation to the long-suffering people
of Cambodia. Additionally, when the Paris Conference agreed on a
peace settlement for Cambodia, my government offered to remove
our trade embargo as the UN Advance Mission began to implement
the settlement. Today I am pleased to announce the lifting of
that embargo.
We are now normalizing our ties with Laos and have begun
with Vietnam along a path marked by implementation of the Paris
6
Accords, and for the sake of many, many American families, the
satisfactory resolution of our concerns about POW/MIAs.
The key point is this: after being strong, determined, and
patient we finally can entertain realistic hopes of building
lasting ties of interest and affection with Indochina.
Organizations such as ASEAN, which promote security, democracy
and open markets, form the building blocks for what I have called
the New World Order.
This victory for democracy leads us to the third challenge
for the future, the challenge of building a world of open and
fair trade.
Everyone agrees that political rivalry and military
adventurism threaten international stability. But no one should
doubt that economic isolationism -- protectionism -- can be at
least as threatening to world order. The protectionist wars of
the 1920s and 1930s deepened the Great Depression, and set in
motion conflicts that hastened the Second World War.
On the other hand, during the past half century, engagement
and trade have produced unprecedented peace and prosperity --
here, in Singapore; throughout free Asia; in Europe and the
United States. This prosperity also has led naturally to
democracy -- a fact that illustrates the indivisible relationship
between security, democracy and individual liberty.
The United States will remain engaged economically,
especially in this part of the world. The Asian-Pacific region
has become the world's economic dynamo. Our trade with Singapore
7
has increased tenfold during the past 16 years. We exported more
to Singapore last year than to Italy or Spain; more to Indonesia
than to the whole of Eastern Europe. The economies here continue
to grow at an astonishing rate, while enjoying impressive income
equality and general prosperity.
The ASEAN countries, along with other nations in the region,
initiated the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation process two years
ago. APEC offers a powerful vehicle for sustaining free, market-
based trade, for advancing the cause of regional and global trade
liberalization, and for strengthening the cohesion and
interdependence of the Asia-Pacific region.
This is important to us. Most of America's recent economic
growth has come from export industries. Each billion dollars'
worth of U.S. exports support thousands of good American jobs.
A delegation of major American businesses -- from the
automobile industry to computer and electronics firms -- has
joined me in order to express our national commitment to free and
open trade. Our executives will learn more about trade
opportunities here, and they will also work to help our companies
compete fairly throughout the world.
The United States is trying to establish an economic
operating framework to facilitate and encourage these ties. This
past October we agreed to a new Trade and Investment Framework
Agreement with Singapore. I also would propose that we negotiate
a Bilateral Investment Treaty. When combined with our global
efforts through GATT, and our regional initiatives through APEC,
8
this comprehensive approach can enable us to meet the economic
challenges of the post-Cold War era.
free and
I believe in open and fair trade. Nations can achieve
astonishing levels of prosperity when they embrace the challenge
of the marketplace.
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade can play a
crucial role in expanding freedom's frontiers. That's why on
each stop of this trip I'm calling for urgent action on behalf of
the international trading system. I am urging others to join
with us in support of GATT Director Dunkel's proposed draft
agreement. While all of us have problems with portions of that
draft, none of us can afford to let the progress it represents
slip away. Now is the moment for a strong collaborative
response. I particularly urge the dynamic trading nations of
this region to help us to convince all GATT participants to build
the momentum to achieve this agreement. A successful conclusion to
^
the Uruguay Round can prepare the way for even greater trade
liberalization in years to come -- and greater prosperity for
everyone.
GATT ensures that the world will continue moving toward
1 don't have to
broad economic integration -- and not toward trade blocs. Let me
to an audience in Sungapore
point out that there's a huge difference between a free trade
^
zone -- an oasis of free trade -- and a trade bloc that attempts
to hold the rest of the world at bay. We resolutely oppose
efforts to create economic "fortresses" -- anywhere.
9
On the other hand, we wholeheartedly endorse free-trade
agreements. Our North American Free Trade Agreement will beckon
all nations to make the best of the resources and opportunities
that the United States, Canada and Mexico have to offer. Our
increased growth can stimulate more trade with Asia. And we
support efforts to build free trade agreements elsewhere,
including among the ASEAN nations.
Consider your own experience. A regime of free trade has
enabled Singapore to become one of the Four Tigers of Asia, and
one of the fastest developing nations on earth. When other
nations' economies falter, you suffer. The worldwide economic
slowdown has slowed your rate of economic growth this year --
although most nations would be overjoyed to settle for six-
percent growth. Singapore has one of the most open economies on
earth, and I appreciate Singapore's leadership in pressing for
even greater market freedom around the world.
But we also need to consider the full import of economic
development. An economy is the aggregate work, ingenuity and
optimism of a nation. The term "economy," encompasses what
millions of people do with their lives. Therefore, when we talk
of strengthening economies, we mean much more than signing trade
pacts. We mean building better lives for our people.
