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November 18th, 2011 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda
Updated
Video: PM delivers keynote address in Bali
(Lateline)
Prime Minister Julia Gillard has appealed for the removal of trade barriers in the region during a speech to an Asian nations business summit.
The speech to the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) business summit was Julia Gillard’s first official appearance during her visit to Bali.
She arrived this evening for the East Asia Summit tomorrow, and for a number of meetings with regional leaders to be held on the sidelines of the official event.
Ms Gillard says the appearance of the Russian and US presidents, for the first time, is a defining moment for the organisation.
She says it shows that the rise of Asia as an economic force is being viewed as a long-term trend.
But Ms Gillard says leaders in the region need to do more to increase free trade in Asia, saying trade equals growth and growth equals jobs.
She told the summit that economic growth is lifting millions of people out of poverty, and commended many of the countries at the summit for moving towards that end, but said more needed to be done.
Territorial dispute talks
In separate talks in Bali, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao met with ASEAN leaders to discuss the territorial dispute over the South China Sea.
China, Taiwan and four south-east Asian nations have overlapping claims to the sea, and there have been a number of skirmishes in the disputed waters this year.
Indonesia’s foreign minister Marty Natalegawa says China is open to further discussions about a binding code of conduct to govern maritime security.
In a statement posted on the central government’s website, Mr Wen has pledged to deepen trade and economic ties with the region.
He says China will forever be a good neighbour, good friend and good partner of ASEAN, and will work towards the region’s peace and prosperity.
But he said “outside forces” had no excuse to get involved in the complex maritime dispute over the South China Sea, a veiled warning to the United States and other countries to keep out of the sensitive issue.
“It ought to be resolved through friendly consultations and discussions by countries directly involved. Outside forces should not, under any pretext, get involved,” Mr Wen said.
The remark is the latest barb between the two countries in recent weeks, and comes as US president Barack Obama seeks to reassert US presence in the Asia-Pacific.
During his trip to Australia Mr Obama said the US military would expand its Asia-Pacific role, declaring America was “here to stay” as a Pacific power.
Days earlier, as host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-Operation forum in Hawaii, Mr Obama had voiced frustration at China’s trade practices and pushed for a new Asia-Pacific trade deal with some of Beijing’s neighbours.
The moves are seen as an attempt to reassert US leadership in the face of China’s rising influence around the Pacific Rim and reassure allies such as South Korea and Japan that it would remain a strong counterweight.
ABC/wires
Topics:
world-politics,
international-aid-and-trade,
trade,
federal-government,
foreign-affairs,
bali,
australia,
china
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