: Good morning. Well, it's been a big 24 hours. A day ago, some of you were with me at Uluru in Central Australia. And now here we are in Malaysia for the ASEAN Summit, including of course, the East Asia Summit that will be conducted this afternoon. Southeast Asia is one of the fastest growing regions in the world. And one of the things that I spoke about this morning was that Australia used to speak about the tyranny of distance from our markets in the United Kingdom, in the United States and in Europe. Now we speak about the proximity of opportunity. And that is what Southeast Asia represents for us. That is what living right near the fastest growing region of the world in human history represent for us. An opportunity to grow jobs, to grow our economy, to diversify our markets and our trade to succeed in Australia, which is the basis of why I am here. ASEAN alone represents nearly 700 million people and by 2040 it will be the fourth largest economy in the world. We're working to be not just neighbours or observers, but participants and investors here in the region.
And this morning we announced two major investments under the Southeast Asia Investment Financing Facility. This is something that arose from Nicholas Moore's landmark report that we launched in 2023. It's one of the first things I did upon coming to government, was to commission Nicholas Moore, a very successful Australian businessperson who devoted his time and his commitment to nation building to engage with the economies of Southeast Asia and identify where opportunities were of expanding our economic relationship in order to boost jobs and economic activity in Australia, but also to integrate more fully our economy with Southeast Asia. Because economic relationships and people to people dynamics also boost national security and engagement in the region. Today, we announced $175 million in IFM Investors' Asia Pacific debt fund. IFM, of course, represent at least 15 superannuation companies. What that will do is provide that pool of funding for investment here in Southeast Asia. And $50 million US in Plenary's new Southeast Asia Public Private Partnership Investment Fund - together, these investments represent a major step forward in my government's delivery on that Southeast Asia Economic Strategy. It's a quarter of a billion dollars to kick start Australian investments in the region, support the growth of Australian companies and deliver jobs back home.
In addition to that, last night I had the opportunity to meet Japan's new Prime Minister Takaichi for the very first time. We had a very warm first engagement and it was terrific to be one of the first international leaders to meet the new Prime Minister, the first woman to be Prime Minister of Japan. And of course, Japan is such an important relationship for us. We engage in defence and security issues, but importantly as an economic partner, we're a reliable supplier of energy for Japan. Japan, of course, has recently with the Mogami frigates as well, is where we will source them and then manufacture in Western Australia as that relationship goes forward.
This morning I met with China's Premier Li. Not our first meeting, indeed our seventh meeting. That says something about the engagement which is there. Once again, it was a positive meeting. Dialogue is about advancing our interests, managing our differences, but also dealing with each other in a frank and clear way. China is our largest trading partner. One in four of Australian jobs depends upon trade. And China represents almost around about 30 per cent of the destination of our exports. So, this is a relationship that has improved, that is stabilising. It's a relationship that's important for Australian jobs. It's as simple as that. I've said repeatedly we must cooperate where we can, disagree where we must, but engage in our national interest. And that's the spirit in which we entered the discussion today.
Later today I will attend an event shortly. The next event I attend will be to welcome Timor Leste's ascension into full ASEAN membership. We welcome this. Timor Leste is an important relationship for Australia, they're a near neighbour, and I very much congratulate them on their joining the ASEAN Group of Nations as well. So, the next period is going to be very busy. We have a dinner tonight that is hosted, of course, by the Malaysian Prime Minister, who welcomed me here this morning. I have other bilaterals with a range of nations, but last night as well, I was able to engage informally with the leaders of Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, Laos and other nations as well, just to reinforce the work that we're doing on engaging in our region.
Happy to take some questions.
JOURNALIST: [INDISTINCT] did you raise the flaring over the South China Sea directly?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes.
JOURNALIST: What did you say?
PRIME MINISTER: Yes, I raised it.
JOURNALIST: You call him friend. How do you marry calling the Premier Li 'friend' when China is firing flares at Australian RAAF aircraft?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, we have disagreements and friends are able to discuss issues frankly. I did that. I did that directly. That's what we're able to do. It's important that we engage and that we engage diplomatically, that we make clear our position, which I did directly, which we did when the incident occurred.
JOURNALIST: How did the Premier respond?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, he heard the message very directly. I'm not here to report in on what people say when I have meetings. I'm accountable for what I say. And I made the position directly clear that this was an incident of concern for Australia.
