20 October 2001
Transcript: White House Briefing on Bush Bilaterals in Shanghai
(President meets with Japan's Koizumi, Malaysia's Mahathir) (2580)
President Bush's meeting October 20 with Malaysian Prime Minister
Mahathir Mohammed focused primarily on the fight against terrorism and
U.S.-led efforts to combat terrorist networks around the world, a
senior White House official told reporters.
The talks were "cordial" and included discussion of the common values
of the Malaysian and American people, the official said. "Malaysia is
being supportive ... [and] the president expressed appreciation for
... what Malaysia has done in information-sharing and other areas of
support," the official added. "It was not contentious at all."
Mahathir related Malaysia's experience in dealing with communist
insurgents and Islamic terrorists, the official said, adding that both
Bush and Mahathir expressed support for Indonesian President Megawati
Sukarnoputri.
Bush held a separate meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro
Koizumi to discuss Japanese cooperation in the anti-terror coalition,
as well as the need to rebuild Afghanistan following the military
campaign against the Taliban regime in that country. "Japan expressed
an interest in ... being a part of that," the official said. "And
President Bush said he would welcome a role for Japan in that area."
The president is in Shanghai for meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) leaders. The talks are scheduled to conclude
October 21.
Following is a transcript of the background briefing:
(begin transcript)
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
(Shanghai, People's Republic of China)
For Immediate Release
October 20, 2001
PRESS BRIEFING BY A SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL ON THE PRESIDENT'S
BILATERAL MEETINGS
The Portman Ritz-Carlton
Shanghai, People's Republic of China
MR. MCCORMICK: Good afternoon. We have a senior administration
official here this afternoon who will be able to go ahead and give you
a read-out on the President's meetings with Prime Minister Mahathir
and President Koizumi.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Thank you. The President had a very
cordial 15-minute meeting with Prime Minister Mahathir. He had
exchanged letters with him, following a phone call earlier this month,
during which Prime Minister Mahathir said he had more ideas to share.
And so he sent a letter to the President, and the President responded
to the letter recently. And during the meeting, they discussed some of
the ideas in the letter where Prime Minister Mahathir shared his
thoughts on the current situation.
The President expressed appreciation for the letter earlier this
month, and they discussed how both Muslims and the American people
share common values of freedom, love of religion, and family.
Prime Minister Mahathir shared Malaysia's experience in dealing with
communist insurgents over a 42-year period, and more recently, with
their Islamic terrorists. And both of them -- they discussed generally
Indonesia and expressed support for President Megawati.
On Prime Minister Koizumi, they had a very -- they had an interesting
exchange of gifts. The President followed up on the baseball toss
theme and had given a gift, a signed glove by Cal Ripken. But the
Prime Minister's gift was a -- let me get the right word here -- from
the Yabusame archery, "from the back of a galloping horse," had given
an arrow and a large bow. But the arrow was one with a bent fork at
the top, which is used for launching an attack, making noise,
symbolizing the mark at the start of combat. And the box in which the
arrow was in, Prime Minister Koizumi had written by his own
calligraphy the words, "The arrow is to defeat evil and bring peace on
Earth."
The Prime Minister explained to the President the constitutional
restrictions that Japan had on the use of force, but also said that he
hoped to see legislation pass the Diet next week -- it had already
passed the Lower House, it will pass the Upper House next week, which
will allow the Japanese to use the self-defense forces in a supporting
logistic role.
They talked about the rehabilitation of Afghanistan, and Japan
expressed an interest in doing -- in being part of that. And the
President said he would welcome a role for Japan in that area. And the
President expressed strong support, continued support for Prime
Minister Koizumi's economic reforms and his leadership in that area.
I'll take questions.
Q: Was it written in English or Japanese?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: In Japanese, in calligraphy, yes.
Q: Did Mahathir specifically call on the President to stop the bombing
or --
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: No, he didn't.
