AMBASSADOR KAPLAN: Well, good afternoon, everyone. Maybe we’re coming up on good evening. We appreciate everyone’s patience and we’re excited to be here. It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all here today. I’ve had the pleasure for the last three and a half years to be the United States ambassador to the Republic of Singapore.
Now, we’re living in a very complicated time in history. Terrorist acts, brutal war, and senseless humanitarian suffering roil our everyday. Our resolve is being tested like never before, from Ukraine to the Middle East to the South China Sea – tough decisions and complex situations. Yet few understand this better than our special guest and few are more qualified to help tackle these enormous diplomatic challenges.
We are truly honored to be joined by the Secretary of State Antony Blinken. As his first visit to Singapore in his capacity as America’s 71st Secretary of State, his presence here today is a strong signal of the important and enduring partnership between our two countries, a partnership since Singapore’s independence 59 years ago next week. Thank you, Tony, for being here. We’re also grateful to our host, the Asian Civilization Museum, and to our organizing partner, the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.
It’s now my pleasure to welcome Professor Danny Quah, who has the honor of introducing our distinguished guests. (Applause.)
MR QUAH: Ambassadors, excellencies, distinguished guests, colleagues, and friends, good evening. My name is Danny Quah, and I’m Li Ka Shing Professor in Economics and dean at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. It’s my great pleasure this afternoon to welcome you all to this event, jointly organized by the U.S. embassy here in Singapore and the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. We are delighted and honored that in a few minutes we will be getting to hear Secretary Blinken in conversation with Ambassador Chan Heng Chee.
To begin the proceedings, I will invite Ambassador Chan up on stage to introduce and then, in a minute, welcome Secretary Blinken. Ambassador Chan is of course well known to all of us here. She served as Singapore’s ambassador to the United States for 16 years, from 1996 on. Ambassador Chan is ambassador-at-large at Singapore’s ministry of foreign affairs and professor at the Lee Kuan Yew Centre for Innovative Cities at the Singapore University of Technology and Design.
Please join me in welcoming Ambassador Chan to the stage. (Applause.)
AMBASSADOR CHAN: Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, Ambassador Kaplan has very capably introduced the subject. And so it is now my honor and privilege this afternoon to introduce the 71st Secretary of State of the United States of America, Antony Blinken. Secretary Blinken, as you know, has had a long and distinguished record of service in U.S. administrations. He served as the national security advisor to Vice President Biden during the Obama first administration – I was there – and later as deputy national security advisor and deputy secretary of state in the Obama second administration.
He is in Singapore for a bilateral visit. He held the Critical and Emerging Technologies Dialogue with Singapore officials, and you would have just heard or read that the – Singapore and the United States signed a peaceful nuclear cooperation agreement to explore potential civilian uses of nuclear technologies. Certainly I agree we cannot have a better or more qualified person to answer the questions on top of our minds and to talk of U.S. foreign policy. We will have a conversation for about 20 minutes or so, 25 minutes, and we’ll take a question from the floor.
So I now invite Secretary Blinken to take his seat for our conversation. (Applause.)
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you.
AMBASSADOR CHAN: (Inaudible.) Secretary Blinken, you have just visited Laos to attend the ASEAN ministerial meetings. That’s great. In recent times, the Biden administration seems to have worked a lot on creating minilaterals to meet your security objectives – Quad, AUKUS – then you’ve expanded and deepened, renewed your relationship, the security relationship with Japan and Korea. And there is the Australia, Japan, Philippines, and U.S. grouping, which was formed for maritime cooperative activity. What is the place of multilaterals in U.S. strategic thinking?
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, first, it’s wonderful to be with you, to see you again here. It’s wonderful for me to be back in Singapore. I was reflecting and thinking about it, and the first time I was here was actually 44 years ago – as a very young man, of course. (Laughter.) And I’ve had opportunities, of course, to be back since, but this is my first visit in this – in this job, and I’m gratified to be here because of the strength of our partnership and the value that we attach to it. And I want to come to your question because I think it’s right at the heart of everything we’re doing.
