is available on our website at c-span.org. in fact, every second of both the rnc and dnc are available on the website. it also has a search feature. type it in and find everything that relates. that is it for our program today. another one comes your way at 7:00 tomorrow. see you then. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] ♪ today begins the official state visit of the prime minister of singapore. in short time ago, he was greeted at the white house by president obama and first lady michelle obama in an official

welcoming ceremony. the two leaders are meeting behind closed doors. they will hold a news conference following that meeting. tonight, the president and first lady will host the prime minister and his wife in the white house for a state dinner in his honor. we will have the official g and hisf mr. loon wife this evening. coming up now, the remarks from the prime minister yesterday on his country's relationship with united states. , pleases and gentlemen

welcome me in joining -- please join me in welcoming prime minister lee hsien loong and mrs. loong. [applause] >> good evening, your excellency. i would like to welcome you to this great hall as we honor prime minister lee and his visit to washington. prime minister lee hsien loong and mrs. lee, welcome back.

thank you for making time in your busy schedule and thank you for your long-term support of american business in singapore and southeast asia. we're thrilled to have senior members of the singapore government with us tonight, including dr. vivian valla crishnan, minister of trade and industry, minister in the prime minister's office, and acting minister for education. in addition, we have three members of parliament from singapore, including christopher desouza, rahana mazam, xi young. we're honored to have the united states contact of commerce, penny bridgekirk as well as

assistant secretary kumar. we couldn't be here today if not for the efforts of singapore ambassador to the united states, ashook and his embassy team. i thank them for the hard work they did with the chamber and consul staff to make this evening possible. i also want to recognize ambassador to singapore kirk wagar and we appreciate your leadership and role, even beyond singapore. thank you very much for being with us. i'm also proud to welcome back former ambassador to the united states, chan hen chi, a great friend of the chamber and council. we have ambassadors from laos, myanmar, chile and philippines. we also have to recognize our

sponsors which we could not have held this tonight without their support, so thank you very much and those sponsors are a.i.g., b.d., c.m.a. group, micron, philip morris international, procter & gamble, t connectivity and visa. prime minister lee, your visit to the united states marks the 50th anniversary of u.s.-singapore diplomatic relations. it's significant that singapore is the only southeast asian country to be welcomed to the u.s. with a state visit during the the obama administration. with over 179 billion cumulative foreign direct investments as of 2014, the united states is the largest foreign direct investor in singapore and singapore is tied with australia to be the home of more f.d.i. than anywhere else in asia. the u.s.-singapore free trade agreement has been described as

the united states' most successful f.t.a. globally. since the f.t.a. took effect in 2004, u.s. exports have increased over 50%. singapore was one of the p-4 who first initiated t.p.p. which now includes eight additional countries, including the united states. i don't want to steal too much thunder but safe to say t.p.p. would not have existed if it were not for singapore. beyond the economic ties, the relationship has had an important security and military dimension. singapore air force pilots train in the united states and u.s. combat ships rotate through singapore. as a result of the strong political, economic and defense ties, singapore has served as an anchor for the united states pivot to asia.

now, it's my honor to introduce the president and c.e.o. of the u.s. chamber of commerce, mr. tom donohue. tom has led the chamber almost 20 years and as a result of his leadership, the chamber has played a dominant role in defending and promoting free enterprise and free trade in the united states and beyond. tom, thank you for all you've done to advance american business interests and thank you for your partnership tonight. [applause] thi mr. donohue: thank you very much. good evening, everyone, and welcome to the u.s. chamber of commerce. i'd like to join alex in thanking all of you for being here and thanking our sponsors this evening. your support in every way for this meeting and this relationship is very important. we gather to celebrate the friendship between the united states and singapore and our robust commercial partnership. just think, last year we

, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of singapore's independence. this year, we mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relationships between our countries. some of the most iconic u.s. brands have been in singapore since well before its independence. tonight, we look forward to remarks from our honored guest, the prime minister, and a thoughtful discussion of the challenges and opportunities facing the asia pacific region. i said this many times before, but it bears repeating, especially during this unusual u.s. election. american leadership and commercial engagement in asia remain vital to peace, security, and prosperity across the globe. the chamber is vigorously

opposing any proposal that would cede american influence in the region to other powers. we are a leading proponent of the trans-pacific partnership, an effort we can't and won't give up on because the stakes are just too high. we know how important the asia pacific region is to the united states and indeed to the entire world. america has both strong strategic and commercial interests in the asia pacific. the u.s. has always looked to singapore to help us navigate this important area of the world. its wisdom and its insights are invaluable to us. as is often the case, progress in bilateral commercial relationships are driven by the private sector but not without

great partners in government. the american business community has such a partnership in commerce secretary penny pritzker. she is the voice of business within the u.s. administration and the bridge between business in and outside the administration. she not only listens carefully to what business has to say, when she agrees, she acts on it. as president obama's chief commercial diplomat, she has been a strong proponent of the u.s.-singapore relationship. she clearly understands that it is based on shared interests, values, and objectives. and i will get this to come up. she has built strong ties with the prime minister. the two have held many important discussions in meetings across the world.

most recently, in california, at the u.s. asean leaders summit hosted by president obama. secretary pritzker understands business because she's run one. she understands t.p.p. is the linchpin of america's future influence and engagement in the asia pacific region and she is fighting hard, harder than anyone i have seen other than the people working in this building, let me say, to make this happen, and she knows that the u.s.-singapore relationship is one of america's strong and enduring anchors in the region. she's been a good friend to business and excellent commerce secretary and a great supporter of the partnership between our two countries. it is my pleasure to introduce her tonight. please join me in welcoming secretary penny pritzker. [applause]

secretary pritzker: tom, what an extraordinary introduction. it's wonderful to be here at the chamber withul of you. thank you for hosting us, the chamber of commerce and u.s.-asean business council. you've always been great friends, great supporters and done so much for our relations around the world and i thank you for hosting us this evening but frankly for all the great work you do every day. ambassador wagar, you are a great representative of the united states in singapore and ambassador mapoori, we are thrilled to have you here in the u.s. ladies and gentlemen, it's my pleasure tonight to introduce tonight's honored guest, prime minister lee hsien loong of singapore.

from our first meeting two years ago, to the conversation that we shared just shortly before we came into this room, it's clear to me that prime minister lee and i both agree that the united states and singapore's economic partnership is indispensable. both the prime minister and i know that our strong commercial relationships have helped promote security and stability across southeast asia that, our deep trade and investment ties have helped deliver prosperity and opportunity for both our people, and the greater u.s. engagement in southeast asia is good for the united states, good for the people of singapore, and good for countries across the entire region.

