 Your Excellencies ladies and gentlemen welcome to the Banyan Tree Leadership Forum at CSIS. Thank you for joining us for this important presentation today My name is Ernie Bauer. I'm the senior advisor and director of the Southeast Asia program here as well as our brand new Pacific partners initiative. I Lead that program with my colleague Dr. Mike Green and it's the first program at a major Washington, DC think tank Focused exclusively on Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Island countries We're honored to have on hand one of the people who inspired us to initiate that new program here as our honored speaker today Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia in the Pacific Kurt Campbell Kurt. Thanks for joining us We're lucky to have Kurt with us today He's leaving for Auckland, New Zealand to help the largest to help lead the largest ever United States delegation to the Pacific Islands Forum And I hope as a fellow rugby player and avid fan that he's got a ticket for the all blacks Tonga game that kicks off the 2011 Rugby World Cup in Auckland this Friday Kurt has been a leader as you know of US policy In Southeast Asia and Asia in the Asia Pacific generally during his tenure at the State Department His strategic thinking coupled with his intense commitment and high energy Have combined to deliver impressive results His leadership on a proactive and engaged US foreign policy is well known both here in the United States in the United States And certainly across Asia, and I think you'll agree that Kurt's actions Speak louder than any words I could use to introduce him today. So without further ado, I'd like you to join me in welcoming our guest speaker today the Honourable Kurt Campbell Thank you very much Ernie, and it's great to see so many friends in the audience and very grateful to be back at CSIS I want to say how pleased we are that this program is underway the work that Ernie that John Hamery That my green and others have done to advance not only our thinking and understanding of the developments in Asia But particularly the work on Southeast Asia and now on the Pacific and Australia New Zealand. I think helps complement the concept of a totality in terms of our comprehensive approach to the Asian Pacific region in which countries like India Even in Latin America are playing a larger role in this dynamic region today I'm here to talk to you about the Pacific and one of the things that you find when you talk about the Asia Pacific Many friends in the Pacific will tell you that in that Shorthand it is the second word that gets short shrift that there is enormous focus on Asia, but not enough focus on the Pacific and One of the things that we have tried to do over the course of the last few years is do a comprehensive assessment almost an accounting of where we stand in the Asian Pacific region in the Pacific and Think about what we need to do in terms of going forward. I had the great good fortune in the summer of traveling on a Multi-agency trip throughout the Pacific in which we hit ten islands in about a week and a half Led by Admiral Walsh our very able sink-pack fleet, but also with friends from USAID and the Department of Defense as well I think it would be fair to say that what we have found over the course of the last couple of years is a two-fold Set of truths one is the United States continues to have enduring strategic political Moral interests in the Pacific they date back to before The Second World War and they will continue and they endure I think the second thing that at least I have discovered personally is a general Disappointment with the lack of performance on the part of the United States and indeed other countries in terms of implementing our overall game plan in The Pacific and a deep recognition that we need to do better and we need to better work together in terms of Ensuring greater coordination on a variety of issues But also reflect more honestly about what some of the nature of the challenges are that we are facing in the Pacific as a whole So what I thought I would do is give you kind of our overall assessment of what we find as we look at the Pacific and then try to Give you a glimpse of what our strategy is going forward what we want to achieve What we think some of the inhibitions are of success some of the challenges that we face and sort of the overall Recognition of some of the limitations both in terms of resources and also obviously an extraordinarily full foreign policy National security Agenda so I think we began if you look over the course of the last 20 years a fairly dramatic scene-setter Reduction in US assistance cutting back on our diplomatic outposts in the Pacific Consolidation around a couple of key islands challenges in terms of Democracy and the stability of Governments in the Pacific if you look at the Pacific many respects the the the hinge the the overall transportation Economic links Basically are built around Fiji with the developments and Fiji has made it very difficult to do the kind of Consequential coordination that we would like to see I think we've also seen a Lack of coordination among some of the key countries who have interests in in the Pacific clearly The Pacific is in the backyard of Australia in New Zealand I think it would be fair to say until recently we had not done enough coordination with our allies and friends And we had not done enough to support them in their important endeavors in the Pacific But it does not end there obviously Japan China Taiwan the EU the international finance financial institutions the multilateral development banks all have Extraordinarily developed programs in the Pacific and in fact if you look at the Pacific and its challenges enormous poverty Extraordinarily acute health challenges a number of problems associated with the environment If you if you think about climate change the Pacific really is the canary in the coal mine If you travel to the Pacific particularly low-lying atolls it is Immediately recognizable some of the effects on their lives and livelihoods One of the things that we have seen generally is that compared to other very challenged places around the globe The Pacific