Americans understand that no nation will prosper long
without a first-rate educational system. I have encouraged
Americans to mount a revolution in education, which we call the
America 2000 Education Strategy. America 2000 challenges
10
citizens to set high standards for their schools, and it
encourages all Americans to join forces in creating world-class
schools. Meanwhile, we will continue to strengthen our
university system, the world's finest -- and the host today to
over 200,000 students from Asia. And our APEC Educational
Partnership initiative is seeking to link these educational ties
to our mutual economic interests.
Once we have given students basic skills, we must give them
the freedom to make the most of the knowledge they have acquired.
Tax cuts and deregulation in the 1980s helped unleash the
greatest peacetime economic recovery in American history. While
in my country reducing the tax on capital gains is controversial,
most of our competitors impose very low taxes on capital gains.
Some, like Singapore, don't tax capital gains at all. We can
learn from you -- we can create a climate even more conducive to
risk, to innovation, to the bold exploration of new technologies
and ideas -- and I'm confident that we will.
Beyond that, the nations of the world want to enjoy the
blessings of growth without destroying the environment. Yet we
struggle to achieve environmental protection without denying
developing nations the opportunity to develop. The United States
has environmental expertise and state-of-the-art environmental
technology. The Asian nations have environmental challenges.
I am pleased to tell you that AID, the US Trade Development
Program, the Overseas Private Insurance Corporation, and our
Eximbank have developed a creative approach in partnership with
11
the region to address your environmental concerns while promoting
the export of U.S. equipment and technology. This will be good
for Asia's environment and good for American jobs.
In conclusion, the nations committed to democracy and free
markets have brought the world to a new era, one that promises
unprecedented freedom from violence and deprivation. But this
world will not simply happen. It will require hard work, tough
negotiation, sacrifice, and the courage of our convictions. If
we cast our lot with the forces of enlightenment and freedom over
the counsels of defeatism and ignorance, we will build a better
world -- a world bound by common interests and goals.
Like you, Americans want a world at peace, one in which no
blood must be shed for the ideals we all share. So we will
maintain a vigorous security presence in order to prevent despots
and tyrants from rolling back the triumphs of freedom and
democracy.
Like you, Americans want to live in a world enriched and
enlivened by international trade -- in goods, in ideas, in
cultures, and in dreams for the future. We want the opportunity
to compete aggressively in the international marketplace and at
the same time our consumers want access to the best goods and
services that your companies have to offer. We want to live in a
world made better by the geniuses and achievements of every
culture. So we will advance the prospects for more open trade.
12
And like you, Americans want a world united and enlightened
by freedom and justice, by political pluralism, and by the
universal commitment to individual liberty and prosperity.
Since 1784, when the Empress of China sailed for Canton from
New York, the United States has tried to build strong ties of
commerce with Asia. We remain committed to that vision.
Together, the United States and its Asian-Pacific allies can
build a world filled with economic tigers -- nations growing
rapidly; pioneering new intellectual, commercial and cultural
terrain; spreading the blessings of liberty, democracy and free
markets. My trip through Asia this week marks a start: The next
step is up to us all.
Thank you again. May God bless you and the United States of
America.
Republic of Suggrare?
#
#
#
#
SNOW/NIX
SING.TS
DRAFT THREE
December 27, 1991
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS: THE SINGAPORE LECTURE
SINGAPORE WESTIN HOTEL
JANUARY 4, 1991
1 P.M.
Prime Minister Goh, Senior Minister Lee, thank you for that
very kind introduction. Let me take this opportunity to say a
few words about these two gentlemen.
Minister Lee, a quarter century ago, you led this small
island of cultural and ethnic diversity, of limited physical
resources, to independence. Then, through your vision and your
force of intellect and will, you forged Singapore's nationhood.
You stood courageously in a life and death struggle against the
communists -- and you prevailed. You led your nation and your
PORLS
avadd
region in the quest for peace and prosperity. Future generations
will honor the name of Lee Kwan Yew for years to come. And as you know well.
from your visits to my home in Kennehunknit, I am pleased to Know your as a friend
Prime Minister Goh, I salute you for your wisdom and your
vigor in carrying Singapore forward on its path to the future. I
pledge America's steadfast friendship as you lead Singapore in
facing the challenges of the coming generation. And I an also pleased that
you, live many y It's 5/8 your an honor countrynen, to deliver came L this my cowntry lecture, for pmt following 1 your education, such These too are
ties that
distinguished thinkers as Henry Kissinger and Milton Friedman and
bind us.
such accomplished leaders as Brian Mulroney, Helmut Schmidt, Rudd
Lubbers, Bob Hawke, Mahathir bin Mohamad and Valery Giscard
2
D'Estaing. Let me also acknowledge at this time, A. V.
