Secretary of State Clinton to visit South Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and participate in ASEAN regional forum

Jul 15, 2010

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BNO NEWS) — U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be traveling to the Republic of Korea, Vietnam and Afghanistan next week, the U.S. State Department announced on Wednesday.

Clinton will be making a week-long visit to Asia from next Monday until Friday, beginning her trip in Seoul, the capital of South Korea. Along with U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, she will meet with South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan and South Korean Minister of National Defense Kim Tae-young to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Korean War. Secretary Clinton and Secretary Gates will also meet with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.

In Vietnam, Clinton is scheduled to meet with senior Vietnamese leaders to discuss key bilateral and regional issues and attend a luncheon to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the U.S.-Vietnam bilateral relationship.

The Secretary of State will later participate in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Post Ministerial Conference before joining the Foreign Ministers of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam for their second meeting to discuss the Lower Mekong Initiative. She will then be leading the U.S. delegation to the 17th ASEAN Regional Forum Ministerial in Hanoi.

Under Secretary of State Bill Burns will also be traveling to Asia on Thursday, visiting the southeast region for seven days. Burns is programed to visit Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

Under Secretary Burns’ visit is part of the Administration’s commitment to increased and deepened engagement with Southeast Asia.

Burns will meet with senior government officials in Thailand, including Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya with whom he will hold a Strategic Dialogue session to advance U.S.-Thai cooperation on bilateral, regional, and global issues of mutual interest. He will also deliver a speech at Chulalongkorn University on the U.S.-Thai alliance and cooperation in the region.

On Saturday, Burns will travel to Phnom Penh to participate in events to celebrate the 60th anniversary of U.S.-Cambodia bilateral relations, additionally meeting with senior Cambodian officials to discuss the U.S.’ partnership with Cambodia and the region, including through the Lower Mekong Initiative.

Under Secretary Burns will then travel to Indonesia to continue building the Comprehensive Partnership and intensify cooperation on regional security challenges with the country.

Finally, the Under Secretary will travel to the Philippines to consult with senior officials in the new Aquino Administration and discuss ways to advance cooperation with this important ally.

US envoy plans Thailand mission

William Burns will hold a "strategic dialogue" with officials in Bangkok

Thursday, July 15, 2010
AFP

WASHINGTON — A senior US envoy will head this week to Thailand for talks with the politically torn ally on a trip that will also take him to Cambodia, Indonesia and the Philippines, officials said Wednesday.

William Burns, the State Department's number three, will hold a "strategic dialogue" with officials in Bangkok on Friday and deliver a speech on US-Thai relations at Chulalongkorn University, the State Department said.

Thailand, the oldest US ally in Asia, is tense after street protests ended in a bloody army crackdown in May. The anti-government "Red Shirt" movement has supported US mediation, to which the government is opposed.

Burns will head Saturday to Phnom Penh for events marking the 60th anniversary of relations between Cambodia and the United States before heading to Indonesia, with which President Barack Obama has been seeking stronger ties.

He will round off his trip Monday and Tuesday in the Philippines, another close US ally, for talks with the new administration of President Benigno Aquino, the State Department said.

The Obama administration has sought to build relations with Southeast Asia, believing the previous George W. Bush administration neglected the comparatively calm region due to its preoccupation with Iraq and Afghanistan.

Burns's visit "to these Southeast Asian partners is an important element of the administration's commitment to increased and deepened engagement with this dynamic region," the State Department said in a statement.

Burns is the under secretary of state for political affairs, the top position for career US diplomats.

Under Secretary Burns' Travel to Southeast Asia

Office of the Spokesman
US Department of State
Washington, DC
July 14, 2010

Under Secretary of State Bill Burns will travel to Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, and the Philippines July 14-22. Under Secretary Burns’ visit to these Southeast Asian partners is an important element of the Administration’s commitment to increased and deepened engagement with this dynamic region.

In Bangkok on July 16, Under Secretary Burns will meet with senior government officials, including Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya with whom he’ll hold a Strategic Dialogue session to advance U.S.-Thai cooperation on bilateral, regional, and global issues of mutual interest. He will also deliver a speech at Chulalongkorn University on the U.S.-Thai alliance and cooperation in the region.

Under Secretary Burns will then travel to Phnom Penh on July 17 to participate in events to commemorate the 60th anniversary of U.S.-Cambodia bilateral relations. He will also meet with senior Cambodian officials to discuss our partnership with Cambodia and the region, including through the Lower Mekong Initiative.

In Jakarta (July 18-19), Under Secretary Burns will discuss our continued work with Indonesia to build the Comprehensive Partnership and intensify our cooperation on regional security challenges.

