01 October 1999
Transcript: Defense Sec. Cohen Bangkok Oct. 1 Press Conference
(Cohen: If peacekeepers attacked, they will fight back) (2810)
The United States is supporting all of the peacekeepers in East Timor,
and they should have the right to defend themselves if attacked by
pro-Indonesia militias, Secretary of State William Cohen said in an
October 1 wide-ranging press conference in Bangkok.
"We are providing support for all of the peacekeepers," Cohen said.
Replying to a question about whether the United States would support
cross-border action by Australian peacekeepers if provoked by militia
in West Timor, Cohen cautioned that "there has been some indication
that if there were any attacks coming from West Timor, that certainly
the peacekeepers would be allowed to defend themselves."
One of the most important aspects of peacekeeping, Cohen stressed, "is
to make sure there is adequate force protection. You cannot and should
not send peacekeepers into an environment where they are vulnerable to
violent attack," he said.
For that reason, Cohen added, "I believe that the peacekeepers have
shown that they will be aggressive in responding to any sort of
violent attacks upon their troops.
"I believe that is the correct reaction on their part," Cohen
emphasized.
Thailand, Cohen said, can count on the United States for help in
transporting the 1,500 troops and their equipment as part of the East
Timor peacekeeping force. Thailand, he noted, was asked by Indonesia
to take part in the peacekeeping operation.
Turning to the recent nuclear accident in Japan, Cohen said the United
States would help in whatever way it could.
Asked for his view of the U.S. role in the Asia-Pacific region in
light of the massive military display in Beijing to celebrate 50 years
of communist rule in China, Cohen said that even Beijing saw the
benefit of the American military presence in the region.
"Were we not to be actively engaged in the region," Cohen said, "there
would be a void created. Someone would move to quickly fill that void,
and there might be a great deal of competition as to who that would
be," he added.
Following is a transcript of the press conference:
(begin transcript)
Press Conference at Bangkok, Thailand
Friday, October 1, 1999
Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen
Secretary Cohen: Good morning, I have just come from a very productive
visit with Prime Minister Chuan. We reviewed the strong strategic
partnership between Thailand and the United States. A partnership
based on common values, a shared commitment to peace and stability.
Soon our militaries are going to be working together to help restore
order in East Timor, and I would like to point out that Thailand's
response to Indonesia's request to participate in INTERFET
demonstrates your commitment to regional stability and to your ASEAN
neighbor. And because of Thailand's demonstrated interests in working
to resolve disputes and maintain security, it's appropriate that
Thailand is playing a leading role in East Timor by supplying some
fifteen hundred troops and INTERFET's Deputy Commander. The United
States commitment to Thailand and to Southeast Asia is strong and
enduring in both good times and bad. We have learned from experience
that your prosperity contributes to our prosperity, and that is why
President Clinton announced a $1.7 billion assistance package to
Thailand last year. The Thai people have shown great discipline and
resilience in conquering economic problems. We've also learned that
your security contributes to our security. And that is why the United
States and Thailand and our militaries conduct more than 20 training
exercises a year. And now the United State and Thailand are working
together to design exercises to train peacekeepers. This is another
example of how the bonds between our militaries contribute to
stability and security of Southeast Asia. With that I'd like to invite
your questions.
Q: Has Thailand requested financial help or logistical help in
transporting their troops to East Timor and is the United States
prepared to provide such help and how much?
Secretary Cohen: Yes, the United States is prepared to help and will
provide assistance in both transportation of troops and equipment, and
I indicated that to the Prime Minister this morning, and we hope that
can take place beginning very early next week, as soon as next week,
because we think that the sooner the peacekeeping troops can in fact
arrive in East Timor the better off all concerned will be, by virtue
of contributing to the stabilizing of East Timor's country as such.
Q: What would it entail, more specifically, and how much would that
cost?
Secretary Cohen: Well that's going to depend upon the needs of the
Thai military. What we will do is make an evaluation of what will be
required. They will make a request in terms of what kind of
transportation requirements they will need. We will evaluate it; we
will provide it. I can't give you a dollar figure on that, but
whatever is requested we will certainly try to be very helpful.
Q: Mr. Secretary, what exactly do you see as the next phase and what's
happening in East Timor as far the U.S. is concerned, and how fast
will U.S. troops actually be in place in East Timor?
Secretary Cohen: What we have indicated is that the United States is
playing a very key and supportive role in the peacekeeping mission.