Leiventals [Chairman, Mobil Oil Singapore], Lee Hee Seng [Deputy
Chairman and Board of Trustees, ISEAS], and Dr. Richard Hu
[Chairman, Monetary Authority of Singapore and Finance Minister].
The addresses in this series reflect the changes in our
world. Your first lecturers focused on the ideological and
military struggle between socialism and democratic capitalism --
and especially between the United States and what we used to call
the Soviet Union.
Think of that phrase for a moment -- "what we used to call
the Soviet Union.' " When citizens pulled down the hammer and
sickle ten days ago, and hauled up a new tricolor of freedom over
the Kremlin, the Soviet Union ceased to exist -- and the prospect
of a new world blossomed before us.
That act culminated a decade of liberation -- a time in
which we witnessed the death throes of totalitarianism, and the
triumph of systems of government devoted to individual liberty,
democratic pluralism, free markets and international engagement.
As this struggle has drawn to a close, these lectures have
shifted their focus from military confrontation to matters of
economic cooperation.
Our new world has little use for old ways of thinking about
the roles and relations of nation-states. The Cold War
categories -- North-South, East-West, capitalist-communist -- no
longer apply. The future belongs to nations that can remain on
3
the cutting edge of innovation and information; nations that can
develop the genius and harness the aspirations their people.
Individuals wield power as never before. An innovator
equipped with ideas and the freedom to turn them into inventions
can change the way we live and think. Governments that strive
only to maintain a monopoly of power, rather than to strengthen
the freedom of the individual, will fall by the wayside, swept
away by entrepreneurial and intellectual tides.
Liberation technologies -- telephones, computers, satellite
dishes and other devices that transmit news, information and
culture in ever greater volumes and at ever greater speeds --
have disabled the weapons of tyranny.
The old world of splintered regions and ideologies has begun
to give way to a global village universally committed to the
values of individual liberty, democracy, free trade, and
universally opposed to aggression and tyranny.
If we are to realize the opportunities of this new era, we
must address three intertwined challenges: the new requirements
of peace and security, the challenge of promoting democracy, and
the challenge of generating greater economic growth and
prosperity around the world.
Consider first the challenge of peace and security. The
world has learned -- through two world wars, and most recently,
through Saddam Hussein's naked aggression -- that the dogs of war
can be unleashed any time would-be aggressors doubt the
commitment of the powerful to the security of the powerless.
4
And, as a nation that straddles two great oceans -- a nation
tempered by painful wartime experience - the United States
remains committed to engagement in the Atlantic Community and the
Asia Pacific region -- and unalterably opposed to isolationism.
Thats my Vow too you, as long ap I am President,
A quarter century ago, many feared that free nations would
assplance
fall like dominoes to the subversion of communism. Now, we can
line
say with pride and a robust sense of irony that the totalitarian
powers -- the powers that fomented war all over the globe -- have
become the dominoes of the 1990s.
Pout I want to assure, Jan thou of
This end to the Cold War gives the United States an
this region, that
opportunity to restructure its military.
The closing of bases in
the Philippines will not spell the end to American engagement.
We will maintain a visible, credible presence in the Asia-Pacific
region with our forward deployed forces, and through bilateral
defense arrangements with nations of the region. As a matter of
weak
HTLats why In pleased to annime
fact, this morning { a reached agreement with the Government of
leed
that we States her
Singapore to explore in detail how we can transfer a naval
logistics facility from Subic Bay in the Philippines to Singapore
over the next year. Might I say, We we appreciate Singapore's far-
sighted approach to the security requirements of a new era.
Chised
States doesnt
we don maintain this presence as an act of charity. Your
is we
we
in
security and prosperity serve our interests because you can
better help build a more stable, more prosperous world. An
unstable, unfree Asia does not serve our interests. Nor does an
Asia mired in poverty and despair. We need you as free and
sellvity
working cooperatively, the prst we better Ishare LW Mel the responsible
(make orgoing)
5
are working with into
productive as you can be, and we understand that our security
presence can provide a foundation for our mutual prosperity.
But we also need your support in addressing the new threats
of this new era -- regional conflicts and weapons proliferation.
So I am pleased that the ASEAN nations have helped us craft new
and flexible methods for protecting our mutual security interests
to meet. Access agreements and increased ASEAN-US dialogue can
help us work in harmony to promote stability in this region.
Strong, credible security agreements enable us to meet the
second challenge, the challenge of democracy -- a challenge of
I know
this doesnt
shared interests and ideals.
nortieve political changes
soundas
Again, ASEAN is helping to spread democracy, in ways that
good,
but I worry
reflect the values, aspirations, and cultures of the nations in
well get
htif
this region. ASEAN is trying to help the former communist states
wease we use
in Indochina reintegrate themselves in a world that respects free
aemoo
here
markets and free people. Those efforts are starting to produce
(you it
hopeful results.
geally 14
He Aahor
Just a few weeks ago American diplomats arrived in Phnom
Penh for the first time in 16 years. We owe that breakthrough to
years of effort by many of the nations represented here today.
