Clinton Works to Boost U.S. Involvement in Southeast Asia

JULY 22, 2011
By ERIC BELLMAN And EVAN RAMSTAD
The Wall Street Journal

"We are sending a clear message to the people of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam: We are invested in your well-being and continued progress," Ms. Clinton said.

NUSA DUA, Indonesia — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for deeper U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia to help bolster its poorest countries, while the region's leaders worked to broker what they hoped would be progress in one of Asia's other hot spots: North Korea.

Meeting on the sidelines of the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum in Bali on Friday, senior nuclear negotiators from North and South Korea agreed broadly to take steps to return to a bigger diplomatic process, known as the six-party talks, which are aimed at ending the North's pursuit of nuclear weapons. That process, which also involves China, Japan, Russia and the U.S., fell apart three years ago.

However, the diplomats didn't describe how they planned to resolve the many differences that have left the process in limbo since 2009. U.S. officials, meanwhile, said it would take time to know if any serious progress—including more substantive concessions from North Korea—would materialize.

Lower Mekong Initiative

The Lower Mekong Initiative, initiated by Hillary Clinton in 2009, seeks to boost development—and, some say, U.S. influence—in mainland Southeast Asia. Among the highlights this year:

• Education ($3.25 million): English-language teaching for professionals and government officials; higher education improvements
• Environment ($69 million): Visiting U.S. scientists; environmental sampling stations for the Mekong River; forest-protection schemes; water-use planning
• Health ($140 million): Infectious disease response programs; cook-stove design workshops; drug-quality monitoring for malaria and other diseases
• Infrastructure ($9 million): Building and repair of clinics, schools, emergency shelters, roads, bridges, and other needs

Ms. Clinton, for her part, declared support for moves to ease tensions in the Koreas and also in the South China Sea, a resource-rich area that has seen a growing number of disputes in recent months because of competing territorial claims from China, Vietnam, the Philippines and other Asian nations. Although she commended regional leaders for pledging earlier this week to work together to resolve the claims, she avoided direct criticism of China, which has asserted its sovereignty over the disputed areas, and held back on tough talk about U.S. interests in the Sea that in the past has angered Chinese diplomats.

Ms. Clinton spent much of the day promoting a different priority, known as the Lower Mekong Initiative, that she initiated in 2009 to boost development in poorer parts of Southeast Asia and, some say, quietly expand U.S. influence there.

The initiative aims to help countries along the Mekong River—Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam —improve their environments and infrastructure as well as their health and education systems.

Mrs. Clinton sought to expand the program's scope on Friday, announcing a new group that will also support the countries involved, called the Friends of the Lower Mekong, which brings in the Asia Development Bank, the European Union and others to bolster the Mekong effort.

The wide-ranging plan includes everything from a workshop held in Laos this year to brainstorm about how to design and build a better cook stove to reduce pollution, a two-year survey by three U.S. scientists to study and map the Mekong, and a program to combat counterfeit drugs and support the construction and repair of clinics, schools and roads in the region.

"The Lower Mekong Initiative reflects the commitment of the United States to the well being of your people and long-term success of your nations," she told delegates from the Mekong-region countries who had gathered as a part of the initiative on the sidelines of the Asean summit. "We support your efforts to build a stronger foundation for prosperity and progress and we look forward to continuing to work with you as partners and friends for years to come."

While much lower-profile than the other issues on delegates' minds at Friday's gathering, the effort is nevertheless emerging as an important part of the U.S.'s push to rebuild relationships in the region, especially with countries that historically have had close ties with China.

The smaller countries such as Cambodia and Laos were bombed heavily during the Vietnam War and are now enjoying big China-backed investments in new roads, rail links and other infrastructure, including plans for a massive high-speed railroad across Laos.

People familiar with the matter say several of the Mekong-region countries have often sided with China in recent debates over regional security issues such as the territorial disputes in the South China Sea, and that U.S. officials want to curry favor with those countries by taking a more activist role in their economic development.

The Lower Mekong Initiative is "seen as an attempt by the U.S. to regain some of its influence in these countries," said Ian Storey, a fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore. But with its relatively modest funding—a bit more than $200 million this year—"I don't know how effective it will be," he said. Either way, "I certainly think it will make the Chinese sit up and pay attention, because they're not the only game in town now."

Analysts say U.S. officials are also hoping take advantage of recent strains in the relationship between China and some Mekong-region countries. Several have complained about Chinese efforts to build hydroelectric dams along upper stretches of the Mekong River, potentially damaging downstream fisheries. At the same time, residents in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar and Thailand report growing resentment over China's swelling economic power, which has included a flood of cheap Chinese manufactured goods that many residents think is undermining local businesses.

Ms. Clinton reiterated her stance Friday that all countries should pause the building of new dams along the river until the full effects up and downstream can be assessed. During the discussions Friday, Laos pledged to put off its plans to build a $3.5 billion, 1,260-megawatt dam on the river that was the subject of sharp criticism recently in other Mekong nations, said a senior U.S. State Department official.

"We are sending a clear message to the people of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam: We are invested in your well-being and continued progress," Ms. Clinton said.

Write to Eric Bellman at eric.bellman@wsj.com and Evan Ramstad at evan.ramstad@wsj.com