i'm also pleased to see the prime minister's wife here with us this evening. among other things, madam ho is c.e.o. of temasek and a world-class business leader whom i have great admiration for. she also happens to be a fellow stanford graduate, which never hurts. i fondly remember our conversations at apec several years ago and it gives me great pleasure to welcome you and the prime minister here to washington. in recent years, we've celebrated important milestones in the u.s.-singapore relationship.

in 2014, we marked 10 years since the completion of the u.s.-singapore free trade agreement. in 2016, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of singapore's independence and we have admired your progress, raising singapore's per capita g.d.p. from $516 per person in 1965 to $52,888 in 2015. this year, we're honored to welcome the prime minister and madam ho to washington to commemorate another milestone. 50 years of u.s.-singapore diplomatic relations. and tomorrow's state dinner is an opportunity to rejoice in our five decades of friendship and reaffirm our shared hope for a more prosperous future. as everyone in this room knows, the rebalance to asia is a cornerstone to the obama administration's foreign policy and singapore has been an indispensable partner in the region.

we have worked closely together to complete the negotiations of the trans-pacific partnership, to promote greater regional integration across asean, to combat global climate change, and to confront terrorism and violent extremism. from a purely economic perspective, the importance of the u.s.-singapore relationship is difficult to over-state. the u.s.-singapore free trade agreement was our first bilateral trade agreement with an asian nation and has been a resounding success for both of our countries. since the free trade agreement was completed, our total bilateral trade his doubled to $47 billion. singapore, a nation of around 5.5 million, is now our 18th largest trading partner. today, the united states has a $10.4 billion surplus in goods

trade with singapore. singapore receives the majority of foreign direct investment from the united states into the entire asean region with a total investment stock of more than $150 billion. as i said, it's hard to overstate the importance of this relationship. these investment statistics should come as no surprise. more than 3700 american companies have operations in singapore and many of our businesses opt to place in the country their regional headquarters, a testament to the confidence in singapore as the

ideal platform for greater engagement throughout asia. prime minister lee knows that this promotes shared growth, prosperity, peace and stability. mr. prime minister, thank you for your steadfast leadership and support of the trans-pacific partnership. you have been a consistent, vocal advocate for t.p.p., and you make a very good case. i want you to know that president obama and his entire administration remain committed to securing a bipartisan congressional approval of this critical trade agreement. prime minister lee is an outspoken advocate for increased trade, for international cooperation, and for technology as a tool to improve people's lives. he takes great pride in singapore's smart nation

initiative which aims to improve national wellbeing by embracing cutting-edge innovation. in fact, just moments ago, the department of commerce and singapore's ministry of trade and industry signed a memorandum of understanding to increase trade collaboration on smart cities and infrastructure. this november, we will feature singapore at our smart cities conference in chicago and we are encouraging u.s. companies to participate in singapore's first-ever thin tech festival. today, singapore has a dynamic, -- fintech festival.

today, singapore has a dynamic, innovative, 21st century economy that reflects the energetic and practical leadership of prime minister lee. prime minister lee understands all the benefits that are possible for our peoples when we work together to create enforceable, mutually beneficial rules for global commerce. ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming prime minister lee. thank you. [applause] prime minister lee: secretary pritzker, mr. tom donohue, mr. alex feldman, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. first, i'd like to thank mr. donohue and secretary pritzker for their kind introductions and thank the secretary for taking the time to be here with us. i'd also like to thank the u.s. chamber of commerce and asean

business council for hosting this reception. this is the third time i'm here in four years speaking to this forum and i'm glad to see many familiar faces here. since singapore became independent in 1965, american businesses have played a major role in our economic development. they've invested heavily in singapore, developing infrastructure, creating jobs, transferring technology and management prospectuses, g.e. . g.e. was once the largest employer in singapore and still has 3,000 people there. sea gate which makes disk drives e, which makes disk drives, at one time made more than half the

world's disk drives in singapore. they are still a company important to us. they and many other u.s. companies have found singapore to be a good springboard into the region. so, for example, in the new economy, we have lucasfilms , which has got a building in singapore which they called the sand crawler building and it looks like a sand crawler and it's the first purpose built facility outside of the u.s. both sides have taken advantage of our f.t.a. in order to develop our relationship. it's the gold standard in f.t.a. that has promoted trade and investment between our two countries. american exports to singapore have increased substantially and american banks have been able to expand in singapore because of the f.t.a. as singapore continues with our next phase of development, we still welcome the u.s. companies to come and invest in singapore and one of the areas we are interested in as the secretary mentioned is to develop singapore into a smart nation

using data, technology, sensors, networking, to improve the lives of our citizens and create a knowledge-based economy. america is one of the leaders in this new economy, based on innovation, collaboration and critical thinking. and singapore is seeking to attract a new wave of american investment. we are introducing, for example, coding in secondary schools, for helping to nurture start-ups and social media and e-commerce and we welcome american companies to continue helping us with our transformation, to take advantage of the many opportunities and the talent in singapore. our growth depends not only on our remaining competitive but also on our region staying stable and prosperous.

although there are some dark clouds on the regional horizon, economic and some strategic uncertainties, too, asia is still a bright growth spot in the global economy and a peaceful region in the world. thirds offor two global growth last year. china and japan are the large economies, second and third biggest in the world. and india is another large economy. southeast asia is a promising emerging market, just 10 separate countries but now with the asean economic community, a more integrated single market. it has 620 million people, most of whom are young, eager and hard working.

the combined g.d.p. of $2.6 trillion u.s. which will become the fourth largest market in the world. the major economies in the region are already seeking to develop this potential so china has launched its initiative to develop infrastructure in the region. india has an act east policy and amongst ourselves we are also seeking to spur growth through further economic integration. thus, we have an asean-china free trade area, an asean-india f.t.a. and asean-japan comprehensive partnership. renegotiatingther a regional comprehensive partnership including asean plus the northeast asian countries plus southeast asian countries plus austral asian countries. the different countries are coming together, increasing economic cooperation, widening

their integration, developing more mechanisms to work closely together but at the same time , wanting to stay an open region linked with america, with europe, with the world. so, there's potential and promise in asia and americans have always understood this. after all, your long standing security presence in asia is the bedrock of our peace, prosperity and security. during the cold war, our economy propelled our economic development and your leaders understood the desire for a better life in asia would turn people away from war to peace and ultimately thwart ambitions of the communist states in asia. america upheld the principles of economic liberalization and free trade and it was in fact the global leader in these principles. you helped to rebuild japan,

korea after the war and you built an open and fair international trading system under the general agreement on tariffs and trade which multiplied trade and investment. you opened your markets through your friends in asia and the rest of the world, too, fueling, in asia, the east asian economic boom and it was growth through trade, not through war, that made the difference. and the countries became more economically interdependent, conflict became a remote and unattractive option. today, america has a unique opportunity to anchor its engagement in the asia pacific with the t.p.p. you know the facts, but they're still worth repeating. there are 12 parties in the t.p.p.