actually has a Remarkably high level of assistance that is coming in either directly from the United States government Some of our monies go through a different mechanism what are called our Compacts with countries that we have enduring security and political relations Given our relationship in quadriland and Micronesia and the like but also from all these various different Countries all of which have bilateral interests in the Pacific as a whole so we see an environment of just enormous Challenges spanning every aspect of life energy costs are higher in the Pacific than almost any place on the planet at the same time remarkably little systematic use of recyclable And other energy technologies Health problems, which are acute which have led many Islanders to leave their homes to seek treatment elsewhere a set of challenges associated with Braindrain that are immediately recognizable from any country in Africa or throughout the third world And so as we as we scan that environment one of the things that was also clear on this most recent trip It is that if you go to any of the capital buildings more Recent Structures you will see black and white pictures of earlier periods of American and other engagement in which we had remarkably more resources to bring to bear But at the same time it is possible to glimpse shall we say the the The legacy sometimes rotting in harbors Over a period of 30 or 40 years there have been several efforts to try to bring new patrol boats for instance To the Pacific this is the largest oceanic domain on the planet Millions of miles some of the most important areas with regard to fisheries Some of these fisheries are still Relatively pristine they are in They're at risk. They're at risk of being overfished due to Large trawlers coming in illegally into into coastal waters We have seen a variety of major projects That frankly over the course of the last 30 40 years have failed for a variety of reasons And so when we took stock we tried to think carefully about how you use Scarce resources, how can you be effective given the nature of the challenges that we're facing? And how can we build on our strengths by an order of magnitude? We are still the most important security player in the Asian Pacific region in terms of our Our Navy and our Air Force and also the role of our Coast Guard that plays a remarkably an innovative Role in the Pacific as a whole so our overall game plan is Is Along these lines first we sought to really learn from the past To look carefully at what we had done in the past see where had it had been effective But also recognize that there have been many failed attempts Both in terms of improving health indicators But also in terms of for instance maritime domain awareness and the ability for these very small island nations to patrol Vast areas of water so how to think constructively about again limited resources Enormous challenges. I think the first thing that we recognized was a need for a substantial institutional Engagement across a range of both bilateral and multilateral arenas the first was a decision that Raj Shah and Secretary Clinton made To reintroduce us a ID back to the Pacific now you could say well, that's a modest thing But it's enormously important to our friends in the Pacific and it is important all the more so Given the fact that we are under enormous budget Challenges the fact that with the support of key players on Capitol Hill There has been a consequential decision to go back to the Pacific and to focus carefully on a range of issues focused on a couple of key areas climate change The role of women and girls and of course some enduring enduring problems On the health agenda going forward and so we're proud of that. It's a modest first step but again within the larger backdrop of Substantial cuts. I hope friends understand The important nature of this and what we have found is how many countries particularly Australia New Zealand and other friends in Asia have said how much they want to coordinate and cooperate with us And so our goal is to work with other nations other like-minded and other countries to ensure that our Assistance is better coordinated going forward. So that's the first part of what we might call institutional re-engagement The second is that the Pacific also has a range of Institutions the most important of which is called the Pacific Island Forum One of things I did not mention mention at the outset is that what's also immediately Available to anyone who spends time in the Pacific is the enormous Differences across these islands different cultures languages different approaches and so they resist and Frankly somewhat resent the sense that they are Thought of as just being all alike as Pacific Island nations And so we've sought as we engage in Institutions like the Pacific Island Forum to work not only as part of a larger group But also have important bilateral interactions particularly with the Key Island nations As Ernie was gracious enough to indicate actually as I leave this afternoon I'll be going as part of Deputy Secretary Nides's largest delegation ever on the part of the United States to the Pacific Island Forum We'll send about 40 people there from almost every important agency the State Department the Coast Guard the Department of Defense US forces USAID Interior Department Virtually every the White House virtually every agency inside the US government that has a role in How to think about the Pacific will be sending senior representatives and we will all be Under Deputy Secretary Nides's leadership and I look forward to helping represent the United States as part of this very substantial delegation I just want to underscore here what what the contrast is six years ago during the Pacific Island Forum We had two people there. All right, and so this is really a Determination to suggest that we want to bring more resources to bear, but more importantly we want to coordinate Inside our government the other issue that we found as we went through the Pacific is that we just discovered Programs and other initiatives that we had no idea were underway, right? And so when we talk about the Pacific as a whole we think one of the most