JOURNALIST: You've said that Xi Jinping has given you no reason not to trust him. When there is an incident which is dangerous and unprofessional, as your government says, with this flare, is that not such a reason or does it make it harder to trust the President?
PRIME MINISTER: No, that's a nation-to-nation issue which we raised very directly. What I've said very clearly in that context, very clearly and explicitly, is that anything that President Xi has said to me has occurred. And that is just a fact. That's how you deal with these things. This is engagement internationally. I engage very directly. I'm a straight guy. I talk to leaders the way that I talk to the Australian straight, clear, unambiguously, but also in a positive way. And so that where there are differences, I talk about that, but always bearing in mind what is in Australia's national interest. And clearly it is in Australia's national interest to have relations with nations in our region.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, you've met with the Japanese leader. So too will Donald Trump while he's in the area. Narendra Modi hasn't come to the meeting. We're getting to November. It really looks from a practical standpoint that there won't be a Quad this year, a Quad leaders meeting. And many judge that with Donald Trump in power, there won't be a Quad. What's your judgement today on the future of the Quad, and won't it be a great disappointment if it disappears?
PRIME MINISTER: The Quad is an important forum and an important vehicle for us to engage Australia, the United States, Japan and India. I'm hopeful that there will be a meeting in the first quarter, I would hope, of next year. Prime Minister Modi is due to host the Quad meeting. This is a busy summit season. President Trump has a busy period. He is travelling to Japan, but also having the meeting in Korea with President Xi. We welcome the fact that the leaders of the two largest economies in the world are having that direct engagement.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, have you been briefed, PM, on the two US aircraft that have gone down in the South China Sea. And they're not blaming anyone at the moment. But does it add to your level of concern about a possible catastrophe if there's a miscalculation or something of that sort?
PRIME MINISTER: I have been briefed. And the positive news that I've received in my briefing, obviously, these are developing issues, is that the crew on both the helicopter and the aircraft are safe. There hasn't been a loss of life and that is a very positive thing that has occurred. Obviously, the US will undertake the investigations as occurs when issues arise from the military. I have been briefed but it will be up to the United States, obviously, to make statements about that.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, did Premier Li raise any concerns with you about Australia's critical minerals cooperation with the US?
PRIME MINISTER: We talked about the relationship with the US. I clearly have indicated the success of my visit to the United States, and we talked in a common way about that it was a good thing that President Trump and President Xi are having a meeting over the next little period.
JOURNALIST: You were just talking about the importance of ASEAN and the promise of ASEAN, but I understand you're cutting your visit here short by one day. Can you just explain what you're leaving out of your trip here and what you're going to get out of the extra day in Korea?
PRIME MINISTER: I'm not leaving out anything. Our program has been truncated. Because I note that the journalists who are here, as I said on the plane, aren't the same as the journalists who were there on the trip to the United States. And as I say to my friends and colleagues here, just try and keep up with me. It's a busy period. And we are engaged with Prime Minister Anwar as well. We will have our bilateral tomorrow afternoon rather than Wednesday morning. It will enable me to be in Korea in time for the dinner, which is Wednesday night. Programmes at events like this change. That's what happens. President Prabowo was going to be there today. It was unable to be so. So, a Minister stepped in. I don't have other Ministers here. I'm doing the lot. And as I say, just try and keep up.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister, did the Chinese Premier, on critical minerals, sort of express a sentiment that he wants the status quo to remain, that he doesn't potentially welcome Australia shaking up the market? And on the Quad, did you speak with President Trump in DC about the Quad directly, and what do you think is his view on the regional grouping?
PRIME MINISTER: Well, the Quad, I refer previous comments that I've made about the Quad. It is important. It's a busy period. You can only be in one place at one time, although sometimes I think that I managed to almost be in two places at once, if you look at my schedule over the last little period. So, we will try to, I think it's important that we engage with regard to the issue of the United States. And the agreement that we made with the United States is a very positive one for investment as we go forward. It's a really good outcome that we had in the United States because these critical minerals and rare earths are what will power the global economy in the 21st century.
I will see you all at a number of events over the coming little period, but thank you to the journalists as well who've made the effort to come, and for locally based journalists as well. Thanks for engaging with us while we're here. Thanks very much.