we represent 40% of global g.d.p., a third of world trade, 800 million people of one market. the t.p.p. will be an economic game changer for the u.s. because improved market access will mean cheaper products for consumers, more exports, more manufacturers. they will incorporate in the t.p.p. provisions on human rights, property protection, safeguards for labor and environment. there will be strong standards to support innovation and benefit many u.s. technology giants. but those are just economic benefits. there are strategic significance in the t.p.p., too. because the t.p.p. is vital for america's engagement in the asia pacific. it adds substance to america's rebalance, which cannot be just about the military or the seventh fleet. it will enable the u.s. and its trade partners to shape the

norms of regional economic exchange by setting a high bar for future trade agreements, whether in the asia pacific or beyond. and in pushing the t.p.p. and bringing it about, concluding negotiations, the obama administration clearly understands the t.p.p.'s role in securing america's future, not just its prosperity, but its place in the world. we know this has been politically difficult. it's a very tough election year. american people are wary of u.s. global engagement and economic uncertainty has led to concerns about jobs, worries about competition from overseas. these are all understandable,

even valid concerns but we hope all parties will focus on the longer term bigger picture because there are no winners, only losers with protectionism. economic development across the world will be blocked, less interdependence means the clear advantage of cooperation and interdependence over conflict and war will be weakened and the asia pacific region represents an important growth region. the t.p.p. was going to be bigger, more impactful than any of the existing regional trade agreements and if america wants to secure its interests for the

future, it had to take and ratify the t.p.p. or lose the opportunity. as americans say, you have to be menu. table, or on the for america's friends and partners, ratifying the t.p.p. is a litmus test of your credibility and seriousness of purpose. every one of the t.p.p. signatories has had to make sacrifices in order to accept the t.p.p. agreement and jointly bring about this win-win outcome. nobody wants to reopen negotiations. everybody would like to have something better but nobody wants to reopen the process with no prospect of doing better and every chance of having it fall apart. asian countries want america to be engaged. we need to know that this engagement will be sustained and we need to know that agreements will be upheld and that asia can depend on america.

your ratification of the t.p.p., therefore, would be a clear statement of your commitment and confidence in our region. so i hope all of you here who have a vested interest in the success of the t.p.p. and in america's friendship and cooperation and trade with asia will lend your voices to support this. america has helped to create and sustain the current world order and the international rules which we all have a stake in and all countries benefit from. no other country has the economic capacity, political strength or soft power to play this role. it is america's responsibility, unescapable, as the preeminent global power, to continue to chart the course ahead for the world. thank you very much. [applause]

>> mr. prime minister, thank you very much for your remarks. please join me in welcoming the honorable ambassador susan schwab to moderate the q&a. thank you. [applause] ms. schwab: thank you. mr. prime minister, thank you very much. that was terrific, as expected. welcome, again, on behalf of the u.s. asean business council, the

chamber, madam secretary, let me add the thank yous that everyone else has added. we're delighted to see you here. i have to tell you, i first met the prime minister when i was ustr and called on him and was totally blown away, as we got into a conversation, i thought it was one of these courtesy calls and we started talking about trade and he started talking about trade and i had obviously done my homework, i had read the bio, and the prime minister had served as trade minister and finance minister and all of a sudden i'm talking to a policy wonk and i say this with the utmost respect and admiration and awe and he knew more about my portfolio than i did. and it was just brilliant and then i saw you in action again at the apec summit in australia

in your prime ministerial capacity and i saw you, as it were, knock the socks off the other leaders, talking the broader geopolitical matters and for most of the people in this room who are trade policy and geopolitical specialists, ranging from the ridiculous to the sublime, we're going to keep the questions somewhere in that middle range there. so, i'm going to start, but you should be thinking about the questions you would like to ask prime minister lee. he has graciously offered to respond to questions from the audience and there is no smarter, wiser, and more knowledgeable leader, i suspect, that we could find anywhere and on these matters related to trade and economics and the asia

pacific region and just about anything else you want to ask about. so, thank you. so, i'm going to start. you were very polite and diplomatic about the current state of trade politics in the united states. i don't recollect trade politics being as unpleasant as they are now in the united states. we've always been proud of the fact that trade politics in the united states is bipartisan. it is indeed bipartisan but not in the direction that most of us would like. and many of us are hoping that

, while you're here, you will be saying to our leaders on both sides of the aisle the kinds of things we'd sort of like to say to our leader on both sides of the aisle. when it comes to singapore, singapore clearly stands out, by any measure, whether it's ease the world bank's ease of doing business, innovation rankings. singapore stands out at the top of the class on almost every ranking. one of the questions that consistently comes up, though, when you mention singapore is at the top of this list or that list and you point out that singapore is market oriented, free trade oriented. well, singapore is a very small country and that growth trajectory is an anomaly because singapore is such a small country. i would love to hear your observations on the lessons that are transferable in terms of singapore's economic development and trajectory. you talked about moving into the knowledge economy, clearly these are lessons that are transferable to other countries that are facing competition. we'd love to hear your observation.

prime minister lee: we are very wary about teaching other people how to run their countries. it's complicated enough to run our own little place. we have been lucky and successful so far in our journey. not always up but mostly up and the world has changed and we have changed with it. so, i think the first thing that matters to us is that our people should understand that our lives depend on the rest of the world, being relevant to them, being effective, making a contribution, able to hold our own. it's perhaps easier for us to do that because we are so small, you just look across the water and it's another country above the horizon. it's harder to do that when you

are a big country like america, if you look out from kansas, the horizon is far away, even the east and west coast is very far away. i know, i spend a year living there. and therefore it's a different perspective, and yet the world matters enormously to you and somehow people have got to understand that. i think secondly it's a world which changes on us very rapidly and as it changes, we have to follow on and track that. so, we started off doing economic development based on basically manufacturing of labor intensive things. we made bed sheets, we made pajamas, we assembled transistor radios. and as we wanted to keep on climbing, we found we had to change our strategy to emphasize skills. we had to emphasize technology.