When President Biden took office, the first thing that he instructed me to do – and all of us to do – was to renew, reinvigorate, and in some cases reimagine our alliances and partnerships. And that has been a critical part of our efforts from day one, including here in the Asia Pacific, the Indo-Pacific. And you mentioned some of them, and what we’ve tried to do is not only to reinvigorate existing alliances and partnerships, but also to create new arrangements of countries that are really fit for purpose, that are focused on particular issues.
But the multilateral system is also critical to what we’re doing, including, of course, at the United Nations. And we see that as an integral part of our engagement around the world because there are two things that I think motivate us profoundly. One is that there is a premium, I think, on American engagement, American leadership. Certainly, it’s one that makes sense for us, but I also believe it makes sense for countries around the world. If we’re not engaged, if we’re not leading, then probably someone else is and maybe not in a way that advances the interests and values that that we have and that we share with Singapore; maybe just as bad, no one is and then you’re going to have a vacuum that’s filled by bad things before it’s likely filled by good things.
But the flip side of that coin is that I think there’s a greater premium now than there’s been at any time in the 30 or so years that I’ve been doing this on cooperation, on collaboration, on bringing common approaches to what are shared challenges. The multilateral system is one key vehicle for doing that, and I think you’ve seen our re-engagement across that system even as we’ve also been reinvigorating alliances and partnerships.
AMBASSADOR CHAN: Now, Secretary, you have given us a vision. But the security vision, the alliance, the partnership vision of the Biden administration for the Indo-Pacific, what is the place of trade in that vision?
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Trade is critical. It links countries, it links people, it links economies. And I think we have to, though, think about two things. One is we want to be focused on what’s actually happening in this 21st century, including when it comes to trade. So one of the focuses that we brought to this is on the digital economy, and through things like the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, that’s one of the things that we’re trying to drive forward, understandings on that. Second, there are things that are so necessary, that have become so clear to us – especially with the experience of COVID – that are absolutely essential if trade is going to flourish and go forward.
For example, resilient supply chains: we know what happens when we don’t have them; we know the impact that that has on trade. So we’ve worked very hard to strengthen supply chains, to rethink them, to build resilience, to build early warning into them with many other countries so if there’s a challenge to them, we’re doing something about it. But there’s something else that’s important to keep an eye on. Trade is vital; so is investment. Right now the United States is overwhelmingly the leading provider of foreign direct investment in Singapore by, I think, five times the next nearest country.
At the same time, we’re also the biggest provider of foreign direct investment across all of the ASEAN countries. The United States also happens to be the biggest recipient of foreign direct investment. Why is that important? Because you don’t – these investments don’t happen unless there’s a certain amount of trust, and also unless there’s a certain amount of optimism about the future. I think we see, in the magnitude of foreign direct investment, a tremendous amount of trust between the United States, Singapore, countries in ASEAN – a tremendous amount of trust in the United States, and confidence that this is where the future is. So as much as I would look at trade, I would also look at foreign direct investment.
AMBASSADOR CHAN: You’re right there. But I would like to explain to you, Mr. Secretary, that in the thinking of Southeast Asians and Asians, trade is extremely important. Lee Kuan Yew in the 1980s gave a congressional joint session – joint address. And he spoke about democracy and trade going hand in hand. You cannot promote democracy if you don’t promote trade. So I get very discouraged when I hear Americans say we can’t do trade, you know?
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, of course, I agree with his insight. I think that’s very much true; it remains true. We remain a great trading nation, as is Singapore. I think, though, what we have to also be focused on is making sure the trade works for our working people, that it works for our companies, that it works for our societies. And we also have to make sure that we are adequately dealing with sometimes second- and third-order consequences that come with it.
I’ll give you an example. Right now, we have a challenge when it comes to China with overcapacity, that is producing, in certain sectors and certain industries, well beyond not only the needs of China but of world demand, and doing it in a way with subsidies and other forms of support that not only create unfair advantages but create an environment in which, when that kind of trade goes forward, it has the potential to flood and, as a result, ruin entire communities, companies, workers who are on the receiving end of something that’s not fair or not balanced. We have to also be able to deal with those kinds of challenges to the trading system.
AMBASSADOR CHAN: Certainly. But we hope that the way countries respond would not be through protectionist measures, more protectionist measures.