important things that could be done is A greater degree of what we might call donor or assistance coordination When we think about that our first way of thinking about it is along the lines of making sure that countries like China and Taiwan and Japan and France and the EU and Australia and New Zealand the United States are coordinated More effectively together that is absolutely essential and one of the things that Kevin Rudd did in Karn Cons I always pronounce that incorrectly apologize three years ago was to put in place an initiative Which is designed to improve our overall coordination, but that's not enough We actually need to be able to be more effectively coordinated within our own government to actually Understand what these disparate programs do and what they're responsible for fact of the matter is unlike many places around the world The Interior Department is responsible for much of what we do in the Pacific not the Department of State And so what we've sought to do over the course of the last couple of years is improve our coordination and understanding of what each of our institutions do in the Pacific as a whole and so we think that there is Enormous potential at this is not one of those places where there is a substantial gap in resources In fact, if you look at the collective whole it is extraordinarily substantial The challenge is a better degree of coordination and that coordination has been remarkably difficult Ironically not only within our government, but with other Governments as a whole, but we've seen some progress in recent in the recent period We've also been struck frankly as you travel through the Pacific there are new Indicators of changes in the sort of geopolitical context in almost every Capital there are large new buildings many of the in stadiums mean many of them built either by China or Taiwan Over the course of the last several years more recently almost all by China What's striking is that they all not only indicate China's interest In the Pacific which we support and we recognize that this is a natural thing and in fact We welcome a closer dialogue with China on the Pacific and we want to work with Chinese friends in this regard But we have to think carefully about how we use again scarce resources in one or two of the island nations that we went to We saw magnificent buildings that literally local governments are unable to cool in the summer period or heat when necessary because the The electricity costs energy costs are so high So what we're seeking is a more comprehensive dialogue with the key donor nations about Basically designing approaches that are more relevant and sustainable to Given some of the challenges that we're facing in the Pacific as a whole When we are in When we are in Auckland we will have detailed discussions with virtually every country including China we'll have discussions with our friends in Taiwan with India with Japan with virtually every country who Have strategic interest in the Pacific as a whole the other thing that you will see that we think is Basically a continuation of the past But we want to put an exclamation point on it is there is a recognition that profoundly and deeply this is in Australia New Zealand's backyard Australia New Zealand have been remarkably supportive of us in areas where we Have asked for assistance. This is an area in which their knowledge their proximity mean that they have real Powerful national security and national political interests And so we are seeking to coordinate more closely and frankly to support Australia and New Zealand more on a range of issues through the Pacific and one of things that we have sought to do is to take really very clear and demonstrable steps to improve our Dialogue and coordination on these matters for the United States sake We give very substantial resources as part of our compacts to a number of islands in the Pacific And I think one of the most important things in this current budget season and with this very Intense scrutiny is we need to ensure that those resources are spent and used wisely And we are working closely with governments and also with friends in Capitol Hill Senator Inouye has been an enormous supporter of our Approach to the Pacific but the what we have seen in recent Years is substantial Out migration from some of these islands to the to the Hawaiian Islands And it's put an enormous burden on the infrastructure there and we need to think carefully about what can be done So that that we can maintain a Pacific in the balance as a whole I think there's also a recognition recognition that with scarce resources, but the new Potential uses of technology that the Pacific frankly is ripe for innovation One of the most innovative things that we've seen that was implemented by the Coast Guard and come up with by a Very junior person is this idea of what is called the ship rider agreement, which is if a National law enforcement national from a particular island nation is riding on an American ship Either Coast Guard or Navy then if we Come across In illegal Fisher fishermen then then that We will be able to work under a legal framework to take appropriate steps to put in place You know legal consequences fines and the like that has Enabled us to work much more closely with the range of the island nations to improve Our ability to patrol these vast areas of space We're also working Again using technology developed elsewhere in the Gulf To improve maritime domain awareness. It is no longer feasible to have Large navies in these small island nations what we need is a much greater sense of where the challenges are so you can vector Small numbers of ships and resources to particular places where you think there might be illegal fishing or Problems associated with transshipment of people you name it some of the things that we Send we we see in the Pacific region as a as a whole We also want to look very carefully at what I would call targeted initiatives. We've made clear To Chinese friends that we want to highlight areas where the United States and China are seen to be working closely together We recognize that when we talk about building trust you have to build it piece by piece together