we have to upgrade our people's education and they had to be prepared to learn new jobs as they did. that you have to do that not just once, but many times. because after the first time, the world changes again and you have have to change again. we are in the midst of that now. growth may be slow but change is not slow. change is fast and technologies are taking over different jobs, old jobs, old skills. to go from them to new jobs is a tough business and it's just the not just the person on the assembly line who has a problem. the lawyers, some of them may have a problem because in doing legal research, you don't send a young lawyer anymore. you unleash your a.i. program and it combs through and it misses fewer things than your young man or young woman. so we have to keep on changing with the world. i think thirdly, what we have tried to do in singapore is to reconcile the needs of economic growth and development which

means being rational, efficient, competitive, with the needs of building a nation which is where you have to work together, where you have to sense the nontangible things, we have to have to have safety nets and willingness to work as one nation. we are both a city and a country , so in one place, you have the dilemma. whereas if it were new york in america, while new york can be very dynamic and you have a

balance, a base, all the way through the midwest and the south. london is the same with great britain. london prospers, britain not quite so, so in had brexit, t had brexit, london voted for stay and england voted to leave. we are both in one place and we can't both stay and leave. you have to reconcile that and find the right balance and then you can sustain growth and you can maintain confidence in the system, in people's own future, and in our ability to change with the world. it's very broad, but these are some of the things which we think about. ms. schwab: a lot of topics we have been talking about here, i wish we were talking more about some of these topics. can we ask you about t.p.p., the trans-pacific partnership negotiations were actually launched at the end of the bush administration. the obama administration picked it up and ran and made a negotiation, did a deal. we now have two presidential candidates that are not terribly friendly about t.p.p. one of the arguments that has

been raised in favor of t.p.p. has been, well, if we don't do the trans-pacific partnership, then "china will write the rules." now, that is perhaps a euphemism for others will write the rules. it's been taken by some to be anti-chinese. it sort of plays into the geopolitics. the i'd be interested in your thoughts on this, because one of the things that i think a large number of people in this audience are hoping is that in your travels, while you're here, you'll be talking some more about the benefits of the trans-pacific partnership. that's one argument that a lot of people have used here and there's been some push-back on that. prime minister lee: well, your relationship with china is not a zero sum exercise. you compete but also cooperate. if you have more trade with china, china gains, you gain, too. that's what's been happening. people in america often talk about the threat from things made in china, sold cheap in

wal-mart. but, in fact, your exports to china have grown very rapidly. and it's been a plus for any number of american industries, all the way from boeing to cars to pharmaceuticals to insurance services. so, when it comes to the t.p.p., you can say, well, it gives america a head start because you are in on a major trade agreement which includes a big part of the asia pacific, in fact, a significant part of the world but actually what are you looking for is a longer term where you have free trade in the whole of asia pacific. the ideal was to do it in apec. that was the initial motivation for apec, trade liberalization in the asia pacific.

initially, china was not in, but china came in pretty early after two or three meetings. and you want to have free trade in the asia pacific including all these countries but honestly speaking, i think even with a very great ambition, that's too hard to do straight away because if you wanted to have japan, china, america, and all the other countries in just the first three would keep you busy reconciling the difficulties before the rest of us got a word in. so, it's not going to happen but you do want to move and you can move piecemeal and then it's messy, it's overlapping, but it covers the ground and hopefully our grandchildren or children will have the wisdom and basis on which to take the next step and rationalize, simplify, expand and make a less imperfect cooperation. so, the t.p.p. is one big part of what's happening in asia pacific but there are other pieces, as well. there's this thing called a

regional comprehensive economic partnership which covers a lot of the countries on the western side of the pacific, including china and japan and korea and china and korea are not in the t.p.p. but some of the other members are. and asean has got an economic community amongst itself so it's a very messy patch work but it covers the whole of the asia pacific. with the t.p.p., you are part of the game. and you are setting the rules, well, you have help to set norms and expectations which will cover many economies and one day others will be able to join you and if you ask whether the chinese will join the t.p.p., initially, they looked at it very much askance, now they're looking at it quizzically. it's different. they're still skeptical but they are not hostile. they are trying to understand this, what will it take?

they're not ready yet, but one day, i think, they are not averse to the idea of being part of this group. i think they believe you want to set high rules and make sure that the entrance fee is not too low, to put it mildly. but, i don't think they rule out being part of the party. so, i think that there's -- well, if you call that setting the rules, i think it's not a bad thing to do. ms. schwab: thank you very much. there are individuals with microphones out there for questions for prime minister lee. let me ask that you keep your questions brief. keep them questions rather than statements. and identify yourself before you ask, and your affiliation. and since we have these lights in our face, it may be hard for us to see you at first but i need a first question. >> welcome back, mr. prime

minister. since you and susan mentioned geopolitical issues as part of your expertise, could you comment on the south china sea in terms of the recent decision, next steps, particularly whether you think there's a fundamental change on china's part about how their policy is playing in the region and the world, or just a g-20.al pause until prime minister lee: your last sentence? >> do you think there's been a change in china's basic policy as a result of the decision leading to more nuanced policy to reduce tensions or is it a tactical pause until the g-20 meeting and maybe the u.s. election?

prime minister lee: i don't think the chinese have changed their policy as a result of the decision. they rejected it vehemently, they said so before, they said so after but they have said they made a decision what they want to do in the south china sea and i think they will maintain that over the long term. they have said that they have a nine dash line claim that is historical, indisputable. they haven't quite exactly specified in legal terms what it is which is being claimed but they said this is ours and, well, the others, we can talk, but what is ours is ours. i think that the ruling of the tribunal has been -- well, has made a strong statement on what the international law is. ideally, international tribunal rulings set the order for the

world, because ideally, when you have disputes between countries, it's much better to have an arbitration and adjudication based on acknowledged principles than to fight it out and see whose guns are more powerful and speaking from the point of view of a small country, this is all the more fundamental important principle. when we have had disputes with our neighbors, we've done that. we've gone to arbitration or adjudication. sometimes we win, sometimes we don't. sometimes, before the matter is adjudicated, we reach a settlement and, well, it's an impartial, objective, peaceful way of resolving issues. and ideally, all problems in the world could be settled like that. but the world is not like that and big power particularly have -- big powers particularly have interests which sometimes lead them not to follow this path.

for example,unclos, the u.n. unclos, the u.n. convention on the law of the sea, under which the recent tribunal rule, america signed it but hasn't ratified it so america is not bound by unclos so that makes it harder for you to take a position when other countries follow or don't follow the provisions of the u.n. convention so when you look at china and see the stance they're taking, you wish it were otherwise but it's not unprecedented. i think in the south china sea, none of the countries want to push it to the brink. they have interests, they have claims. they want to maintain them. but nobody wants to go to war , and in particular, i think the southeast asian states, philippines, brunei, vietnam -- all of them have substantial bilateral interests in china.