The Cambodian peace accord signed by Secretary Baker in Paris
last October could not have existed without the help and
cooperation of ASEAN. This historic agreement offers the very
real hope of national reconciliation to the long-suffering people
of Cambodia. Additionally, when the Paris Conference agreed on a
peace settlement for Cambodia, my government offered to remove
6
word
our trade embargo as the UN Advance Mission began to implement
lands
the settlement. Today I am pleased to announce the lifting of
that embargo. waking with others, we need to turn attenten to both economic reconstruction an
that deeply wornded land that must vettas # political rebaility of that deeply would
We are now normalizing our ties with Laos and have begun
land,so its
with Vietnam along a path marked by implementation of the Paris
health new
political
Accords, and for the sake of many, many American families, the
reconcilition
has is have
satisfactory resolution of our concerns about POW/MIAs.
from which
to your
The key point is this: after being strong, determined, and
patient we finally can entertain realistic hopes of building
lasting ties of interest and affection with Indochina.
Organizations such as ASEAN, which promote security, democr acy
more open political systems,
and open markets, form the building blocks for what I have called
the New World Order.
The movement towards
This victory for democracy leads us to the third challenge
for the future, the challenge of building a world of open and
fair trade.
Everyone agrees that political rivalry and military
adventurism threaten international stability. But no one should
doubt that economic isolationism -- protectionism -- can be at
least as threatening to world order. The protectionist wars of
the 1920s and 1930s deepened the Great Depression, and set in
motion conflicts that hastened the Second World War.
On the other hand, during the past half century, engagement
and trade have produced unprecedented peace and prosperity --
here, in Singapore; throughout free Asia; in Europe and the
United States. This prosperity also has led naturally to
7
democracy -- a fact that illustrates the indivisible relationship
between security, democracy and individual liberty.
The United States will remain engaged economically,
especially in this part of the world. The Asian-Pacific region
has become the world's economic dynamo. Our trade with Singapore
has increased tenfold during the past 16 years. We exported more
to Singapore last year than to Italy or Spain; more to Indonesia
than to the whole of Eastern Europe. The economies here continue
to grow at an astonishing rate, while enjoying impressive income
equality and general prosperity.
other
The ASEAN countries, along with other nations in the region, helped
stretch a factor
initiated the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation process two years
ago. APEC offers a powerful vehicle for sustaining free, market-
based trade, for advancing the cause of regional and global trade
liberalization, and for strengthening the cohesion and
interdependence of the Asia-Pacific region.
Better to me a large humber
This is important to us. Most of America's recent economic
growth has come from export industries
Each billion dollars'
merchandise
W about 20:000
worth of U.S. exports support thousands of good American jobs.
A delegation of major American businesses -- from the
automobile industry to computer and electronics firms -- has
joined me in order to express our national commitment to free and
open trade. Our executives will learn more about trade
opportunities here, and they will also work to help our companies
compete fairly throughout the world.
that we complement they
8
agreement
The United States is trying to establish an economic
operating framework to facilitate and encourage these ties. This
past October we agreed to a new Trade and Investment Framework
Agreement with Singapore. I also would propose that by we negotiate
a Bilateral Investment Treaty. When combined with our global
efforts through GATT, and our regional initiatives through APEC,
this comprehensive approach can enable us to meet the economic
challenges of the post-Cold War era.
I believe in open and fair trade. Nations can achieve
astonishing levels of prosperity when they embrace the challenge
of the marketplace.
/
anesperily
an
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade can play
a
crucial role in expanding freedom's frontiers. That's why on
each stop of this trip I'm calling for urgent action on behalf of
the international trading system. I am urging others to join
with us in support of GATT Director Dunkel's proposed draft
agreement. While all of us have problems with portions of that
draft, none of us can afford to let the progress it represents
collective
slip away. Now is the moment for a strong collaborative
collabarative
response. I particularly urge the dynamic trading nations of
sounds live
WWII
this region to help us to convince all GATT participants to build
badgging,
the momentum achieve this agreement. A successful conclusion to
the Uruguay Round can prepare the way for even greater trade
liberalization in years to come -- and greater prosperity for
everyone.
9
GATT ensures that the world will continue moving toward
broad economic integration -- and not toward trade blocs. Let me
point out that there's a huge difference between a free trade
zone -- an oasis of free trade -- and a trade bloc that attempts
to hold the rest of the world at bay. We resolutely oppose
efforts to create economic "fortresses" -- anywhere.
On the other hand, we wholeheartedly endorse free-trade
agreements. Our North American Free Trade Agreement will beckon
all nations to make the best of the resources and opportunities
that the United States, Canada and Mexico have to offer. Our
increased growth can stimulate more trade with Asia. And we
support efforts to build free trade agreements elsewhere,
including among the ASEAN nations.