Now, let me go back to the earlier discussion on the vision of the latest framework that the United States has created for security. Now, strategic deterrence under U.S. leadership is something I think I understand why you are doing this. Like-minded countries come together so that they can deal with a fast-emerging challenge, an adversary or a threat. But is the United States also starting to build confidence-building mechanisms with a potential – your potential adversary?
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Absolutely, and that’s critical; it’s vital. And let’s take, again, the relationship with China. For us, it’s both arguably the most complicated and most consequential in the world – actually, many countries can say the same thing. There’s an obligation that we have, and that is to make sure that we’re managing that relationship responsibly. We’re in a competition – and by the way, there’s nothing wrong with competition. In fact, in our system, competition’s a good thing. As long as it’s fair, as long as it’s on a level playing field, it’s a good thing. It hopefully brings out the best in everyone. We want to make sure that that competition doesn’t veer into conflict, which is profoundly not in our interest or anyone else’s, nor in China’s.
And that starts with communicating. It starts with being able to speak clearly, directly, and frequently to each other. Just since last June, I think I’ve seen my Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, the foreign minister, six times. I was just with him in Laos at the ASEAN meetings. We speak on the phone. Many others in our government are engaged with their counterparts in China, and that’s hugely important precisely for that reason.
Second, there are aspects of this that are especially important. For example, we resumed military-to-military contacts at all levels. That’s so vital to making sure there are not misunderstandings that, again, could lead inadvertently to conflict. And we’re also looking to find areas where we can cooperate when it’s in the interest of our people, when it’s in the interest of China, when it’s in the interest of so many others. We’ve been doing that as well.
For example, we have a plague in the United States of synthetic opioids, fentanyl. The number-one killer of Americans between the ages 18 and 45 is fentanyl. It’s not heart attacks, it’s not car accidents, it’s not cancer, it’s not guns – it’s fentanyl. And it’s a global issue, and we have to deal with, for example, the question of the ingredients that go into making it, the chemical precursors that are often manufactured in China, may come to Mexico, get synthesized into fentanyl.
Well, President Biden and President Xi reached an important agreement when they met in San Francisco at the end of last year about working together on this and China taking important steps, some of which it’s taken, to try to curb the flow of these ingredients, these precursors. So we very much believe in the importance of engagement.
And finally, on the many places where we, yes, have real differences, it’s important to talk about them, make sure at least we understand each other, that we know where each other is coming from even if we disagree.
AMBASSADOR CHAN: Secretary, I’m glad you said that. There was a collective sigh of relief in the region when the Biden-Xi summit took place in San Francisco, and my American friends tell me that stability has been reached. I think the Chinese side also says this is good, we’ve reached stability, but sometimes I wonder whether you are each saying it to convince yourselves. But the – yes, and I think that’s a good way to go forward, and I like what you say about competition without conflict. But many of us still believe it is still a very fragile stability, yeah.
So let me go further on this, because in ASEAN, many of the countries here have grown – done well. We are one of the fastest growing regions in the world as seen by IMF and World Bank.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: That’s right.
AMBASSADOR CHAN: We build – ASEAN countries are building a huge middle class. You have it in Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and of course Singapore. But this middle class is built on globalization, and also because we are part of a production process, producing goods to be sent to the United States and other markets, mainly electronic goods. So we are very worried about the “small yard, high fence” policy, because we see it becoming a bigger yard and higher fences. Where will it stop?
SECRETARY BLINKEN: It’s very important to understand what this is and what this isn’t, because we want to make sure that even as we’re taking what we believe are necessary measures to protect our security, we’re not doing it in a way that undermines, inhibits trade that, as we were just discussing a few minutes ago, is so vital; investment and progress and opportunity for people around the world. So when it comes to the “small yard, high fence,” look, it makes sense – and I’ve said this directly to our Chinese counterparts – that it makes sense for us to try to make sure that when it comes to the most sophisticated technology that is being used because there’s fusion between the military and the civilian space in China; that is being used and goes directly to military applications, including, unfortunately, a very rapid and very opaque buildup of their nuclear program – how is it in our interest to provide that? No country would do that.