trade, tourism, investment, aid. therefore, while this is a thorn in their relationship, it is not the whole relationship and therefore it will be a problem not solved for a long time but i don't think it's going to lead to a complete souring and complete breach. it needs to be managed. there are things you can do to calm things down, to make it less likely that you have a mishap which goes out of control. we have a declaration of conduct on the south china sea. it's just a declaration of good intentions. we are negotiating a code of conduct on the south china sea with china, which is going to be binding but therefore will be more complicated to attain. we hope to make progress in small steps like having a code on unplanned encounters at sea. what happens if two ships come almost eyeball to eyeball, how do i avoid physically bumping

into one another or exchanging fire or spraying each other with water hoses, which has happened before. and to have a hot line between the capital so you can talk and defuse issues. i think these modest measures we can do but solving the problem, to have countries having taken possessions, claiming sovereignty, claiming right to maritime sea bed resources, to have countries walk back from those and say it's not so absolute, it wasn't quite clearly mine after all, i think we have to wait a long time to see that happening. very few countries do that. ms. schwab: thank you. is that the media table? ok, then i'll come back to you.

mr. wilder: dennis wilder, georgetown university. how do you respond to the trump supporter who says the free trade agreement with singapore didn't do me any good. the free trade agreement with korea didn't do me any good why . why do you think the t.p.p. is anything i need? the singapore citizens got the benefits. prime minister lee: singapore? >> the singapore citizens got the benefit of the free trade agreement from their point of view and this is a very serious position held by serious people in the midwest. they're not just people who are crazy or under-educated. if you look at the median income of these people, all of these free trade agreements didn't help them.

so, how do we respond to that? prime minister lee: well, there are a couple of answers to the question. the old textbook solution answer was to say trade is mutually beneficial. i buy, you sell, obviously i wanted to sell to you or i wanted to buy from you and you wanted to sell to me so at the end of it, we both must be happy otherwise we wouldn't have done it and if we're prevented, than an opportunity has been lost. it's a bit of an over-simplification because we're talking about two people but here we're talking about two countries so if my company sells to you, my company benefits, your consumer benefits, but your company competitor may lose out compared to me, who so, the question is, how are the net benefits distributed within the country? there are winners, there are losers and somehow in the

process you have to make good the losers so the benefits are reasonably widely distributed. when countries negotiate trade agreements, i think this political process comes into play. when the usdr negotiated trade agreements, i think their internal process, talking to different states and different senators and congressmen, what their interests are, who has chewing gum, who has airplanes, who has i.t., who has pharmaceuticals, the usdr knows all about that. if he or she is not an expert in domestic politics, he can't do his job. and when the foreign party , when the with you chinese negotiated with you, not a free trade agreement but just a trade agreement, bilaterally, before they joined the w.t.o., and the prime minister who did

that on the chinese side, premier who did that with you. i can't remember who was your trade rep then. he knew exactly which states made which things and he negotiated a deal with you which made sure every state got something. this is a political leader in a communist state who has no votes to worry about. he knew what needed to be done. so, when you negotiate with singapore, i have no doubt that your usdr knew exactly what needed to be done and did a good job protecting your interests and advancing your interests. and it may be in pharmaceuticals. it may be in media, the new economy. it may be in access for your airplanes or automobiles or banks. it doesn't mean that every single american was party to every single item on the deal , but the usdr has done a good deal, you got something out of it. the other side got something out

of it, sure. but that's what win-win trade is about. so, if you say i didn't get something, i think if you take a very narrow approach, you might be able to establish that. you might also be able to argue that within america, you could have done a lot more to make sure that the winners and the losers shared the benefits and the rust belt had more help becoming less rust belt and the midwest particularly which has not got a -- doesn't get a direct benefit, gets something out of this. that's necessary, it's part of making the political economy of trade work. but, if we abandon that and say we don't want to have free ,rade, let's close the doors let's go back to the days when we had the united auto workers dealing with general motors and the big two or three and that's

how cars shall be made and americans will be better off, well, it may be detroit will be better off, but i think america is worse off. i think america is better off with doors open and america is big and wealthy enough to be able to make good detroit. and should. i mean, i'm not taking sides but there will be those who benefit less or those who don't benefit and i think that your political system should look after them. ms. schwab: thank you. well said. yes, sir? afternoon, i am from oracle corporation. thank youminister, for honoring us by your visit. as singapore has established

itself as a regional business ab, a regional services hub, regional research of andy regional data hub, -- research hub,nd a regional data singapore has become increasingly important for how businesses function across the pacific and how that has to do with transpacific value chains. as data has this importance, it is important to know what singapore's approach is to data, what their approach is to smart cities and smart nation. could you talk about the pathways that you see where the u.s. and singapore can collaborate in this area? >> we have just signed an mo u to collaborate on cities. it is a catchall word. a lot of cities want to be smart

cities and a lot are smart in different ways. some of them have a central nervous system and you can actually see a control center or you track what is happening in the city and you respond in real time to a traffic jam or an incident or crisis. have gothem intelligence through public -- public services, public transport systems that are responsive to the flow of the commuters and is able to move people more efficiently. some of them are able to have central networks so you can know what is happening and make use of that information to respond either to serve people or to emergencies. i think others have become centers where you are developing the industry. you have data gathered and

analyzed, or you have companies which are innovating and generating new products and services like you have in in tel aviv.y or we want to be. a bit of each of this we have a natural advantage because very city as well as a country. it is a disadvantage when you talk about having a stabilizer, having the trade-off between ,conomics and social aspects but an advantage when it comes to making a smart city. we can make everything happen. whether it is health care, transport, urban planning, whether it is making use of the government information in order for social data

needs or medical needs, i am able to do it as one central intelligence. i think we also have a natural advantage in doing this because our people are naturally switched on to data. we have more than one smartphone or one phone account per person in singapore. i don't know what you would do with them all, but obviously a lot of us find them useful. as young people grow up, this is something natural to them. anything you need, you do online, whether it is accessing the government to pay our taxes or texting your family or employer, for friendship or work. i think that we can move their

models we can do in other countries or other cities, and we can pick up from different cities and put the pieces together in singapore. >> thank you. mr. prime minister, thank you very much for being here. thank you for joining us and spending time with our business community. we very much appreciate it. thank you for all of the wisdom you are going to share with our politicians well you are here. -- while you are here. we appreciate that and your leadership and economic policies. in the asia-pacific region and the world. please join me in thanking the prime minister. [applause]

>> president obama and michelle obama are hosting the prime minister of singapore for additional -- for an official state visit. hold a newsy will conference and we will have live coverage on c-span, starting at 11:40. tonight, the president and worse lady will host the prime minister and his wife for a dinner in his honor. we will have the arrival ceremony this evening and also the toast. that all get underway at 6:55 this evening on the span. a look now at the official welcoming ceremony for the prime minister earlier this morning. this should take us to the joint news conference.

>> ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states and president -- and michelle obama.

>> we will leave this now to go live to the white house for a joint news conference with president obama and the prime minister of singapore. been fortunate to work with the prime minister throughout my presidency and i always value his insight, his counsel and his outstanding partnership. let me say that our thoughts today are with the former president, and we join the people in singapore to pray for his full and speedy recovery. as president, i have rebalanced american foreign-policy so that we are playing a larger role in the asian pacific. a region that is critical to our security and prosperity and as i

said this morning, singapore played a vital role in that rebalance. through singapore support, the united states is engaging more deeply than ever across the pacific. given its strategic location, singapore is in it -- is an anchor for the u.s. presence in the region and i want to thank the prime minister for the vital contributions singapore has made . today, we agreed to continue building on this progress. and singapore are united in our commitment to advancing regional security and stability. our defense relationship means one of the closest in southeast asia with hundreds of american ships each year. as i told the prime minister, we welcome singapore's interest in

purchasing the f 35 aircraft and the possibility of troops training on guam. we willame time, continue working to strengthen regional institutions in line with the principles we agree to earlier, this year. we are reaffirmed to building a regional order were all nations play by the same rules and disputes are resolved peacefully , including in the south china sea. we agreed to do more to encourage economic growth and innovation among our economies, with a little over a decade, the trade between our countries has grown more than 50%. we are collaborating to jumpstart digital innovation, including research and development into technology to improve and promote smart cities concepts that can improve the daily lives of citizens. we will do more to connect our vibrant startup communities so that an engineer in singapore can collaborate with an

entrepreneur in silicon valley or austin, texas. trade, --ct to globalization means economies around the world are more integrated than ever and jobs and capital can cross borders. automation means the goods and products can be produced with fewer workers and these forces of globalization and technology have not always benefited everybody evenly. there are fears and anxieties that people may be left behind. these anxieties are legitimate. they cannot be ignored. as i have said, it means we have to do everything we can to make sure that everybody shares the prosperity. we have strong rules to protect workers that promote high wages to make sure that our citizens are getting the education and training that they need.

the answer cannot be to back away from trade in a global economy. it is here to stay. it is not possible to cut ourselves off given howard -- given how integrated our economies are. closing the drawbridge on trade would only hurt us and our workers. that is why today, we are reaffirming our commitment to the transpacific partnership. i am a tromso -- a strong supporter of tpp because it will reduce terrorist attacks on american goods and make it easier for americans to export into the fastest-growing market of the world. the playing field for our workers and helps ensure countries abide by strong labor and environmental rules. this is an opportunity to grow our economies and write the rules for trade in the 21st century. it gives us a chance to advance american leadership, reduce -- and reduce american acted --

economic inequality while increasing strategic relationships in a vital region. important, but we agree that we need to extend our partnership beyond regional efforts. we have work to do on a global scale. singapore was the first country in southeast asia to join in the global coalition to destroy isis. we are grateful that singapore is making new contributions to this effort by providing valuable medical support to coalition forces. as to nations on the forefront of digital innovation, we recognize the growing threat of cyber attacks and we will work to continue promoting peaceful norms on how nations should operate in cyberspace. achieve thelped to paris climate agreement last year.

prime minister -- mr. prime minister, thank you for your help. we are working closely with the international community to reduce harmful aviation emissions. our two countries will continue to work together to advance global health initiatives so that the world is better equipped to handle the threat of pandemics. we agreed to keep promoting people the people ties between our countries. we are expanding our trust and travelers program to make it easier for people in singapore and the u.s. to visit each other. i welcome their announcement of a new exchange program which will include scholarships for students of our countries and through our young southeast asian leaders initiative, we will keep empowering and people in singapore and across the region to become the leaders of tomorrow in business, and civil society. i had a chance to meet one of

those young singaporean leaders, last year, a remarkable young woman who is helping young -- underprivileged women become financially self-sufficient. she talked about coming together with young people from across southeast asia. she said we bonded in our common endeavor to seek, understand and learn from one another in pursuit of our aspirations to a better world. lunch -- young people like her give me hope. u.s. willand the continue to share our aspirations for a better world for many years to come. with that, i will handed over to the prime minister. >> thank you. i am happy to be here on official business for the 50th anniversary of our diplomatic relations. i would like to thank president obama for his gracious hospitality and for his attention to bilateral relations.

the president and i had a substantial conversation on the wide range of issues. we are affirmed our strong multifaceted and long string -- long-standing partnership, strong economic ties with the free trade agreement. america's largest trading partner in southeast asia. the u.s. is singapore's largest foreign direct investor. there are many singapore companies in america. the relationship deepens year-by-year. in the defense area, we have robust cooperation under the mou, and the strategic framework agreement which concluded in 2005. last year, we concluded the enhanced defense corporation agreement which expands defense

cooperation into other areas such as disaster relief, cyber defense and counterterrorism. we are also deepening security cooperation between our agencies and areas of counterterrorism, cybercrime, transportation security and illicit trade enforcement and expanding into new areas like cyber security where agencies are signing a mou to work together to protect national security and economic interests. also share an interest in smart cities, so we have discussed how cities can use technology to track problems from health care to transportation the delivery of public services. there was a lot of interest from companies on both sides. underpinning the ties between the two countries are the friendships and relationships between our peoples. aresands of americans studying and working in singapore. thousands of singaporeans are studying and working in the

united states. people -- . it is fitting to mark this special occasion of our 50th anniversary that they are launching a scholarship for singaporeans and americans to enable undergraduates to do some exchanges with each other and draw our young people closer together to get to know each other's societies, culture, strength. we recently implemented a trusted traveler program that will also facilitate travel by singaporeans to the u.s.. the president and i discussed the tpp and he gave eloquent expiration of why it was important to the u.s. and to asia. ofis an integral component the u.s. rebalance to asia. apart from economic benefits, trade and market access, it is

vital from a strategic point of view and a strong signal of the u.s. commitment to continue its deep engagement in the region. we appreciate the efforts of the president and his team to push for the tpp, which grew from a now, the tpp will encompass 40% of the worlds population and one third of the world's gdp. we are near the finish line, and we hope that the countries, particularly the u.s., will be able to ratified the tpp as soon as possible. finally, we discussed our partnership in tackling global challenges like counterterrorism. it is a problem for all countries. every day, you read of new attacks somewhere. america, europe, the middle east, closer to home. we in southeast asia are concerned about this, because

