Statecraft at this point with russia. If in fact russia engaged in this activity, its a long list of issues that me and Vladimir Putin talk about. I have a real problem with it. I dont think it wildly swings what is a tough, difficult relationship we have right now. Its 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. It wont stop us from bringing a political transition inside syria that can and the hardship there. Prime minister lee can i Say Something about tpp . I dont want to get into your domestic politics. Looking at someone who is someone who has been intimately involved in triggered the whole process, 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. Each one provides Market Access 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 them . In your case, i think mike froman did a very good job. Ours did the best they could bring back something the Political Leadership could stand by and support. Its an achievement that all the members of the tpp at the end of this are still with us. Nobody has struck out of this. There is something in it for each one of us. I think we should look at the other side of the economic benefit. I am exporting. I am earning a job. I am spending and i am consuming and importing and because of this, i am getting a wider range of products and services and opportunities that will improve. People talk about walmart with product coming from all over asia. Who benefits . People in america. Not just exporters. These are part of your invisible standard of living. It is real and it is valuable. In terms of the economic benefits, the tpp is a big deal. In terms of americas engagement in the region, you have put a reputation on the line. It is the big thing which america is doing in the asiapacific with the Obama Administration. Partners, your friends who have come to the table who have negotiated, each one of them has overcome some objection, some sensitivity, some political cost to come to the table and make this deal. If the bride doesnt arrive, i think people will feel very hurt. It several of his predecessors thought seriously about participating in the tpp. They walked away. He wants to help. He wants his country to benefit and to open up its market. This is one way to do that. You dont do this. It hurts relationship with japan. It hurts your should. Agreement with japan and the japanese living in on an uncertain world. They are depending on the American Nuclear umbrella. On lifeanddeath, whom do i have to depend on . This will not be set openly. I have no doubt. I think if you go beyond that, i would like the tea people question with an earlier question. Where do we go for the next 50 years . That depends if we go toward interdependence and therefore peaceful cooperation or we go for selfsufficiency, rivalry, a higher risk of conflict. Asia has tried both. The world has tried both. In the 1930s, with a very difficult international environment, you had a rivalry with japan which led to war. After the war, because america was open and because you promoted trade and you encouraged investment and other countries to open up, the asiapacific has been peaceful. If over the next 50 years you continue to work toward interdependence and cooperation and neutral prosperity, we can say these have been peaceful years and we have made further progress together. If you go in the opposite direction and you decide that this will split down the middle. I think thats a very different world. One of the reasons why you dont have a manageable relationship with china now is because you have trade. It is mutually that official. Both sides want to maintain that relationship. If you didnt, it would be like the soviet union during the cold war. You still had to find ways to work together, but its much harder. The tpp does not include china. It points the direction toward the world. If you set the wrong direction, in the next 50 years maybe you will turn around, but it will cost you many years in the world will have to pay quite a high price. I am from the Business Times in singapore. Good afternoon. I have two questions. Everybody knows what the stakes are. What is the future of the tpp if it does not get ratified during the lameduck session . The fear is that if things wait too long, it might need to be opened up for renegotiation. How can we reassure the nations and the people there is the political will to get this done as soon as possible . The second question is for president obama. We are almost at the end of your eight years in office. I would like you to evaluate progress regarding a ship. What is the thing youre most proud of . What is something you would have done it differently . What is your message to your successor to engage singapore, southeast asia, the asiapacific . Prime minister lee with respect president obama with respect to tpp, i thought Prime Minister lees points were right on target. This is an economic agreement. What we have learned in history is you cant separate economics and issues and security issues. The Prime Minister is right. We have benefited from a norm us enormous peace and prosperity around the world. We have had an unprecedented time where the great powers were not engaged in conflict. This was in part as a growing interdependence. If you think about those parts of the world where we still see conflict, where we still see high levels of violence, they are places that are less integrated into the world economy. There is a reason for that. There is a powerful economic case, a breadandbutter case about why this is good for american workers. Its ultimately good for american wages if its structured properly. I think its important for people to recognize that the alternative is not tpp or some imaginary circumstance in which something we are able to sell goods around the world wherever we want but nobody is able to sell goods to us. We can operate anywhere around the world. That is not the alternative. The alternative is what we have today. A situation in which we dont have as many protections around aber and Environmental Issues as we would like. A situation in which there are countries like japan that sell a lot of goods here, but keep restricted access for u. S. Companies and u. S. Workers to their markets. Prime minister lee is right. The Prime Minister of japan is taking some risks because he knows he needs to make his economy more competitive. This will open up access we havent seen in the past. That is a big market. It is still one of the top three economies in the world. The last point i would make around this is china. As Prime Minister lee mentioned, china is not part of the tpp. If we dont establish strong rules and norms for have trade and commerce is conducted in the asiapacific region, china will. China is engaging all the countries in the region around its own version of trade agreements. They are not worried about labor standards or Environmental Standards or Human Trafficking or anticorruption measures. You get a low standard, lowest common denominator trade deal. If america is it creating high