Bush: Asia, U.S. must trade and fight terror together

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(CNN) -- President Bush stressed on Saturday the shared advantages of U.S.-Asia cooperation in trade and in fighting militant Islamic terrorism and a nuclear North Korea.

"Asia is important to America because prosperity in our country depends on trade with Asia's growing economies," he said in his weekly radio address. The U.S. president is in Hanoi, Vietnam, attending the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum.

"Today, America's trade across the Pacific is greater than our trade across the Atlantic, and we need to continue opening up markets in this part of the world to American goods and services."

The issue of global free trade has been a contentious one in the United States, with critics saying Americans lose jobs because they are unable to compete with cheaper labor and business costs overseas.

Bush apparently addressed that criticism and reiterated his commitment to free trade.

"As long as the playing field is level, America's farmers, small businesses, and workers can compete with anyone, so America will continue to pursue free and fair trade at every level with individual countries across whole regions and through the World Trade Organization," he said.

Continuing his theme of challenges that the United States and Asia have in common and the necessity of joining forces to meet them, Bush cited terror attacks in Asia -- such as the 2005 attack in Bali, Indonesia, in which 19 people died and the 2004 attack on a ferry in Manila Bay that killed 100.

"Asia is important to America because we face common threats to our security. The people of this region understand the terrorist threat because they have been targets of terrorist violence," he said, adding the terrorists' "stated goal is a radical Islamic empire stretching from Europe to Southeast Asia."

Referring to a threat very close to home for Asians, Bush said that it was urgent that North Korea's nuclear weapons program be stopped.

At the APEC meeting, Bush had endorsed a statement all 21 Pacific Rim members plan to issue to express their worries about North Korea's first nuclear test on October 9 and its missile launches in July.

"Our nations are speaking with one voice: North Korea must abandon its nuclear weapons programs, and we will not tolerate North Korea's proliferation of nuclear technology to hostile regimes and terrorist networks.

"We will also continue working with Japan, China, South Korea, and Russia through the six-party talks," he said.

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