the terrorists are active in many countries in the region. several hundred, perhaps a thousand from southeast asia are in the middle east fighting isis and we have witnessed attacks in both indonesia and malaysia network were mounted by isis followers under orders from isis operatives in the middle east to launch attacks in their home countries. the efforts to counter isis are crucial, and that is why singapore is involved with the coalition and we are making a modest contribution and we will be spending -- sending a medical team to iraq. we have already been participating with air to air refueling and other ways and now we will send a medical team into iraq. it is important to fundamentally -- in order to counter the underlying ideology of isis and addressed the extremist views

being propagated. these are major issues that we have discussed among our two countries and we look forward to working together and taking our relationship further. >> first question. thank you mr. president. given the republican nominees recent comments about the khan family and his statement that if he was president he would consider russians annexation of crimea, do you consider his -- you have said in the past that the worst mistake of your presidency may have been your failure to plan for the aftermath of that 2011 nato intervention in libya. toyou see your new decision bomb isis as a direct result? >> yes. i think the republican nominee is unfit to serve as president.

i said so last week. he keeps on proving it. notion that he would attack a gold star family, that hayden -- had made such extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of our , the fact that he does not appear to have basic issuesge around critical in europe, the middle east, in asia. it means that he is woefully this is not just my opinion it. what's been interesting has been the repeated denunciations of

his statements by leading republicans. including the speaker of the house, the senate majority leader, prominent republicans like john mccain. the question they have to ask themselves is if you are say in veryaving to strong terms that what he has unacceptable, why are you still endorsing him? what does this say about your party, that this is your standard error. bearer. this is not a situation where you have an episodic gaffe. weekly, whereand

they are distancing themselves from statements he is making. there has to be appointed which you say this is not somebody i can support for president of the united states. he purports to be a member of my party. that that has not yet happened makes similes than nch and's hollow. -- to nuncio and's ring hollow. i don't doubt they are outraged by some of the statements that kahn made about the family. someone who's makes those kinds of statements doesn't have the judgment or the temperament or occupy theanding to

most powerful position in the world. on thef people depend white house getting stuff right. haveis different than just -- having policy disagreements. i realize they profoundly disagree with myself or hillary clinton on tax policy or sell it in -- elements of foreign policy. there have been republican presidents with whom i disagreed with, but i didn't have a doubt they could function is president. right and john mccain and mitt romney were wrong on policy issue. i never thought they couldn't do the job and had they won, i would have been disappointed it,

but i would've said to all americans, this is our president and i know they will abide by certain norms and rules and common sense. they will observe basic decency. knowledgehave enough about economic policy and foreign policy and our constitutional traditions and that ourof law government will work. we will compete for years from now to win an election. it but that is not the situation here. that's not just my opinion. that is the opinion of many prominent republicans. there has to come a point in which you say it.

the alternative is the entire party effectively endorses and validates the positions that are being articulated by mr. trump. i don't think that represents the views of a lot of republicans. libya, i haveo said on several occasions that we did the right thing in preventing what could have been a massacre in libya. we did so as part of an international coalition and under u.n. mandate. i think that all of us collectively were not sufficiently attentive to what had to happen the day after and the day after.

there needed to be strong assureres in place to basic security and peace inside libya. thegood news is we have beginnings of a government. they are serious about trying to bring all the factions together. to start creating a basic security structure, to begin to monitor libya's borders and internationally, to deal with issues like isil penetration on their territory. at the request of that government, after they had already made significant isil, hadgainst essentially pushed isil into a

very confined area in and around their, it is in our national security interests to make sure that they are able to finish the job. we are working in partnership thatthem, to assure them isil does not get a stronghold beginsa, even as they tot is a long process establish a functioning government and security system there. that theyews is recognize this terrorist organization is contrary to their national interests as well as the world's. havinghopeful that completed this process, they

will be in a position to start bringing parties together. other countries around the world have a great interest in seeing stability in libya. the absence of stability has helped fuel some of the challenges we have seen in terms of the migration crisis in europe and the humanitarian tragedy in the open seas. >> the first question is for the prime minister. continuationut the of peace and stability in asia. how do you envision this proceeding in the next 50 years? what role do you see singapore playing in this context? what issues will you face?

links to nine different u.s. presidents from both sides of the political divide. how do we address the u.s. leader who is anti-globalization? president obama, i have a question about collaboration, which is been a cornerstone of the relationship between singapore and the u.s.. with the rising threat of terror in the world and the potential for confrontation in the south china sea, how does singapore address this going forward? phrasere years is a you're hearing a little bit in the past few weeks.

possible, how would you continue developing relationships with singapore? what would be your key focus going forward? prime minister lee: 50 years as a very long time. nobody imagined what the world would be like today or what singapore would be like today. we have such a deep and broad things.ship and so many we would like to build on this for the next 50 years. it depends how our countries does, we want to remain stable and prosperous and open. in america, if you remain one of the vibrant leading economies in the world where there are other powers and other centers of technology, you

are unique participant with contributing to the world not just for your own interests, but because you believe that the world should be a place for all people. if america can do that and singapore can maintain our success, there are many opportunities for common cause together. it will be a very different world. some countries will grow and others will slow down. the population of japan has been at shrinking. they will have to turn it around. in 50 years, you have a very small country left. has demographic issues.

composition of population changing. we have to adjust to a new world did -- world. we need our ability to compete. it is not going to be the same as it was in 1946 when america was one half the world's gdp. factor overcrucial the next 50 years. do with a u.s. leader that is more closed off, i don't think this is the right forum for me to talk about u.s. politics and public. we will work who ever is the president. we have worked with five democrats and four democrat -- five republicans and for democrats. buildup in a, and cooler

atmosphere, positions are rethought, strategies are nuanced and a certain balance is cap in the direction. it does not turn completely upside down. in americans take pride having a system of checks and balances. things,t so easy to do but it is not so easy to completely messed things up. [laughter] , and sometimes we depend upon that. [laughter] president obama: he's absolutely right. [laughter] founders. of our with the respect to military cooperation, singapore is a

strong country, but it punches above its weight. so much of our work in the asia-pacific region is not a matter of act of conflict. framework ofng a rules and norms that keeps the peace. it has underwritten security for the region and for us for many years now. so often the adult in the room. the level head. it can help us work with a wide range of countries around certain issues. they help defuse tensions. in many ways, the diplomatic work and collaboration that we do with singapore is as critical than the work militarily.