Q: How did that part of the conversation go?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: No, they -- he didn't -- they didn't
get into a specific discussion. It was a more philosophical discussion
about how they have shared values and shared interests. One thing that
the Prime Minister said was -- let's see -- he said that most Muslims
wouldn't do terrible things, but there are a few with extreme views
who have decided to take action and this is totally unacceptable.
Q: So you think that it's a sign of Malaysia --
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: No, Malaysia is being supportive. The
President expressed appreciation for support of what Malaysia has done
in information-sharing and other areas of support. It was not
contentious, at all. It was very warm. I would say this is now their
-- they had an exchange of phone calls. They had one phone call,
exchange of letters and this meeting, and I think they've developed a
feeling of being able to communicate with each other, which is -- it
was a very good meeting. Prime Minister Mahathir has a good sense of
humor, which the President appreciated, and I think they got along
well.
Q: Was there any discussion at all about the possibility of an Islamic
force moving into Afghanistan after --
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: No, there was no discussion about
that.
Q: When the Prime Minister was talking about fighting the communist
insurgency more recently, what, exactly, was he talking about?
Suspending civil liberties and that kind of thing?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: No, what he was mentioning was that it
takes time, that it takes a long time to do. And he also said that one
of the things they had to do in overcoming the communist insurgency
was they had to go to the region and find out what the people needed
in that area.
Q: Did he talk about the authoritarian nature of his regime and how
that helped in battling the insurgency?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: No.
Q: He did not, but did the President ask him about that?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: No.
Q: With the Japanese, was there any discussion of additional funds
pledged for the reconstruction?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: There was a discussion about
reconstruction in general terms, but there was no mention of money.
There was an appreciation for what Japan has already done in providing
support for Pakistani refugees, but there was not a discussion
specifically about money for Afghan -- just a desire to be involved in
developing the strategy and the process for Afghan reconstruction.
Q: Did Japan suggest that it might be willing to give some funds
later?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Japan wasn't specific about what its
role would be, but they said they wanted to be involved in it. And the
response was that we welcome that and that we would get together and
consult about that. I believe Japan is sending a senior official to
Washington next week to talk about it.
Q: For just reason.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yes.
Q: When was the first time he ever communicated with Mahathir?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: It was -- I can get you the exact date
if you want. It was a phone call earlier this month, when the
President placed a call to Mahathir after the 9/11 incident.
Q: And they have not communicated before that?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: And they have not communicated
previous to that.
Q: In either of these meetings, was there a discussion of the reports
of ground troops today?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I think there was a question in the
President's -- before the Koizumi meeting there was a question by the
press about it. You should be able to get the readout answer on that.
But that was --
Q: But in either meeting, with either of the leaders?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: No.
Q: Was the military campaign discussed between the two? And I do
understand the Prime Minister said afterwards that both agreed to
disagree on that. He's also reported --
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Prime Minister Mahathir, or Prime
Minister --
Q: Mahathir. And he's also reported to have said that there would
never be a total resolution of the terrorism problem until there is a
solution to the Middle East conflict. Does that accurately reflect the
discussions?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, the Prime Minister did mention
that he believed that the resolution of the conflict in the Middle
East would be important in resolving terrorism over the long-term. But
he didn't say it was the only problem; he mentioned it as one of
several problems.
Q: And on the military campaign, in general?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: With Mahathir? The President spoke in
general terms about he was continuing the campaign, that it was going
well, and that the United States had no intention of targeting or of
causing civilian casualties, was very sorry about that when it
occurred, was making every effort to prevent that from occurring. But
I don't want to imply by that that the Prime Minister asked about
that, because he did not. The President just made that point.
Q: Did Mr. Bush make any comment on the legislation that the Japanese
Diet is now --
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: He said he appreciated what the Prime
Minister was offering, and he understood the fact that, while there
couldn't be combat forces, that each country -- in Japan's case --
would make a contribution in a way that Japan could do. And he
appreciated that and he appreciated the fact that there was an effort
being made -- the Prime Minister reported to him that this legislation
was going to pass. He didn't say it would pass, but that it has passed
the Lower House and expected it to pass on the Upper House.