Consider your own experience. A regime of free trade has
enabled Singapore to become one of the Four Tigers of Asia, and
one of the fastest developing nations on earth. When other
nations' economies, falter, you suffer. The worldwide economic
slowdown has slowed your rate of economic growth this year --
although most nations would be overjoyed to settle for six-
percent growth. Singapore has one of the most open economies on
earth, and I appreciate Singapore's leadership in pressing for
even greater market freedom around the world.
But we also need to consider the full import of economic
development. An economy is the aggregate work, ingenuity and
optimism of a nation. The term "economy," encompasses what
millions of people do with their lives. Therefore, when we talk
Perhaps one of Hem will he afuture PM f Singapere.
about growth, about opportunity,
10
of strengthening economies, we mean much more than signing trade
pacts. We mean building better lives for our people.
Americans understand that no nation will prosper long
without a first-rate educational system. I have encouraged
Americans to mount a revolution in education, which we call the
America 2000 Education Strategy. America 2000 challenges
citizens to set high standards for their schools, and it
encourages all Americans to join forces in creating world-class
schools. Meanwhile, we will continue to strengthen our
university system, the world's finest -- and the host today to
over 200,000 students from Asia
And our APEC Educational
Partnership initiative is seeking to link these educational ties
to our mutual economic interests.
Once we have given students basic skills, we must give them
the freedom to make the most of the knowledge they have acquired.
Tax cuts and deregulation in the 1980s helped unleash the
greatest peacetime economic recovery in American history. While
in my country reducing the tax on capital gains is controversial,
most of our competitors impose very low taxes on capital gains.
Some, like Singapore, don't tax capital gains at all. We can
learn from you -- we can create a climate even more conducive to
risk, to innovation, to the bold exploration of new technologies
and ideas -- and I'm confident that we will.
Beyond that, the nations of the world want to enjoy the
blessings of growth without destroying the environment. Yet we
need
struggle to achieve environmental protection without denying
11
developing nations the opportunity to develop. The United States
has environmental expertise and state-of-the-art environmental
technology. The Asian nations have environmental challenges.
So I am pleased to tell you that AID, the US Trade Development
Program, the Overseas Private Insurance Corporation, and our
Eximbank have developed a creative approach in partnership with
the region to address your environmental concerns while promoting
the export of U.S. equipment and technology. This will be good
for Asia's environment and good for American jobs.
In conclusion, the nations committed to democracy and free
markets have brought the world to a new era, one that promises
unprecedented freedom from violence and deprivation. But this
world will not simply happen. It will require hard work, tough
negotiation, sacrifice, and the courage of our convictions. If
we cast our lot with the forces of enlightenment and freedom over
the counsels of defeatism and ignorance, we will build a better
world -- a world bound by common interests and goals.
Like you, Americans want a world at peace, one in which no
blood must be shed for the ideals we all share. So we will
maintain a vigorous security presence in order to prevent despots
and tyrants from rolling back the triumphs of freedom and
democracy.
Like you, Americans want to live in a world enriched and
enlivened by international trade -- in goods, in ideas, in
cultures, and in dreams for the future. We want the opportunity
to compete aggressively in the international marketplace and at
12
the same time our consumers want access to the best goods and
services that your companies have to offer. We want to live in a
world made better by the geniuses and achievements of every
culture. So we will advance the prospects for more open trade.
And like you, Americans want a world united and enlightened
by freedom and justice, by political pluralism, and by the
universal commitment to individual liberty and prosperity.
Since 1784, when the Empress of China sailed for Canton from
New York, the United States has tried to build strong ties of
commerce with Asia. We remain committed to that vision.
Together, the United States and its Asian-Pacific allies can
build a world filled with economic tigers -- nations growing
rapidly; pioneering new intellectual, commercial and cultural
terrain; spreading the blessings of liberty, democracy and free
markets. My trip through Asia this week marks a start: The next
step is up to us all.
Thank you again. May God bless you and the United States of
America.
#
#
#
#
Fm Tony Snow
SNOW/NIX
SING.TS
DRAFT THREE
December 27, 1991
ESS: THE SINGAPORE LECTURE
SINGAPORE WESTIN HOTEL
JANUARY 7, 1991
1 P.M.
or Minister Lee, thank you for that
very kind introduction. It's an honor to deliver this lecture,
following such distinguished thinkers as Henry Kissinger and
Milton Friedman and such accomplished leaders as Brian Mulroney,
Helmut Schmidt, Rudd Lubbers, Bob Hawke, Mahathir bin Mohamad and
Valery Giscard D'Estaing. [additional acknowledgments]
The addresses in this series reflect the changes in our
world. Your first lecturers focused on the ideological and
military struggle between socialism and democratic capitalism --
and especially between the United States and what we used to call
the Soviet Union.