At the same time, we really are focused on making sure that this is a small yard and a high fence, and that means being very attentive to what’s controlled and what isn’t. It means listening to the private sector. It means listening to other countries and working with them.
And I’ll give you another example. We have controls, listings of one kind or another against about 1,300 companies in China. There are 43 million registered companies in China. It’s an infinitesimally small number with regard to the Chinese economy. But we have a responsibility to protect our security, and other countries feel the same way. But if you look at the overall numbers, our trade with China reached record levels just a couple of years ago. Investment’s been down, but there are a lot of reasons for that that have nothing to do with any controls that we impose.
Finally, what’s so important here is that when we do these things, we do them in collaboration with, in coordination with other countries who may have similar concerns. And that’s what we’re focused on doing.
AMBASSADOR CHAN: Yes. No, we understand national security concerns, Secretary. But sometimes, given the contests between two parties in – two sides in the United States, the definition of national security becomes looser and looser. I think that’s what we are worried about.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Yeah, and we – and certainly we know that, and it’s something that I’m focused on. The question, for example, of deciding and defining what constitutes a dual-use item and how challenging is the potential other use – that’s something, yes, we have to focus on very seriously, and again, do it in a way that, as we would say, doesn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.
AMBASSADOR CHAN: Yeah. Now I’d like to switch the discussion to the United States. There’s a lot of noise coming out of the presidential campaign, politics —
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Really. I hadn’t heard any of it. (Laughter.)
AMBASSADOR CHAN: Yes. Can you give us an idea of where the United States as a country, a great power, a superpower, stands in terms of engagement with the world, with trade, a defense ally, and as a global policeman?
SECRETARY BLINKEN: So we have these periodic things called elections, and I think it’s normal that before every election – given the importance of this moment in history that our country has around the world – that of course people ask questions. They wonder what’s going to happen in any given election, what direction does the country take, and maybe there are lesser or higher degrees of that on any given election, but it always happens before every election, and I understand that.
I think that there are a number of constants that don’t fundamentally change irrespective of who wins a particular election. One is that if you look at most of the polling, if you listen to our fellow citizens, they actually want the United States to be engaged in the world. They understand that in order to actually get things done at home, we also have to be working with others around the world, and that remains by far the majority opinion. They strongly prefer that the United States not engage the world alone. They want – they know the benefits in partnerships, in alliances, and again, that’s a constant. And I think that remains no matter what.
The flip side is equally important. What I’m hearing is – I have the great honor of going around the world on behalf of the United States – is that most countries actually want us engaged. They want our leadership, they want our partnership, and that’s a very positive signal that resonates back in the United States. So look, I really – I do understand the focus on this, but I’m also very confident that at the end of the day, most Americans see the benefits of our engagement around the world.
AMBASSADOR CHAN: Well, you will understand that amongst your friends and countries around the world, they are concerned whether there’ll be a continuity of policy between administrations – whether it is climate change, technology policy, or whatever. And so some countries worry when they are negotiating deals with the United States, will that stand if it is another administration.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: It’s the nature of our system, and I think people have seen that, know that over many years. We have so many actors in our system that are important, and of course the federal government stands at the top, but our states play incredibly important roles, our cities play incredibly important roles. There are connections that have grown stronger and stronger over the years between our states and other countries, between cities in different places that continue to drive things forward, sometimes irrespective of what the national policy may be. Climate’s a great example of that.
And look, if you’re sitting in the United States and you care, as so many Americans do, for example, about climate change – and Singapore and the United States are two countries that have been the leading edge in doing something about it – we know for our part that even if we somehow did everything right at home in terms of emissions and in terms of global warming, we’re 15 percent of global emissions. That means that we somehow have to find a way to encourage the other 85 percent of emissions to be dealt with, and that means working with other countries.
AMBASSADOR CHAN: You played with a rock band in your younger days. Cool. And recently in Beijing, you were going to music shops with Ambassador Nick Burns.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: That’s right.
AMBASSADOR CHAN: And you bought Taylor Swift CDs and Dou Wei, the —
SECRETARY BLINKEN: I don’t know if anyone’s heard of Taylor Swift, but – (laughter) – I gather she might have come to Singapore recently.