Q: Does the President feel that Japan is doing all it can under the
constitutional restrictions?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yes, he does.
Q: Was the whole discussion on terrorism and economy of Japan, or did
they touch other issues, such as Okinawa and other things?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: They didn't talk about Okinawa.
Terrorism, economy. I think that was -- I don't think there was a
discussion of anything else. So it was the war on terrorism and --
including the part which I mentioned about Afghanistan.
Q: Did it end up lasting the full hour, or did it go longer?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: It went until about 12:25 p.m. So I
think maybe five minutes short. It started at 11:40 p.m., so it went
about 45 or 50 minutes. The Prime Minister kept apologizing for taking
the President's time, but the President was happy to continue talking
to him. But the Prime Minister was anxious not to waste the
President's time.
Q: I don't know whether you want to deal with this on deep background,
or background, but you have the leaders of Japan, China and South
Korea here. Relations between Japan and those two are not particularly
good. Are they using this as an opportunity to mend some fences?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, I can't really speak to what
their individual agendas are, but I would say that the President felt
that, from what he had learned, that the Prime Minister had made --
had been making good progress in his relations with China.
Q: Can you describe a little bit more about the arrow -- are you
literally talking about a --
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yes, it's a bow that would be used in
-- from horseback, firing. And there is a Japanese archery association
that acquired this arrow. And it's a rather large arrow with hawk's
feathers. And the point of the arrow has a forked tip, which whistles
when it's fired, announcing the start of an attack. And on the box
which holds the arrow was this inscription, which translated to
English says: "The arrow to defeat the evil and bring peace on Earth."
And that was written in calligraphy by the Prime Minister.
Q: But it's an antique? Is it old?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I don't know. I can't answer that,
because I don't know. My impression was that it is old, but I don't
know that for a fact. I mean, it was -- the note I have said that it
was acquired through a private association which has preserved the bow
and arrow. But I'm not sure that it was antique or not.
Q: And this is an ancient Japanese --
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Archery. It's called Yabusame, and it
means "archery from the back of a galloping horse."
Q: How was he informed about the two troop deaths today? Do you know
-- did Condi tell him, or --
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I don't know the answer to that.
Q: Did he talk to either about extra steps he wanted them to take to
seize assets or to track assets of al Qaeda?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: No. No. Both -- you mean, are you
talking about Mahathir or the --
Q: Either one.
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Either one? No, he didn't talk
specifically about that. Both countries have made steps in that
direction.
Q: Back to the bow for a second. What other gifts were exchanged so
far? Between the Chinese, the President --
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I'm not aware -- these were the only
gifts that were basically exchanged in person. There are no other
gifts that have been exchanged person-to-person. The President and the
Prime Minister have exchanged gifts back and forth since they've
started meeting. And they really do have a genuinely warm relationship
and it was -- I think it was obvious, I mean, the Prime Minister puts
a lot of thought into the gifts he gives the President. I believe this
is a gift he intended to give the President if he were to have gone to
Tokyo.
Q: Did the Prime Minister Koizumi or President Bush mention about
sending self-defense troops to any specific area?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: No. The Prime Minister said that they
would be sending -- the legislation would allow the self-defense
forces to be used in a logistic support role. Did not mention any
specific areas or locations.
Q: Can you say a little bit more about what was discussed about China?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: There was no discussion about China,
other than a brief mention that the President had an impression that
the Prime Minister's discussions with -- visit here previously went
well, that he'd made a positive impression.
Q: Did they specifically discuss the intelligence gathering by the
self-defense forces?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: No.
Q: Did they discuss the timing of the President's visit to Tokyo?
SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: The President said he would like to
visit when the opportunity arises, as soon as it does. But he didn't
mention any specific time.
(end transcript)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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