And so that requires the United States and China to identify clear areas whether it's energy efficiency or mangrove planting where our two countries can be seen To work together for a greater good in terms of the well-being of the lives of the people of the Pacific as a whole We want to take consequential steps over the course of the next few months To demonstrate our desire to secure the tuna treaty the tuna treaty has been one of the most important Treaties that helps regulate really what is the last healthy? pod of tuna in the world and it is at some risk now We want to communicate very very clearly to the signatories the strong American commitment To see that remain in force and I want it to be clear And we'll make it clear when we're in Auckland of our strong determination to take necessary steps and we want a Reciprocal approach from some of the key countries who are involved in this overall effort There are a number of places as you thought you fly through the Pacific and I'll just give you this contrast if you if you wouldn't mind All of you or many of you have been to Europe and have gone to these wonderfully pristine World War II battlefields these you know Manicured lawns remember the opening scene of of saving private Ryan just just you know in which everything is perfect You know wonderful marble columns depicting how various columns and pincers movements played out You fly through the Pacific and what you are struck with is is if Unbelievable carnage and killing and then what was done people got on planes and boats and left you can find Rusted tanks in almost every place where wars were fought during the Second World War unexploded ordinance enormously chilling reminders of war when we were on When we were visiting Tarawa Beach Again, one of the greatest scenes of heroism in our history To see it you know covered in in garbage and not tended to in the way Frankly we should it was heartbreaking, but at the same time when we asked our friends Do you ever find unexploded ordinance? I think that was mistaken by our our host Can you find us some unexploded ordinance and within about five minutes? They brought shells and we're like just just put them down. We'll move away, but we have found some resources we want to work with our friends in the Pacific and Other countries to put back in place some unexploded ordinance initiatives that will assist every year There are tragedies associated with this and we think this is an important Legacy issue that the United States has to be engaged with we're looking closely at At the Peace Corps the Peace Corps has substantially downgraded its capabilities and its resources in the Pacific But we think we have some opportunities here Every place we go every place we went in the Pacific the leaders of every one of these island nations would say first of all Cannot tell how much we appreciate the Peace Corps for those countries that still had programs and for those countries that no longer had them The first question was that is there anything that we can do to get them back? Clearly Intensity of storms due to climate change and other things are picking up We need to work more closely with a variety of countries on disaster relief Not just what we do once they happen, but preparing in advance This will be a subject of some of our discussions in Auckland over the course of the next couple of days and also Obviously taking whatever steps possible to deal with this remarkable set of challenges associated with energy again More sunlight than basically anywhere else on the planet Less use of renewable energy than almost any other place on the planet. So the challenges are stark they are Troublesome But we believe fundamentally that that a continued effort on the part of the United States Working closely with friends and others who share an interest in the Pacific that we can make a difference the key here Also, and I'd like to conclude with this is that look we're in a very difficult period Domestically lots of fighting about a lot of issues But one of the things that we can be grateful for over a period of decades is that we've had a relative commitment to bipartisanship In terms of what we've done in Asia and the Pacific I'm joined here by a very dear Finn Torkel Patterson when he was in government there was nothing more I like to do than to support him same with Mike Green what we need to do is to sustain That overall commitment to so no matter who the baton is handed to in the future That there is a recognition that these issues are profoundly deeply in the national security Political moral and strategic interests of the United States. I recognize that I've skipped over a lot of things But I want to leave time for questions. Thank you all for coming and I'll look forward to reporting back Through Ernie and others what we what we accomplished when we're out in Auckland. I think I'll take my questions from there That's all. Thank you very much. Thank you very much Thank you very much Kurt really appreciate that tour of US strategy in the Pacific Appreciate you're taking some questions. Let me just remind everyone we welcome your questions, but please Identify yourself and your Affiliation when you do so, I think I'll stand up so I don't leave these guys out first question right here You will not will say haja money, but we are firmly safeguarded its national core interests So I wonder whether you have any comments. I Haven't had a chance yet. I look forward to reading the white paper actually on the long flights over I will say generally speaking that I think that Our administration previous administrations have made very clear that it is in the strategic interest of both of our countries to maintain strong healthy relations we want to see a China that plays a Strong positive role in global politics. I think we welcome deeper engagement on a range of issues political security Economic as a whole. I think it is also the case that particularly with respect to security issues We seek to step up the dialogue between our two sides and also We believe that a degree of transparency is a healthy thing in terms of Reassuring and communicating clearly Intentions and aspirations, but