AMBASSADOR CHAN: Yeah. And you bought Dou Wei, the Chinese rocker.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: That’s right, who’s terrific.
AMBASSADOR CHAN: I never heard of him until you – I say if Secretary Blinken buys it, I’ll see.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, it was a recommendation from the very nice gentleman who owned the record shop, but he’s terrific.
AMBASSADOR CHAN: He’s terrific, great music, good beat, and the lyrics are very good.
Do you still play in a band?
SECRETARY BLINKEN: I – occasionally I’ve done – I’ve gotten up and done some kind of charity event, but what I’ve found is if I ever have a room and there’s an event that’s running overtime and we need to clear the room, the best thing for me to do up is – do is get up and play the guitar. It clears the room immediately. (Laughter.)
AMBASSADOR CHAN: Electric guitar, someone told me. An opera singer told me this, actually, just two days ago.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, it’s been a lifelong passion and something that only enhances your own appreciation for music. And everyone has a different thread in their life. For me and as I know for so many others, it has been music, and it’s a great source of joy, of comfort. Sometimes we have more difficult days than others in this business, and being able to have music to go back to – it’s a wonderful thing.
AMBASSADOR CHAN: Well, thank you very much, Secretary Blinken. I’m going to allow some questions.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Very good.
AMBASSADOR CHAN: Question from the floor, left side, please.
QUESTION: Good evening, everyone. I’m Yvonne and I’m a student at Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, and I’m doing my master’s in public policy. So Secretary Blinken, adding on to Madam Chan’s – Ambassador Chan’s – your passion for music, my question is: You have shared how music plays a profound role in your life and its power to connect people across cultures. We can see how Korea effectively used music as a soft —
SECRETARY BLINKEN: That’s right.
QUESTION: Soft form of – a form of soft power. So how do you see your personal passion for music influencing your approach to diplomacy and international relations, especially in fostering cross-cultural understanding and cooperation?
AMBASSADOR CHAN: Play us a piece now. (Laughter.)
QUESTION: Thank you.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, you’re right. It’s a great connector. I think in general the arts, culture – one of the greatest connectors we have. And music, I’ve seen – I’ve seen it do this powerfully, because it transcends borders. It transcends language; it transcends difference in politics. And especially at a time when the world is so charged in so many ways, having those connectors, I think, is more important than ever, and I’ve really seen it break down barriers in ways that have a profound impact. I see it in my own engagements with some of my counterparts. Sometimes one of the things that connects us is music.
But you mentioned as well the soft power aspect of this, and K-pop is a great example of that. In fact – I guess this is a couple of years ago – I was on one of our late night television shows, something I hadn’t really done before, shows like – used to be David Letterman, the Tonight Show, all of these shows. And I was on one of the programs. And as we arrived at the studio, there was a huge crowd outside, and I thought, oh, that’s nice – and then I realized they had no interest in me; there was a Korean K-pop band that was also on the show that night. (Laughter.) It’s a good reminder of things.
But we have programs at the State Department that I think are among the best things we do. We have an entire department focused on educational and cultural affairs. And they’re the ones who do the exchange programs like all of the fellowships that many people have benefited from. But they also do exchanges with artists, with musicians, with actors, with painters. And I’ve seen this have as much, and maybe even sometimes a greater, impact than some of the things we do a policy level. So I’m a great believer in it, and I think it’s profoundly to our benefit. Thank you.
AMBASSADOR CHAN: Secretary, can we have one more question?
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Of course.
AMBASSADOR CHAN: From the right side – yes, the hand up.
QUESTION: Thank you, Ambassador. Nicholas. I am director for security and global affairs at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, a think tank here. You – we talked a little bit about continuity of political leadership in the U.S. I won’t ask you to crystal ball gaze into the potential outcome in November, but we’ve also talked about the two major conflicts that are going on in Europe and the Middle East. What do you think will be the likely progression of those conflicts, and the U.S. impact in those conflicts, as a result of the elections, whichever way it might go? Thank you.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, look, one of the benefits of my job is that I don’t do politics. I just focus on policy and try my best to help develop and then advance the best policies we can to deal with the many challenges that we’re facing. And certainly predicting an election in our country is something I wouldn’t hazard to do. Our elections have been very, very close, and I expect this next election is likely to be the same, just looking at it as an American citizen.
