Asian territory disputes could trigger war: Panetta

2012-09-16
AFP

China and other Asian countries could end up at war over territorial disputes if governments keep up their "provocative behaviour", US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Sunday.

Speaking to reporters before arriving in Tokyo on a trip to Asia, Panetta appealed for restraint amid mounting tensions over territorial rights in the East China Sea and the South China Sea.

"I am concerned that when these countries engage in provocations of one kind or another over these various islands, that it raises the possibility that a misjudgment on one side or the other could result in violence, and could result in conflict," Panetta said, when asked about a clash between Japan and China.

"And that conflict would then have the potential of expanding."

Obama's chief trade advisor to visit Cambodia, meet ASEAN ministers

Ron Kirk

August 20, 2012

PHNOM PENH (Xinhua) - The United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk, President Obama's Chief Trade Advisor, will be visiting Cambodia's Siem Reap province on Aug. 30-31 to participate in the 44th ASEAN Economic Ministers' meetings and the ASEAN-US Business Summit, according to a press release from the US Embassy in Cambodia on Monday.

"The ten ASEAN countries are key economic and strategic partners for the United States, and Ambassador Kirk's visit to Cambodia will demonstrate the United States' support for ASEAN integration and desire to deepen economic engagement with the region, as well as highlight broader US goals for economic relations in the Asia-Pacific," said the press release.

Kirk's schedule will include a meeting of the ASEAN-US Trade and Investment Framework Arrangement (TIFA) Council, an informal meeting of the East Asia Summit Economic Ministers, and the first ever ASEAN-US Business Summit.

Present Conflicts Between China & US Signal’s Unpredictable Sign of the Times

The Guardian Express Newspaper (Las Vegas, Nevada, USA)

Contributor D. Chandler:

We’re at a strange time in history; where sanctions on Iran seems to make their leaders more resolute, while China is simultaneously flexing its might with confidence. Here in the U.S., it appears that we’re engaged as we increase sanctions on Iran and tell China we’re watching their slight of hand maneuvers. Along the backdrop, America has experienced the toughest economic decline since the Great Depression and even the weather has held us down with record temperatures hurling fire and brimstone in places never before seen. In the mist of our times of trouble we’re reminded that this time in history is foreshadowed by the native predictions on a Mayan stone calendar.

Specifically, Beijing is presently embroiled in a dangerous dispute with their Asian Pacific neighbors over the South China Sea. In recent hours China’s rhetoric directed at a recent State Department Press Release has tensions dangerously high. The Asia-Pacific website, ft.com, reporting just hours ago that “China and the US stepped up their war of words over territorial deputes in the South China Sea… with the Chinese foreign ministry calling in senior US diplomat to protest [recent] remarks by the US state department.

Reuter’s reported that Beijing determined that statements made by the U.S. in the press were disappointing. The news agency specifically said that the State Department finds “that China’s establishing of a military garrison for the area runs ‘counter to collaborative diplomatic efforts to resolve differences and risk further escalating tensions in the region.’”

Clinton urges Mekong nations to avoid US dam mistakes

AFP – July , 13 , 2012

The US on Friday urged Mekong nations to learn from its mistakes in river infrastructure projects, as Laos confirmed it has postponed a controversial multi-billion dollar dam project.

The $3.8 billion hydroelectric project at Xayaburi has sharply divided the four Mekong nations -- Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand -- who rely on the river system for fish and irrigation.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressed for further environmental assessments before proceeding with the project during a meeting with Mekong countries in the Cambodian capital, echoing calls from Hanoi and Phnom Penh who worry the dam could decimate their fishing and farming industries.

Clinton, who called the Mekong river basin "a miracle", said Washington would help fund studies on the impact of proposed dams on the river, on which some 60 million people depend for transportation, food and economy.

US-Lower Mekong Region meeting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn1l1RO86FI

China, U.S. seek to calm South China Sea tensions

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton attends the 2nd East Asia Summit (EAS) Foreign Ministers' meeting at the office of the Council of Ministers in Phnom Penh July 12, 2012. REUTERS/Samrang Pring

By Arshad Mohammed and Martin Petty | Reuters – july, 12, 2012

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - The United States and China signaled a willingness on Thursday to work together on "sensitive issues" in a move to cool tensions between rival claimants to the potentially oil-rich and increasingly militarized South China Sea.