Think of that phrase for a moment -- "what we used to call
the Soviet Union." When citizens pulled down the hammer and
ten days aso
sickle last week, and hauled up a new tricolor of freedom over
the Kremlin, the Soviet Union ceased to exist -- and the prospect
of a new world blossomed before us.
That act culminated a decade of liberation -- a time in
which we witnessed the death throes of totalitarianism, and the
triumph of systems of government devoted to individual liberty,
democratic pluralism, free markets and international engagement.
2
As this struggle has drawn to a close, these lectures have
shifted their focus from military confrontation to matters of
economic cooperation.
Today, we stand at the dawn of a new era in international
relations -- an era filled with its own dangers and challenges,
but bright with possibilities the likes of which we never have
seen.
This world has little use for our old ways of thinking about
the roles and relations of nation-states. The old categories --
North-South, East-West, capitalist-communist -- no longer apply.
We define national power more in terms of economic and
intellectual prowess than in terms of sheer military might. The
future belongs not necessarily to the nations with the greatest
armies, as to nations that can remain on the cutting edge of
innovation and information; nations that can develop the genius
and harness the ambitions of their people.
Individuals wield power as never before. An innovator
equipped with ideas and the freedom to turn them into inventions
can change the way we live and think. Governments that strive
only to maintain a monopoly on force, rather than to strengthen
the freedom and power of the individual, will fall by the
wayside, swept away by entrepreneurial and intellectual tides.
Liberation technologies -- telephones, computers, satellite
dishes and other devices that transmit news, information and
culture in ever greater volumes and at ever greater speeds --
have disabled the old weapons of tyranny.
3
The old world of splintered regions and ideologies has begun
to give way to a global village universally committed to the
values of individual liberty, democracy, free trade, and
universally opposed to aggression and tyranny.
This world poses three intertwined challenges: the challenge
of peace and security, the challenge of democracy, and the
challenge of market freedom.
Consider first the challenge of peace and security.
The world has learned -- through two world wars, and most
recently, through Saddam Hussein's naked aggression -- that
isolationism invites provocation and war.
As a nation that straddles two great oceans, the United
States remains committed to engagement in the Atlantic Community
and the Asia Pacific region -- and unalterably opposed to
isolationism.
Engagement serves the interests of long-term peace. More
than 58,000 Americans died in Vietnam. Tens of thousands of bear
physical and psychological scars for their service. Although
doubters of the age tried to demean their sacrifice, you
understood their achievements. I know that many in Singapore
argue that our engagement in Vietnam granted this nation a
quarter century's head-start on its future.
A quarter century ago, we feared that free nations would
fall like dominoes. Now, we can say with satisfaction, relief
and a robust sense of irony that the totalitarian powers, the
4
powers that fomented war all over the globe, have become the
dominoes of the 1990s.
This end to the Cold War gives the United States an
opportunity to restructure its military. The closing of bases in
the Philippines will not spell the end to American engagement.
We will maintain a visible, credible presence in the Asia-Pacific
region with our forward deployed forces, and through bilateral naval
defense arrangements with nations of the region. This morning / reached
agreement with the Government of Singapore to explane in detail how we can transfer logistics facility from
We don't maintain this presence out of charity. Your
Subic Bay in the Philippines to Singapore new the year ahead. we appreciate Surgapone's favsighted
security and prosperity serve our interests, not simply because
approach to
you share our basic ideals, not just because your market beckons, the security
requirements
not just because you command one of the most strategic waterways 9 a new
eva.
on earth. Your wealth and health serve our interests. They will
help us build a world in which nations take full advantage of the
productivity, genius and ambitions of other nations.
An unstable Asia doesn't help us. An unfree Asia doesn't
help us. A poverty stricken Asia doesn't help us. We need you
as free and productive as you can be, and we understand that our
security presence can provide a foundation for our mutual
prosperity.
But we also need your support in devising arrangements that
suit our mutual interests. I'm happy that the ASEAN nations have
helped us craft new and flexible methods for protecting America's
security interests. Access agreements and ASEAN-US dialog about
issues of mutual concern can help us work in harmony to promote
stability in this region.
add
[note originally
5
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second challenge, the challenge of democrac
are]
Trade
shared interests and ideals.
Again, ASEAN has played a crucial role
embargo I
democracy, in ways that reflect the values,
approved
cultures of the nations in this region. AS
here
drag Burma away from the dark shadows of dictatorial tyranny; it
has helped former communist states in Indochina to join a new
order for the ages. I am happy to say that those efforts already
have produced hopeful results.
Just a few weeks ago American diplomats arrived in Phnom
Penh for the first time in 16 years. We owe that breakthrough to
many of the nations represented here today.