But what I’m focused on, and what President Biden is focused on, really are the next – the next six months between now and when the next president takes office in making sure that we’re doing everything we can on all of these fronts to try to advance peace, to try to advance security, to try to advance not only our own interests but the interests of so many of our friends and partners.
I’ll say, very briefly, when it comes to the ongoing aggression by Russia against Ukraine, our support for Ukraine remains resolute. You’ve seen that in the very strong, albeit delayed, bipartisan support for the supplemental budget that we put forward for Ukraine. We see it in everything that came out of the recent NATO Summit. We see it in the agreements that now more than 20 countries have signed to support Ukraine over the long term in making sure that it has a strong defense and deterrent capability.
And ultimately, whatever happens over the next six months, I believe strongly that Ukraine will be a successful country, and the success is, I would measure, by looking at: Is it standing strongly on its own feet militarily, economically, democratically? Is it integrated with the institutions that it wants to be integrated with? And I believe it’s on a trajectory to do just that. The support of so many countries around the world is vital.
When it comes to the Middle East, we’re working virtually every minute of the day to try to bring this to a better place, and in particular, to get a ceasefire in Gaza, to get hostages coming home, to try to put Gaza and, more broadly, the other areas of potential conflict in the region on a better track. And from my perspective, it’s imperative that we get that done, and we’re working at it.
And we’re doing that, again, irrespective of any – of an election in our country. We’re doing that because that’s our responsibility in this moment, and as long as we have that responsibility, we’ll continue to do our best to get to the right place. Thank you.
AMBASSADOR CHAN: We have one more minute left. Short question. Yes, in the center. Do you have a loud voice? Please speak up.
QUESTION: Yeah, I have a very loud voice.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Good. (Laughter.)
QUESTION: Thank you, Senator – thank you, Secretary Blinken. So my name is Scott. I’m also a student from Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. And I’m – yeah, sure.
AMBASSADOR CHAN: (Inaudible.)
QUESTION: Yes. So my name is Scott. I’m a Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy Master’s of Public Policy candidate. And my question to you is somewhat related with your previous answer. I know that this session is talking about the Indo-Pacific Strategy, but of course today we’ve heard some scary kind of breaking news about the senior Hamas official being killed in Iran. And so I just wanted to get your sense because I believe this would be the first time that I get to hear about what your perspective is and how this changes the negotiations, because he was at the forefront of Hamas negotiations. Thank you.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, of course I’ve seen the reports, and all I can tell you right now is I think nothing takes away from the importance of, as I said a moment ago, getting to the ceasefire, which is manifestly in the interests of the hostages and bringing them home. It’s manifestly in the interests of Palestinians, who are suffering terribly every single day – children, women, men – in Gaza, who’ve been caught in this crossfire of Hamas’s making. It’s profoundly in the interest of trying to put things on a better path, not only in Gaza, but actually throughout the region, because so much is tied to what’s happening in Gaza right now.
We’ve been working from day one not only to try to get to a better place in Gaza, but also to prevent the conflict from spreading, whether it’s in the north with Lebanon and Hizballah, whether it’s the Red Sea with the Houthis, whether it’s Iran, Syria, Iraq – you name it. And a big key to trying to make sure that that doesn’t happen and that we can move to a better place is getting the ceasefire.
I’m not going to speculate on what impact any one event might have on that. I’ve learned over many years never to really speculate about that because we simply don’t know. What I do know is the enduring imperative of getting the ceasefire, and what I do know is we’ll continue to work at that every day. Thank you.
AMBASSADOR CHAN: Sorry. Ladies and gentlemen, I’m afraid I will have to bring this discussion to a close, I’ve been told. (Laughter.) So let us show our appreciation to Secretary Blinken. (Applause.)
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
AMBASSADOR CHAN: (Off-mike.)
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you. Thank you so much. Great to be with you. (Applause.) Thank you. Thanks, everyone.
