Aung San Suu Kyi is a remarkable person and has fought for the freedom of the Burmese people. She is entitled to go on doing that in a way that strengthens democracy. Australia and the United States worked in Manila to do what we could to break the impasse, and we will continue to work together throughout this episode. All my experience in life and diplomacy tells me that our engagement can make a difference, and that change must eventually come to Burma. Concerted international pressure can make it harder for the regime to resist reform.
Diplomacy can offer it face saving ways to compromise.
Our nations should pursue both tracks and deepen our cooperation on this issue. Finally, and perhaps most important, both our nations have an interest in seeing that confidence is restored to the troubled economies of East Asia. With today's global market, problems in one place can and do affect people every place. Nations that export to Asia, and both our nations export a great deal, are being hurt. But the potential costs are far greater than lost exports.