布什总统到曼谷和泰国访问讲话(2008-08-7)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Sawatdee khrab. (Laughter and applause.) Thank you for the warm welcome. Laura and I are delighted to be back in Bangkok. Such a beautiful city, full of gracious and hospitable people. We appreciate the warm welcome extended by His Majesty the King and Her Majesty the Queen.
I realize I’m a few days ahead of time, but I do wish Her Majesty a happy birthday. Above all, I bring America’s warmest wishes to our oldest allies in Asia — the people of Thailand. Our friendship began 175 years ago this spring, when President Andrew Jackson dispatched an envoy to Siam. Negotiations soon concluded a treaty of peace and commerce, and sealed it, curiously enough, with a lotus flower on one side and an eagle and stars on the other. Generations of close friendship followed. At one point, the Thai King offered to send elephants to America. (Laughter.) President Abraham Lincoln politely declined. (Laughter.) Yes, I was wondering whether or not we can kind of get the offer back on the table. (Laughter.) Although my ranch isn’t big enough, probably, to hold the elephants. (Laughter.)
The values of freedom and openness that gave birth to our alliance have sustained it through the centuries. American troops and Royal Thai Armed Forces have stood united from Korea and Vietnam to Afghanistan and Iraq. Our free market economies have surged forward on a rising tide of trade and investment. Tourism has boomed, as more people have discovered this beautiful and ancient land. And some 200,000 Thai Americans now enrich my nation with their enterprise, and their culture, and their faith.
On this historic anniversary of our alliance, America looks to Thailand as a leader in the region and a partner around the world. I was proud to designate Thailand a major non-NATO ally of the United States. I salute the Thai people on the restoration of democracy, which has proved that liberty and law reign here in the “Land of the Free.” In many ways, the story of Thailand is the story of this region. Over the past six decades, Asia has gone from an area mired in poverty and recovering from world war to a thriving and dynamic region. America has played a role in this transformation. By maintaining a stabilizing military presence, we helped to — we helped free emerging nations to grow without concerns about their security. By pursuing strong diplomatic engagement, we helped once-hostile nations resolve their differences in peace. By opening our markets to Asian exports, we helped powerful economies to take shape.
I’m proud of these contributions. Yet the primary source of this region’s success is the people. From South Korea to Singapore, nations pursued economic policies based upon free enterprise, free trade, and the rule of law. And the results have astounded the world. Last year, trade in goods between the United States and this side of the Pacific reached $1 trillion. And there’s striking change from the pattern of centuries — more trade now crosses the Pacific than the Atlantic.
With the rise of economic freedom has come a dramatic expansion of political liberty. Think about this: After World War II, Australia and New Zealand were the region’s only democracies. Today, the majority of Asian nations answer to their citizens. With this shift, the people of this region have defied the skeptics who claimed that “Asian values” were incompatible with liberty. Free societies emerged in largely Buddhist Thailand, largely Hindu India, largely Muslim Indonesia, largely Shinto Japan, and the largely Christian Philippines. As freedom has taken root, peace has followed. And the region has gone decades without a major war.
Some have called this transformation “the Asian Miracle.” In truth, it’s no miracle at all. It’s evidence of universal truths: The passion for liberty transcends culture and faith. Free markets unleash innovation and blaze the path to prosperity. Trusting in the natural talent and creativity of a nation’s people is the surest way to build a vibrant and hopeful society.
When I became President, I brought a conviction that America is a Pacific nation — and that our interests and ideals require stronger engagement in Asia than ever before. So over the past seven years, America has pursued four broad goals in the region: reinvigorate our alliances, forge new relationships with countries that share our values, seize new opportunities for prosperity and growth, and confront shared challenges together.
Confident and purposeful alliances are the best way to advance peace and prosperity in Asia. America has five treaty alliances in Asia. And we take them seriously, and we bolstered each one. We signed a new treaty with Australia that deepens our cooperation in defense trade. We helped the Philippines upgrade its military capabilities. We’ve strengthened security initiatives here in Thailand. We’re improving our force posture in South Korea by working to move our troops out of cities and towns and into more strategically effective positions. We’ve reinforced our close alliance with Japan by launching new missile defense initiatives, and by transforming our troop posture in a way that preserves our strong position to maintain the peace in the Pacific. All these steps were designed to reassure our allies that America will stand firmly beside them in any test we face.
I’ve also worked to develop strong personal relationships with our allies’ elected leaders. Who could ever forget the trip to Elvis’s place with Prime Minister Koizumi? (Laughter.) I certainly will never forget it. (Laughter.) I don’t think a lot of people in Memphis, Tennessee will ever forget it either. These friendships are built on a foundation of honesty and respect and shared values. And when a new occupant moves into the White House next year, America’s alliances in Asia will be the strongest they have ever been.
As America has revitalized our treaty alliances, we have forged deeper ties with other free nations in Asia. Countries that share our democratic ideals should be natural partners of the United States. Yet when I took office, our relations with many free nations in Asia were strained. For example, America has dramatically improved our ties with India — the world’s largest democracy — including historic agreement on civilian nuclear energy.
We’ve turned around our relationship with Indonesia, which is home to more Muslims than any other nation on Earth. We’ve partnered closely with Indonesia’s freely elected government to help develop the institutions of a vibrant democracy after decades of military rule. We signed a landmark agreement with Mongolia to help boost democratic development. We’ve enhanced cooperation with the thriving countries of ASEAN, which is now chaired by the great nation of Thailand. We’ve joined with free nations throughout the region to establish a new Asian Pacific Democracy Partnership — the region’s only organization whose sole focus is promoting democratic values and institutions in Asia.
Overall, America has improved our relationships with all of Asia’s major powers at the same time. Experts would have said this was impossible because of historical tensions between these nations. But something has rendered the old patterns obsolete: In an era of integrated markets and common threats, the expansion of freedom in one nation benefits all other free nations. This change marks a sharp departure from the zero-sum mentality of the past. And this change provides a clear charge for the future: Every nation in this region has a stake in ensuring that Asia continues to grow in liberty and prosperity and hope.
One of the most powerful drivers of liberty and prosperity and hope is trade. When I took office, America had free trade agreements in force with only three countries, none of them in Asia. Today we have agreements in force with 14 countries, including Australia and Singapore. We’ve concluded a promising agreement with South Korea, which I am pushing the United States Congress to pass. We’ve begun negotiating free trade agreements with Malaysia and a bilateral investment treaty with Vietnam. We look forward to resuming trade negotiations with Thailand. We’ve supported the vision of a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific, which would bring down trade barriers across this region.
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