When I was in Australia a couple of days ago, I indicated to the
Australian Defense Minister, John Moore, that we would actually
enhance our support activities. We are providing intelligence support,
command and control and communications support. We are providing
transportation and logistical as well as sustainment support. In
addition to the roughly 260 people that have been contributed to these
activities, we are also moving the USS BELLEAU WOOD, an amphibious
platform, that will allow the four CH53 helicopters to lift heavy
equipment to East Timor. So we have been expanding our support
activities. What we hope to see is peace and stability restored to
East Timor as quickly as possible, and the comments in Jakarta
yesterday, that we expect and hope that the Indonesian government will
contribute to stabilizing East Timor, and the sooner that can be done
the better for all concerned. And we would hope that UNIMET's Phase
III can be implemented, certainly within the next five or six months,
and by March of next year at the very latest.
Q: Good morning, sir. What help do you think the United States will be
able to give to Japan with their nuclear difficulties right now? And,
have they made a formal request, and if so for what and how soon do
you think the Pentagon will be able to render that assistance?
Secretary Cohen: There has been no formal request made as of this
time. There have been informal discussions that have taken place in
the last 24 hours, to be sure. Later this afternoon I will be in
contact with my counterpart, the Minister of Defense, in Japan to
offer whatever assistance we can. Principally, the Department of State
and Department of Energy certainly will be coordinating their
activities. The expertise that we have, our laboratories that we can
make available to Japan, and much will depend upon their response. So
far the dialogue has been quite informal. We would expect Japan to
make this decision fairly soon as to whether they need this
assistance, and we are certainly prepared to make it available.
Q: Mr. Secretary, did you offer the Thais financial assistance beyond
the logistical help in moving the troops, to defray the cost in
maintaining troops in East Timor?
Secretary Cohen: What I did offer was, in fact, the ability to help
transport the troops and equipment. There are certainly financial
costs associated with that, and that's something that we are prepared
to assist with. The Prime Minister indicated that he was very pleased
to hear this, and indicated that I would be welcome to make this
announcement here this morning. It will be helpful to the Thai
military, and of course the Thai military is assuming a major role,
and a very positive one, in helping to stabilize and bring peace to
East Timor, so we are contributing, I can't give you a dollar figure
right now, but it will be significant.
Q: Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has said international
community, including the United States, has not done enough, is not
taking enough measure, to protect, to save Burma's situation, to
become like that of East Timor. So, what do you have to say to that?
Secretary Cohen: Well, the United States has indicated that we have
been supportive of her efforts to bring about change in Burma. We are
not certainly in a position to start to, to try to dictate to Burma
itself. The ASEAN countries have tried to engage Burma, or Myanmar.
Much remains to be done to achieve that goal. But we are not
advocating any action beyond that. This is something that the people
in Burma must choose for themselves, and they must take into account
what the international community's reaction is to any repressive
activities that they engage in.
Q: Some countries have expressed concern that the peacekeeping mission
in East Timor runs counter to ASEAN's principles of non-intervention.
How would you address that concern, and is the region moving into a
new direction in this sense?
Secretary Cohen: First, I would point out that the Indonesian
Government called for the referendum in East Timor, and the Indonesian
Government invited the U.N. peacekeeping forces in. Absent that
invitation that would certainly have presented something of a
challenge in terms of the historic position taken by the ASEAN
members. But, as I've indicated on several occasions, when the kind of
instability and terror that we saw take place in East Timor goes
un-addressed, then that has a potential for having very wide-spread
consequences. So I think it's incumbent upon those countries in the
region, and that happens to be the ASEAN countries, to take a
reasonable response to try to bring peace and stability in that
situation. A failure to take that kind of action can only have
consequences beyond East Timor itself. I have tried to point out, with
respect to Indonesia itself, by way of example, that the international
community is watching and looking very closely with great scrutiny in
terms of what role Indonesia will play. And I believe it will be
beneficial to Indonesia to play a constructive, positive role in
bringing about peace and stability to East Timor, now that the
referendum has taken place. Each country of ASEAN will have to
determine for itself what contribution it will make to the
peacekeeping mission, in terms of peacekeeping troops and also in
terms of financial contributions. It is my own belief that all ASEAN
countries have an interest in seeing stability brought to East Timor.
All ASEAN countries have an interest in helping Indonesia in its
transition to a full democracy. As I stated yesterday, we want to see
an Indonesia that is stable, that is united, that is prosperous and
democratic. All ASEAN countries, I believe, have an interest in
helping Indonesia to achieve that status.