On July 20 and 21, Under Secretary Burns will travel to the Philippines to consult with senior officials in the new Aquino Administration and discuss ways to advance cooperation with this important ally.

Under Secretary Burns will return to Washington, DC, on July 22.

Senior US diplomat to arrive for two days of talks

Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Meas Sokchea
The Phnom Penh Post

“I will not ask for intervention from them. But if I am imprisoned, I hope that they will go to meet me in prison” - Mu Sochua

A SENIOR US diplomat is set to arrive in Cambodia this week for talks with government and opposition officials and civil society groups, and to preside over the return of Khmer artefacts from the US, officials from both countries said.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said William Burns, the US Undersecretary for Political Affairs, was to meet with Prime Minister Hun Sen on Thursday for bilateral talks. The following day, Burns was to attend a ceremony at the National Museum for the handover of an unspecified number of Angkorian statues, Koy Kuong said.

US embassy spokesman John Johnson confirmed that Burns would be in the country on Thursday and Friday.

“During his visit he will meet with members of the Royal Government, representatives from civil society organisations and with members of several opposition parties,” Johnson said. He added that more details would be forthcoming.

Members of the opposition Sam Rainsy Party said they plan to meet with Burns on Thursday to discuss human rights, land disputes and judicial reform.

“We will ask the US, which is a development partner, to help reinforce respect for human rights in Cambodia and help reform the judiciary,” said SRP spokesman Yim Sovann.

SRP lawmaker Mu Sochua, who is in the middle of a legal battle with Prime Minister Hun Sen, said she planned to attend the meeting if she was not behind bars. She added, though, that she would not bring up her own case.

“I will not ask for intervention from them. But if I am imprisoned, I hope that they will go to meet me in prison,” she said.

In August 2009, Mu Sochua was convicted of defaming Hun Sen and ordered to pay a fine and compensation totalling 16.5 million riels (around US$3,928).

After the Appeal Court and Supreme Court dismissed her appeals against the ruling, she was given until July 3 to pay the fine and until last Saturday to pay the compensation. She has declined to pay both.

Tith Sothea, a spokesman at the Council of Ministers’ Press and Quick Reaction Unit, said the government was not fazed about the SRP’s talks with Burns, and that Mu Sochua’s case had been tried “according to procedure”.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SEBASTIAN STRANGIO

Mu Sochua plans to meet US Under Secretary of State by the end of this week

William Burns, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and the highest ranked Foreign Service Officer in the United States

12 July 2010
By Meas Mony
Free Press Magazine Online
Translated form Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer

SRP MP Mu Sochua plans to meet with William Burns, the US Under Secretary of State, during the latter’s visit to Cambodia on Saturday 17 July.

Mrs. Mu Sochua told reporters on 12 July that she will raise the problems of the judiciary system, the election and the democracy in Cambodia with William Burns. Nevertheless, she does not plan to raise her personal problem against Hun Xen with William Burns. She is currently threatened by the court to pay her 16.5 million riels in fine and if she refuses to pay this amount, she could face arrest and jail time.

Mrs. Mu Sochua expects that, should she be jailed in the unfair defamation lawsuit case against Hun Xen, there will be a lot of justice-loving Cambodian people who will go to visit her in her jail cell.

Mu Sochua plans to meet US officials on human rights issues in Cambodia

SRP MP Mu Sochua met with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

11 September 2009
By Moeung Tum
Radio Free Asia
Translated from Khmer by Socheata
Click here to read the article in Khmer

SRP MP Mu Sochua is to meet US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton this Friday in Washington DC. The meeting will be focused on human rights violations and violations on freedom of expression in Cambodia currently.

Mrs. Mu Sochua made this declaration 4-5 hours after she gave her testimony to the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission on 10 September 2009, in Washington DC.

Dr. Pung Chiv Kek, President of the human rights group Licadho, and Moeun Tola, Labor Director for the Community Legal Education Center (CLEC) NGO, were also invited to provide their testimonies.

Mrs. Mu Sochua indicated that in all these meetings, she wants to push the US government, in concert with the leaders from other democratic countries, to show a clear stance on the problems of human rights violations and the violations of the freedom of expression in Cambodia currently.

Mrs. Mu Sochua said: “We already showed this situation to the US Congress this afternoon and I believe that they [US Congress] paid close attention to the difficult situation which is getting worse, in particular, regarding the resolution of human rights through the law and the rule of law.”

On Friday also, Mrs. Mu Sochua will meet with a number of US Senators to discuss these issues also in order to obtain their intervention in the resolution of these problems.