overall I think we're pleased with the progress in US-China relations And we welcome the publication of this document. We go over here to Stanley wrong Polynesia Polynesia and New Caledonia an issue in terms of how the other islands view us policy Thank You Stanley, and I appreciate very much the question and the the reference In almost every place that we went that I've gone in the Pacific The issue of the colonial role of not of France, but other countries does come up We've had good discussions with French friends about various aspects of our engagement in the Pacific I think these issues are less complicated now because of the Different set of priorities taken by a succession of French governments on nuclear matters And we look forward to consultations with them for instance when we sit down over the course of the next couple dates in Auckland In the back gentlemen here Riley Sice and the Australian National University. Thank You Kurt. I think there's a very welcome Development and thanks to CSIS as well for their related focus on the Pacific which is well overdue My question is how realistic is the idea of development cooperation with nations like China? Amongst others given that as you alluded to a lot of the Chinese aid in the Pacific is is really not developmental in nature It's prestige projects, and it has a strategic dimension Of course the copper the competition with Taiwan is another big issue So, you know the idea that you will cooperate with China sounds sounds Terrific There's also the basic problem that for a lot of Pacific governments the having a range of donors Competing with each other has has been very useful over the years because they've got a lot of money out of it So could you address that issue? Well first of all, thank you very much for the question Let me say that if you look at almost every area of Success in which the international community has been Consequentially engaged in either a development or an assistance project. You see a high degree of coordination and integration That coordination integration is generally absent in the Pacific and so I believe that ultimately It is in the best interest of the Pacific peoples of their governments and of the donors as a whole to work more comprehensively together on sector approaches on Looking carefully at what's worked and what has not worked and also a recognition that you know prestige projects and the like only Goes so far There are a number of areas where the United States and China have been able to work together in Southeast Asia and Elsewhere and I have high confidence that if we take this in a sustained and committed way that working and it Won't be just with China. It will be with Japan with South Korea that we will be able to find areas that we can work together And that we can demonstrate success And and I believe at a fundamental level that that there is much basis for For coordination and I don't believe that there is that much frankly to compete over Overall, there are a few islands that have some substantial resources But basically what you have in the Pacific is a series of very difficult and practical problems that sometimes Newcomers to the region find out sooner or later. So it's up to us to see how we can work together To bring again limited resources in a way that that are designed for the betterment of the people and frankly There is a lot of waste and there is a lot of misuse that with a more effective approach I think with that that we can at least improve Thank you. John San with CTI TV of Taiwan. Mr. Secretary, I have an issue you may find very hard to work with China could you Update us on the deliberation or decision on F-16 sales to Taiwan the clock is is clicking and The deadline October 1st deadline said by Secretary Clinton is fast approaching. Thank you Thank you for your question I think as you well know and you probably can repeat my line directly back to me the United States has a National interest in maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. We take those interests very seriously we are committed to Taiwan's defense and we support The Taiwan Relations Act and We frankly have been very pleased by the positive developments that we've seen over the course of the last Few years across the Taiwan Strait. We'd like that to continue on specifics. I'm afraid I can't Provide anything further, but thanks for the question Thank you from Voice of America About the democratization process in the Asia Pacific region. We have that US special envoy Mr. Derek Misha is on the way to Obama and Do you expect that it can deliver the message to the army's government to better time with the United States? Or and any how do you assess that? Development inside Obama that you visited last year First of all, thank you very much again for the question It's a little further afield from the Pacific, but I'll but I'll take this on first of all very grateful that Derek Mitchell has the chance to travel. This is his first visit as our special envoy for for Burma We're looking forward to his deliberations inside country and frankly I'm just as anxious as you are to see what his reports are as he emerges from his meetings I believe he'll be having Consequential interactions with both members of the government and also on song sushi and also representatives from the ethnic groups I don't think I'd like to characterize any further. I'd like to frankly hear what Derek has to say. I will say that we have seen some steps in the last A few days that We intend to explore Thank you. Well, thank you secretary Tiger John from the Stimson Center. I have two short questions. Our first one is the What do you see the strategic relationship between the systematic? Re-engagement with the Pacific and the US re-engagement with Southeast Asia in terms of the US general policy towards Asia and the second question is given the budget cut and bipolar Fight in the Congress. What kind of hurdles or struggles? Do you expect in their support for future programs, especially USAID? Thank you. Thank you very much the excellent questions I I would say One of the things that I am finding As I as I you know consult and talk with friends on Capitol Hill