By the same token, the Cambodian peace accord signed by
Secretary Baker in Paris last October would not have existed
without the help and cooperation of ASEAN. This historic
when the Paris Conference agreed an a peace settlement for Cainbodia, my government
agreement offers the very real hope of peace and freedom to the
aftered to remove our trade emlongo as the UN Advance Mission
began to
long-suffering people of Cambodia. Today / am announcing the
my lement
lifting of our trade embargo an Cambodia ain keeping with my government
We have normalized our ties with Laos and have begun
the sTep bystep
settlement ^ normalizing relations with Vietnam. With your help, we hope to
resolve our remaining concerns with Vietnam -- the full
implementation of the Paris Accords, and for the sake of many,
many American families, the satisfactory resolution of our
concerns about POW/MIAs.
The key point is this: We finally can entertain realistic
hopes of building lasting ties of interest and affection with
6
Indochina. Organizations such as ASEAN, which promote security,
democracy and open markets, form the building blocks for what I
have called the New World Order.
This victory for democracy leads us to the third challenge
for the future, the challenge of building a world of open and
fair trade.
Everyone agrees that political and military isolationism
threaten to destabilize the world. But no one should doubt that
economic isolationism -- protectionism -- can be at least as
devastating.
The protectionist wars of the 1920s and 1930s deepened the
Great Depression, and set in motion conflicts that hastened the
Second World War. The collapse of the international economic
system enabled demagogues to sell the poisons of socialism and
state control -- and to enslave whole nations for decades.
During the past half century, on the other hand, engagement
and trade have produced unprecedented peace and prosperity --
here, in Singapore; throughout free Asia; in Europe and the
United States. This prosperity also has led naturally to
democracy -- a fact that illustrates the indivisible relationship
between security, democracy and individual liberty.
Consider the recent history of China. Econmomic reforms in
1978 set off a decade of rapid economic growth -- with average
annual growth rates of ten percent. This prosperity also
fostered hopes of democracy -- hopes that were crushed brutally
in Tienanmen Square. Since that horrifying moment, Chinese
7
democrcy has suffered -- and so has the Chinese economy. This is
only natural. People who fear for their futures aren't likely to
engage in the kinds of activities -- hard work, savings,
education, planning -- that keep an economy and a society moving.
In any event, the United States will remain engaged
economically, especially in this part of the world. The Asian-
Pacific region has become the world's economic dynamo. The
economies here continue to grow at an astonishing rate, while
enjoying impressive income equality and general prosperity. You
have lifted yourselves up. Through hard work and dedication, you
have transformed this region. Today, the United States conducts
more trade with the Asian-Pacific region than with Europe.
Our trade with Singapore has increased tenfold during the
past 16 years. We exported more to Singapore last year than to
Italy or Spain; more to Indonesia than to the whole of Eastern
Europe. And our trade with ASEAN nations now approaches our
total trade volume with Germany.
The ASEAN countries, along with other nations in the region,
initiated the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation process two years
ago. APEC offers a powerful vehicle for sustaining free, market-
based trade, for advancing the cause of regional and global trade
liberalization, and for strengthening the cohesion and
interdependence of the Asia-Pacific region.
This is important to us. Most of America's recent economic
growth has come from export industries. Each billion dollars'
worth of merchandise exports can support more than 19,000 good
8
American jobs. Each billion dollars worth of agricultural
exports can support more than 25,000 jobs.
A delegation of major American businesses -- from the
automobile industry to computer and electronics firms -- has
joined me in order to express our national commitment to free and
open trade. Our executives will learn more about trade
opportunities here, and they will also work to help our companies
compete fairly throughout the world.
But we should not think of economic development too
narrowly. An economy is nothing more than the collected work,
ingenuity and optimism of a nation. The term "economy,"
encompasses what millions of people do with their lives.
Therefore, when we talk of strengthening economies, we mean much
more than signing trade pacts. We mean building better lives for
everyone through policies that make us more competitive in the
international marketplace.
Americans understand that no nation will prosper long
without a first-rate educational system. In recent years, our
primary and secondary educational system has not kept pace with
the world. I have encouraged Americans to mount a revolution in
education, which we call the America 2000 Education Strategy.
America 2000 challenges citizens to set high standards for their
schools, and it encourages all Americans to join forces in
creating world-class schools. Meanwhile, we will continue to
strengthen our university system, the world's finest -- and the
host today to 205,000 students from Asia.
9
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the freedom to make the most of the know are]
factures
Tax cuts and deregulation in the 1980s U
hre
peacetime economic recovery in American
build on that record by seeking a dramat
I done
gains taxes. After all, most of our cor
taxes on capital gains. Some, like Singapore, don't tax capital
gains at all. We must create a climate conducive to risk, to
innovation, to the bold exploration of new technologies and ideas
-- and we will.
