Obama Sets His Sights On Indonesia

On Thursday, January 7, the State Department’s Foreign Press Center held a briefing for foreign journalists about Secretary Clinton’s upcoming visit to the Pacific. The full transcript of the briefing is available here.

Not much was said about New Zealand by the speaker, Kurt Campbell, Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, apart from these remarks:

“I think as many of you know, over the course of the last several years, the United States and New Zealand are working more closely together in a range of areas. We closely coordinate on our strategies for aid and assistance and the promotion of democracy in the Asia-Pacific region, and particularly in the Pacific. More recently, New Zealand has been actively engaged on the ground in Afghanistan. This will be Secretary Clinton’s opportunity to really talk about how the United States and New Zealand can work more closely together on a range of diplomatic, economic, and security-related issues. So we’re very much looking forward to that. She will obviously meet with all the leadership there and also opposition members.”

Although Clinton’s trip is only to the Pacific, Campbell called it her “fourth trip to Asia” since she was sworn into office. He later said,” I think as many of you know, one of the efforts of the Obama Administration and Secretary Clinton has been to step up our engagement in the Pacific Islands. When we say the Asia-Pacific, sometimes the Pacific does not get as much necessary attention.”

Nonetheless, it’s clear that the State Department thinks of the Pacific only in terms of its relationship to Asia. In response to a question from a reporter for Singapore’s Straits Times about what Clinton’s Honolulu speech might contain, Campbell replied “We have been working for a considerable period of time, and involved for months in a deep process of consultations with our allies and friends in the Asian-Pacific region. And I think we’ve come to the conclusion that it’s appropriate for the United States to step up and play a more active role in some of the institutional thinking and engagement in the region.”

Understandably, given that Clinton is meeting with Japan’s foreign minister Katsuya Okada in Honolulu, many of the questions were about the relocation of a US military base in Okinawa, a controversy that is high on the news agenda in Japan. Campbell’s offer to the reporters “to take questions about this trip or about other aspects of our Asia policy” meant Korea, Taiwan, and China also figured often in the questions.

Katherine Brewer from Australian Broadcasting asked what Clinton’s goals were for the talks in Australia. Campbell emphasized the State Department’s interest in a strong US-Japan alliance and that “our Australian friends are very interested in Japan.” He also mentioned climate change, the Pacific Islands, India, and “Burma” as topics of mutual interest.
In reference to the country with the world’s largest Muslim population, Assistant Secretary of State Campbell said:

“Australia has a unique relationship with Indonesia. We are in the process of a deeper, comprehensive strategic partnership between our two countries. I think we’re always looking and willing to receive advice and counsel from Australia about those issues. There are some specifics associated with our defense and our intelligence relationship that we will want to update and keep moving.”

--PEACE—

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