think of cyber threats about enforcing sanctions against north korea. if you think about being able to counter message isil in a place like southeast asia and ensure information sharing with countries where there may be a terrorist threat, those are all issues of military finesse. and intelligence. and precision. those are areas in which singapore excels. in addition to being a very important logistical hub and a operations, the

partnership that we are able to with an helps us to work range of other countries much more effectively than we would if singapore were not there and we were just trying to gather up these countries individually. it is institutionalizing many of these practices and ways that hopefully avoid conflict in the first place. that would be in everybody's interest. as far as where the relationship goes, the prime minister is right. 50 years from now, it's very hard to anticipate where we are going. there are certain trends that are inevitable. the asia-pacific region will

grow an account or a larger economy.the world's there are going to be countries in the southeast asian region that look to follow the path of singapore into a mature and advanced economy. market.ing to be a big the united states is going to have a massive interest in maintaining itself as asia-pacific power and as maintaining strong odds of trade and commerce in scientific exchange and educational exchange and given the close strategic interests and maybe even more importantly, the close people ties between america and singapore, we can anticipate

being just a strong 50 years as it is today. singapore has to take into account not just american interests. china is a big neighbor. there are strong ties there as well. in that sense, singapore can serve as a useful partner with us and with china. i think that would be in the interest of both countries. be a central to engine for world growth. if we do a good job of maintaining stability and ensuring a rules-based order, we will promote greater transparency and reduce corruption so that all people are benefiting from the rapid growth that is taking place.

the future 50 years from now will be good. thank you, mr. president. you are here today to tout the tpp. hillary clinton is against it. donald trump is as well. the next president will be opposed to the deal. how do you plan to get congress to pass this deal during the lame-duck? get members to do so? they are certain that the hacks the dnc had it came from russia. does it look like they are meddling in the u.s. election? what impact should that have on your relationship with moscow? right now,bama:ee: right

i am president and i think i've got the better argument. we are part of a global economy. we are not reversing that. it can't be reversed. it is driven by technology. it is driven by travel and cargo and the fact that the demand of four products inside means we've got to get things from other places. our export sector is a huge -- huge contributor. most manufactured products involve a global supply chain were parts are made in all

corners of the globe. the notion that we are going to pull that up is unrealistic. point number two, it is absolutely true, the evidence shows some past trade deals have not delivered on all the benefits that were promised and had very localized communities that were hurt because plants moved out. people lost jobs. jobs were created because of those trade deals, but jobs were also lost. people who experienced those losses, they did not get as much help as they needed to. what is also true is as a consequence of automation and

workersation, labor, are losing leverage and capital being mobile, been able to locate around the world, that andgrown inequality here many advanced economies. there is a real problem. the answer is not letting off globalization. the answer is how do we make sure that globalization works for us, not against us. tpp is designed to do that. out 18,000 tariffs that other countries place on american products. feweronomy currently has tariffs and is more open than many of our trading partners. if everybody agrees we will have more tariffs, that's good for american businesses and workers.

we should want that. we should pursue that. two, the complaint about previous trade deals was labor agreements and environmental agreements sounded good, but they were not enforceable the same way you could complain about tariffs and actually get action to ensure that tariffs were not enforced. labor agreements and environmental agreements, and they are just as enforceable as any other part of the agreement. seriously, them so vietnam is drafting and presenting unprecedented labor reforms in vietnam. they are changing their constitution to recognize worker

organizations for the first time. what we are doing is we're raising standards. it's harder for them to undercut labor standards here in the united states. the same is true for environmental standards. the same is true for things like human trafficking. malaysia is taking serious efforts to crack down on human trafficking because tpp says you need to. promote us leverage to things that progressives and people here in this country including labor loot and's -- unions say they care about. if you care about preventing the abuse of workers or child labor theildlife trafficking,

decimation of forests, all those things are addressed in this agreement. not yet heard anybody make an argument yet that the existing trading rules are better for issues like labor rights and environmental rights than they would be if we got tpp past. i will continue to make this case. i have some very close friends, people i admire a lot. i disagree with him. that's ok. i respect the argument they are making. they are coming from a sincere ofcern about the position workers and wages in this country. have the better

argument and i have the argument -- evidence to support it. hopefully after the election is over, there will be more attention to the actual fact behind the deal it will just be a political symbol or a political football. i will sit down with people on both sides, on the right and on the left, i will sit down publicly with them and we will go down through the provisions. i would enjoy that. there is a lot of misinformation. i am really confident i can make the case that this is good for american workers. somehow, we muddle through and got it done. withend to do the same respect to the actual agreement.

you had the second question? that was a long answer. i apologize. the fbi is still doing an investigation. there have been some assessments made this might have been a russian hack. what i can tell you without commenting on the specifics is there are a lot of countries out there that are trying to hack into our stuff. governmental, databases, private sector databases. not-for-profit databases. this is why we have stood up n aggressive effort to improve our cyber security. we have provisions in place where if we see evidence of a malicious attack by a state act can enforcer, we

penalties. be able toes us to pin down and know what we are talking about. i don't want to get out ahead of the legal evidence and the facts that we may have in order to make those kinds of decisions. toe broadly, we are trying promote international norms and rules that say there are certain things that states should not be doing it to each other when it .omes to cyber attacks certain things are out of bounds. slowlyorms are going to build. they will get more adherence over time. we still early in the process. the explosion of the internet and its importance to our systems has outstretched

the legal architecture. we're playing catch. were going to have to keep at it. in terms of how it affects our relationship with russia, we've got a lot of differences with russia on a bunch of issues. i think we have been able to stay focused on those areas where we still have a common interest. we have deep disagreements on issues like ukraine. inwe have an interest bringing an end to violence in syria, how we balance those issues. that is pretty standard statecraft at this point with russia. fact russia engaged in

this activity, it's a long list of issues that me and vladimir putin talk about. i have a real problem with it. i don't think it wildly swings what is a tough, difficult relationship we have right now. it's not going to stop us from trying to pursue solutions so that we can implement the minsk agreement and get russia and those separatists to lay down arms and stop bullying ukraine. bringing aop us from political transition inside syria that can and the hardship there. prime minister lee: can i say something about tpp? i don't want to get into your domestic politics. looking at someone who is someone who has been intimately

involved in triggered the whole , it has become this important initiative. the economic arguments for the tpp in terms of trade, i think the president has presented them eloquently. it is a deal the countries have negotiated. accesse provides market on their side in return for gaining market access on the other side. they are committing to rules. it is a hard fought bargaining ross us. the negotiators spent many trips and nights and many dawns and find out. at the and of it, everybody must decide is a plus or minus for thinkin your case, i