standards, chinas rules will govern in the fastestgrowing part of the world. Thats bad for us economically. Its also bad for security interests. Its bad for the interests in promoting norms against child labor or Human Trafficking or making sure everybody is working harder to raise conservation standards. That is the alternative. Those are the options. I think its important for us to get this done. Nothing in life is certain. Weve got a good track record of getting stuff done when i think its important. I will say this this is not just an Obama Administration initiative. This concept began in a republican administration. We pushed it through. We made it happen. We made sure that the things that i care about were incorporated into it. Historically this is had strong bipartisan support. We will go out there and make those arguments. I think we will be successful. In terms of my balanced legacy, across the board, we are in the game. We are focused on asia and away we werent when i came into office. The countries have noticed. Our alliances are strong. Our security arrangements are deeper. Whether in australia or the philippines or singapore, our Defense Budgets reflect our commitment to things like Maritime Security in the region. The continuing efforts around building the east asia summit architecture means there is daytoday attention around a bunch of issues whether its Disaster Relief or Public Health or counterterrorism. There are consultations today that werent taking place eight years ago. On every dimension, we are a much stronger position to engage, influence, and learn from our asiapacific partners. The thing i enjoyed most was our young Southeast Asian leaders program. Whenever i meet with the young people, i am inspired. It makes me very optimistic about the future and whats going to happen. If you ask them about the future they want to see, they are very much committed to an interdependent world, a world in which people are learning and exchanging ideas and engaged in scientific and educational exchange. And a world in which peoples different cultures and backgrounds are a source of asength and cooperation opposed to conflict and fear. And that is true in southeast asia, in africa, latin america. Thats true in europe. Lot of this fear, the choice that was posed by Prime Minister that iselfsufficiency not achievable and ultimately rivalry and conflict, those who opt for rivalry are folks who are looking backwards. You talk to young people around the world, they understand interdependence is the way we are going to assure peace and prosperity for all of us, for years to come. Thatat may be the thing has some of the most lasting impact. There are some future Prime Ministers and president s and business leadersnd nonprofit leaders that are going to do great things and im glad to have played a small part in that. Thank you. Announcer president obama and primebama hosted the minister of singapore for dinner. We will show you the evening arrivals and a dinner toast. [indiscernible] mr. Matthew rhys and miss keri russell. The honorable kirk wagar and crystal meredith wagar. The honorable Charles Rivkin and ms. Susan tolson. Mr. Joe kiani and mrs. Sarah kiani. The honorable bob buckhorn and dr. Catherine marie buckhorn. The honorable tom miller and mr. Matthew miller. The honorable bill nelson and mrs. Grace nelson. As a matter of fact, someone called today saying they do not have to reconvene the senate. They have nine more pro forma sessions. The senate rules, by unanimous consent, they can bring up the past bill by unanimous consent and send it to the house and put the pressure on the house to act. If they do not understand that this is now a crisis with what has just happened in miami, then they have got, really, they are putting their heads in the sand. I have not had a response today. Optimistic . Realistically, no. Wait until a mosquito bites one of the people who has traveled to kentucky. Then he gets a transmitted case in kentucky. Then we will get action. Mr. Douglas olberhelman and mrs. Diane olberhelman. Be here. Ure to the honorable steve green and mrs. Dorothea green. Mr. Stephen lee. Her excellency, chan heng chee. Ms. Chia yong yong and dewi muliana. The honorable casey mace and mrs. Anne milligan mace. Mr. Loh chin hua. The honorable bob casey and mrs. Terese foppiano casey. Mr. Ong peng tsin. Professor chua nam hai. Lieutenant colonel wong shi ming. The honorable Patrick Kennedy and ms. Betty swope. Ms. Sherrilyn ifill and amali ifillknobloch. Mr. Craig robinson and mrs. Kelly robinson. Mr. Charles scharf and mrs. Amy scharf. Mr. Stefano pessina and mrs. Ornella barra. Mr. Matthew doherty and mr. Dean thorp. The honorable peter welch and ms. Margaret cheney. The honorable Daniel Russell and mrs. Keiko russell. Amy tan and louis demattei. Mrs. Rosalind brewer and mr. John brewer. Excuse me . I have been to singapore. I think the Prime Minister is chinese. Is this your first state dinner, then . No. I have been to probably five state dinners. Thank you. The honorable jacob lew and ms. Shirley gathers. The honorable dennis heck and mrs. Paula heck. Mrs. Rose gottemoeller and mr. Raymond arnaudo. Ms. Lynn sweet and ms. Mary shearer. Is this your first state dinner . Yes. Usually, i am on the other side of the rope. Good to see you. Mr. Jeff zeleny and mr. James courtovich. Ms. Darlene superville and ms. Rae chel superville. The honorable shaun casey and mrs. Ann wallace casey. The honorable Edward Markey and rear admiral susan j. Blumenthal. Major Jeremy Haynes and mrs. Chelsea haynes. What is your connection to the white house . Yes, maam. I wrote a letter just about my struggles as a patient at walter e. , where my wife as a caregiver had to provide for me, feed me, bathe me. I was basically starting over at life. She put her entire life on hold from working on an mba. She is a drill sergeant in the army reserve. She put her own military career on hold, quit her job, and focused on me. I wrote a letter asking that my wife get the opportunity to attend an event that mrs. Obama was hosting. I did not know it was going to be a state dinner. The honor is making my wifes dream come true, meeting her heroine. What you think of trumps comments toward the khan family and goldstar families . Since i am active duty, i cannot really give an opinion on politics. Whoever is the commander in chief, we will follow. This is history for you . It is an amazing night, being here. Thank you. Thank you, maam. [applause] lot to live up to. We were tempted to offer each of you a singapore sling. However, for those of you who know its unmistakable scent, you know why we are not serving as doriane known dhurian tonight. Singapore tonight. The First American representative from singapore livesplanter whose name on in one of singapores neighborhoods. Legacy lives on in a church bell now in a museum. The founder paul revere, you may have heard of him. As we pursue a more peaceful partnership it is rooted and we are bounded together by history, family, by french of force by friendship