and also allies is I think there is a welcome recognition that our future and Frankly much of the history of the 21st century is going to be written in the Asian Pacific region and the United States has an Incredibly important role to play in that and I think one of the great challenges of American foreign policy and national security is How we carefully and responsibly? Rebalance Tom Donnellan her national security advisor has talked about rebalancing We have enduring security interests political interests in Europe and particularly the Middle East But clearly we will need a deeper more sustained engagement not just bilaterally not just with new Friends like Indonesia in India a strong dialogue with China But one of things that we have not talked about which is really a commitment to institutions in Asia and Pacific That's the reason that we talked about the Pacific Island forum in November And I expect Ernie and CSIS will have a session about this later. The United States as you know We'll be Joining the East Asia summit for the first time. We will be holding another of our series of us ASEAN summits This is will be our third in the last few years There are a number of consequential steps that we want to take within these Multilateral frameworks with the recognition that if Asia is to play its role it needs stronger institutions with deeper roots and the United States wants to support that and See what's possible over the course the next few years with the recognition that this process will take a substantial period of time But just to conclude where you began I believe that there will be a strong bipartisan commitment To a stronger US presence in the Asian Pacific region and I am Quite I believe in that and I'm intent on on seeing that come to pass Who is Phoenix TV? Hi my question is it was reported us in the end Japan are going to have a trilateral meeting next month and you will Be the leader of the delegation for the US Could you please confirm this report and what is your Assessment and how significance is the trilateral relation among us Japan India? Well, well Let me just answer the question more generally So I would say that obviously at the at the heart of our relationship Are our bilateral security ties and we have sought to follow on the strong work that President Bush Presidents before him have done to keep those relationships the center the core of what we've Sought to do in addition as I indicated these more formal multilateral engagements Recharging a pack the East Asia East Asia summit extraordinarily important One of the other things that again have we've seen over the course of the last few years Is the rise of what one might describe as many lateralism smaller? ad hoc groupings of nations that are designed to tackle particular problems or to increase Dialogue or consultations. So for instance when we were in Bali We had a very consequential meeting between the United States Japan and South Korea We want to actually establish a secretariat that will help Support the recurring Preparation for those sessions and we've sought other sorts of trilateral engagements and other larger scale efforts It is our larger goal to do what we can to draw Indian more into the Asia Pacific region To get them to have successful engagements in multilateral for to play An important role in the trade strategic economic Interactions in the region as a whole and to work more closely in the diplomatic context I'm not going to comment directly About the specifics, but we have said that we want to improve coordination between Japan the United States and India I will conclude by saying on this issue that we have had very detailed discussions With Chinese friends about their involvement in a number of these institutions and we've given them a number of proposals We'd like very much for Chinese friends to engage in some of these settings because we think that they will help build trust and confidence We think that they will help us to Tackle common problems transnational challenges and the like and we think that they send an important message of reassurance In a region that is looking to see that the United States and China understand Our responsibilities in terms of demonstrating an ability to work together on important problems Take one last question Thank you secretary. I'm gaining with voice of Vietnamese Americans Would you Comment about the current posture of China in the South China Sea How would that affect your initiative in the Pacific? Thank you. I'm well Let me just edit at a general level the the way the United States thinks about Maritime related issues is obviously freedom of navigations freedom of the seas maintenance of peace and stability These are all Enduring core values in terms of how the United States sees our role as a whole I think we were pleased at the first step that was taken in advance of the ASEAN regional forum in terms of the understanding that was reached between ASEAN and China I think Secretary Clinton said it's the first step, but only a first step. We'd like to see some Consequential diplomacy that will follow on from that Hopefully improve trust and confidence in the South China Sea there's a recognition that these issues must be handled carefully and That by some measures, you know a third of Global commerce Places through the South China Sea. This is already An issue of deep international concern and we want All issues to be handled With a cool head and a strong strategic sense Okay, thank you very much Kurt before I close Let me remind you and I guess this backs backs up Kurt's assertion that on Friday September 9th We'll be hosting the US Armed Services ranking member Adam Smith of Washington State Congressman Adam Smith for a policy address entitled America's commitment to Asia and he's going to be talking about how Congress views the role of our Armed services in the region and that shifting of balance that that you talked about Kurt's I hope you'll you'll all join us on on Friday Can we thank Ernie also for the great work that he and CSIS has done if we could? Well, I want to I want you to I want to ask you to join me in thanking Kurt Campbell for his His great leadership. Thank you