Q: We are seeing scenes on television this morning of the
extraordinary military might of Beijing, scenes that perhaps will make
some Asian countries, particularly Taiwan, nervous. In the light of
the day, today, and the scenes we're seeing on television, how does
American see its security role in the region on the cusp of the
twenty-first century, vis-à-vis particularly China.
Secretary Cohen: The United States has a very important role to play
throughout the Asia-Pacific region. We have approximately, or roughly,
a hundred thousand troops that are committed to Asia-Pacific. We
intend to maintain that commitment for the indefinite future. I have
traveled to China in the past on quite a few occasions, and I have
made the point directly to the Chinese leadership and to many of their
military officials that the United States' role in Asia-Pacific, and
our visible presence, has had a beneficial impact upon the entire
region, and that China itself has been a major beneficiary of our
presence. By virtue of the fact that the United States does maintain
this presence, then that has contributed to peace and stability
throughout the region. Were we not to be actively engaged in the
region, there would be a void created. Someone would move to quickly
fill that void, and there might be a great deal of competition as to
who that would be. That would only lead to greater instability and
have an impact upon the development of prosperity and the production
of prosperity in the region. And so, we think that our presence has
been beneficial to everyone concerned, including China. I think the
Chinese understand that, that without the U.S. presence there would be
concern about China's role, about instability, and with that
instability that would have an impact upon China's ability to also
achieve its four modernization goals. So for that reason, the United
States intends to continue to be an agent for promoting peace and
stability and freedom throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
Q: Mr. Secretary, on the same question, but concerning Vietnam,
there's been twice a delay of your trip to Vietnam due to the
Vietnamese concern over China. When would be your first trip to
Vietnam?
Secretary Cohen: Well, I hope it will be soon. We have had to
reschedule the visit on at least two occasions now, and I believe it's
because the Vietnamese government feels they have to take this
step-by-step. Secretary Albright certainly has made a visit. I would
hope that in the coming year that I also could conduct a visit. I
visited as a member of the United States Senate several years ago, and
would like very much to visit Vietnam as Secretary of Defense. But I
think that has to wait for the timing and the accommodation of the
Vietnamese.
Q: What will happen if the militia in East Timor actually decides to
become aggressive, and all-out violence actually breaks out. What will
the U.S. worst-case scenario be?
Secretary Cohen: Well, we're hoping there will not be a worst-case
scenario, and that's one of the reasons I have advocated that those
countries who have indicated they are going to contribute to the
peacekeeping force, do so as quickly as possible. It's very important
to establish early on in any peacekeeping mission a robust presence.
And the more robust that presence can be, the greater the likelihood
there will be no challenge to the peacekeeping forces. It's one of the
reasons I indicated to Indonesia yesterday, to the government
officials, that it would be very helpful for them to engage in a
positive way in the promotion of stability and peace in East Timor, to
disarm the militia gangs and thugs in West Timor, and prevent any
cross-border counter-insurgency types of activities or attacks upon
the peacekeeping forces. To the extent that there is that lack of
cooperation, or there's any kind open or covert support of those
activities, that will have an impact well beyond East Timor. I believe
that the Indonesian officials I spoke with understand that fully, and
do not want to see that happen. So the sooner the forces can get
there, the better. And that's why it's very important that the Thai
forces will be leaving very soon. I think that will send a very strong
and positive message. My hope is that more of a contribution can be
made on the part of the ASEAN countries to show that there is an
ASEAN, a significant ASEAN presence. As it is, Thailand will have the
second largest presence in the peacekeeping mission, and I would hope
that other ASEAN countries would feel obliged to make significant
contributions.
Q: Matthew Pennington from A.P. Would the U.S. support cross-border
action by Australian peacekeepers if provoked by militia in West
Timor?
Secretary Cohen: What we have indicated, we are providing support for
all of the peacekeepers as such. There has been some indication that
if there were any attacks coming from West Timor, that certainly the
peacekeepers would be allowed to defend themselves. One of the most
important aspects of peacekeeping is to make sure there is adequate
force protection. You cannot and should not send peacekeepers into an
environment where they are vulnerable to violent attack. That's one of
the reasons why I believe that the peacekeepers have shown that they
will be aggressive in responding to any sort of violent attacks upon
their troops. I believe that is the correct reaction on their part. We
will be certainly supportive in all of the categories I have mentioned
before, and will continue to do so.
(end transcript)
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