The nations of the world want to enjoy the blessings of
growth without destroying our environment. Yet we must struggle
to protect that environment without denying poorer nations the
opportunity to develop as they wish. We must understand that
regulations designed to protect the environment sometimes can
strangle economies and hamper our efforts to develop technologies
The us has expertise and technol-
that would make our habitat even cleaner. agy to bring to bear in the fast
growing economies of this region. In partnership with the region, 710, the us trade Development
Politicians sometimes flatter themselves by pretending that
program and The overseas Private Insurance Corporation and our EXIM bank have
they can regulate troublesome problems out of existence. Too
developed a creative approach to address the region's environmental concerns while
often, however, those well-meaning efforts merely stall progress
promoting the exput of us equipment and technology. This will be good for Asia's environment
toward real and lasting solutions. Together, we all must work to
and good for American jobs
discover the boundaries of prudent regulation -- and the best way
to cultivate new jobs, new development, new economic growth.
Above all, I believe in open and fair trade. Nations can
achieve astonishing levels of prosperity when they submit
themselves to the bracing competition of the marketplace. While
10
many countries maintain trade barriers for cultural or political
reasons, those barriers make no more sense than the wall that
once divided the city of Berlin.
The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade will play a
crucial role in expanding freedom's frontiers. A successful
conclusion to the Uruguay Round can prepare the way for even
greater trade liberalization in years to come -- and greater
prosperity for everyone.
GATT ensures that the world will continue moving toward
broad economic integration -- and not toward trade blocs. We in
the United States have no desire to break into trade factions.
There's a huge difference between a free trade zone -- an oasis
of free trade -- and a trade bloc that attempts to hold the rest
of the world at bay. We resolutely oppose efforts to create
economic "fortresses" -- anywhere.
On the other hand, we wholeheartedly endorse free-trade
agreements. Our North American Free Trade Agreement will beckon
all nations to make the best of the resources and opportunities
that the United States, Canada and Mexico have to offer. And we
support efforts to build free trade agreements elswhere.
Consider your own experience. A regime of free trade has
enabled Singapore to become one of the Four Tigers of Asia, and
one of the fastest developing nations on earth. When other
nations' economies falter, you suffer. The worldwide economic
slowdown has slowed your rate of economic growth this year --
although most nations would be overjoyed to settle for six-
11
percent growth. Singapore has one of the most open economies on
earth, and I appreciate Singapore's leadership in pressing for
even greater market freedom around the world.
Together, nations committed to democracy and free markets
have brought the world to the brink of a new era, one that
promises unprecedented freedom from violence and deprivation.
But we can achieve that future only if we work together to create
it. This world will not simply happen: It will require hard
work, tough negotiation, sacrifice, and the courage of our
convictions.
Yet if we cast our lot with the forces of enlightment over
the counsels of defeatism and ignorance; if we cast our lot with
the forces of freedom; we will build a better world. We will
build a world bound by common interests and goals; a world united
in its determination to avoid depression and global war.
I know I have covered an enormous amount of ground in my
talk. So let me describe in concrete terms what the United
States seeks -- in its own interests -- from the new world we
will build.
Americans want a world at peace, one in which no American
will have to shed blood for the ideals we all share. Americans
want to maintain a vigorous security presence in order to prevent
despots from fomenting war, and to stall tyrants who want to roll
back the triumphs of freedom and democracy.
Americans want to live in a world enriched and enlightened
by international trade -- in goods, in ideas, in cultures, and in
12
dreams for the future. We want to live in a world made better by
the geniuses and achievements of every culture.
Americans want the opportunity to compete aggressively in
the international marketplace. Workers in Seattle and Seacaucus
want the chance to compete for business in Singapore and beyond.
At the same time American consumers want access to the best goods
and services that your companies have to offer.
Americans want a world united and enlivened by free trade
and fair trade; by a universal commitment to individual liberty,
political pluralism, and greater individual prosperity and
personal fulfillment.
Since 1784, when the Empress of China sailed for Canton from
New York, the United States has tried to build strong ties of
commerce with Asia, while working to prevent hegemonic powers
from stalling freedom's progress. We remain committed to that
vision.
Together, the United States and its Asian-Pacific allies can
build a world filled with economic tigers -- nations growing
rapidly; pioneering new intellectual, commercial and cultural
terrain; spreading the blessings of liberty, democracy and free
markets. My trip through Asia this week marks a start: The next
step is up to us all.
Thank you again. May God bless you and the United States of
America.
#
#
#
#
Aquarter century of
Senior Minister Lee, not only Singaporeans but the people of
my country and all the peoples of the free world owe you a debt
of gratitude. Three decades ago you led this little island with
its cultural and ethnic diversity and its limited physical
resources to independence. Then through your vision and your
force of intellect and will, you forged Singapores into a great
nationhood.
early days
During the infancy of independent Singapore, you stood
courageously in life-or-death struggle against the Communists --
and you prevailed. You have led your nation and your region in
attaining peace, prosperity and social progress. For generations
to come free peoples will venerate Lee Kwan Yew and his
achievements.
honor the name of
Prime Minister Goh, I salute you for your wisdom and your
vigor in carrying Singapore forward on its path to the future. I
pledge America's steadfast friendship as you lead Singapore in
facing the challenges of the coming generation.