Long-simmering tensions in the waters have entered a more contentious chapter this year as the six parties who claim the territory search deeper into the disputed waters for energy supplies while building up their navies and defense alliances.

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said Beijing was ready to work with Washington "to expand our common ground, respect each other, properly handle differences on sensitive issues, and push forward" relations.

Echoing Yang's conciliatory tone, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stressed the importance of U.S.-China cooperation in regional institutions.

Clinton Urges Multilateral Solutions for Territorial Disputes

Thursday, July 12th, 2012
Voice of America

The United States is urging southeast Asian nations to work “collaboratively and diplomatically” to resolve territorial disputes, such as disagreements over the South China Sea.

In remarks prepared for a conference Thursday in Cambodia, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says multilateral talks should be used to address ways to settle the disputes. She says the issues involved often affect a wider region, and two-party negotiations can bring “confusion and even confrontation.”

Clinton is attending meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and holding separate sessions with her counterparts from the region, including key talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi.

Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam claim all or part of the South China Sea, with its vast fishing grounds and potential oil and gas deposits.

Clinton Meets With Asean States Ahead of Regional Forum

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton shakes hands with US Ambassador to Cambodia William E. Todd upon arriving in Phnom Penh on Wednesday. (Photo: VOA Khmer)

Wednesday, 11 July 2012
Reporters,VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh

“I understand that Asean faces a variety of challenges and even growing pains as it adapts and takes on new responsibilities.”

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton opened a US-Asean ministerial meeting in Phnom Penh on Wednesday, as international foreign ministers gather for a major regional security forum to open Thursday.

Clinton touched down Wednesday between monsoon rainstorms. She delivered an address ahead of her meeting, saying she “strongly” supports Asean. The US has recently undertaken more engagement in Southeast Asia, where China’s influence continues to grow.

“I understand that Asean faces a variety of challenges and even growing pains as it adapts and takes on new responsibilities,” she said. “But I believe Asean plays an indispensable role in holding this region’s institutional architecture together and in advancing the common interest of all stakeholders in the Asia Pacific.”

China Urges Asean to Avoid Sea Spat

July 11, 2012
By PATRICK BARTA
The Wall Street Journal

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia—China moved to block efforts to resolve long-running tensions over claims in the disputed South China Sea, warning participants in a regional summit attended by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton here that it is "crucial" they leave the issue out of their discussions.

Mrs. Clinton, who arrived in the Cambodian capital late Wednesday after making a brief but historic trip to the Laotian capital of Vientiane, is the first U.S. secretary of state to visit the country since John Foster Dulles in 1955. Mrs. Clinton met with the communist nation's prime minister and discussed ways of unlocking more investment there as part of Washington's widening effort to build allies in Southeast Asia to match China's growing influence in the region.

Mrs. Clinton is also expected to announce new rules later this week clarifying procedures for U.S. companies wanting to invest in Myanmar, including energy companies looking to do business with the country's state oil firm—another part of Washington's effort to expand America's role in countries that border China. U.S. officials said earlier this year they would be suspending sanctions against Myanmar after its government launched overhauls to end decades of military rule, and U.S. companies have been waiting for more details before they go in.

Clinton visit sparks hope

Hillary Clinton addresses a delegation in Cambodia. Photograph: Sovan Philong/Phnom Penh Post

Wednesday, 11 July 2012
Shane Worrell and Khouth Sophak Chakrya
The Phnom Penh Post

“[Clinton] speaks, she demands, she stands up, she delivers, she commands respect for her words, for her actions. Even women in Boeung Kak lake and Borei Keila know that.”

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives in Phnom Penh today for diplomatic and business talks with China and ASEAN’s 10 member states, but rights groups and opposition parties are counting on the state of human rights in Cambodia to be a top priority as well.

Clinton is scheduled to attend three ASEAN meetings at the Peace Palace, including the Regional Forum and the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, as part of an eight-country trip that has included Vietnam, Laos and Mongolia.

On the first leg of her journey, America’s most senior diplomat has exhibited a willingness to bring human-rights issues to the fore.

“The heart of our strategy, the piece that brings everything together, is our support for democracy and human rights,” Clinton said in the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar, on Monday.

“The United States wants to be a strong partner to all those who are dedicated to human rights and fundamental freedoms.”

Yingluck to speak to U.S. entrepreneurs in Siem Reap

Wednesday, 11 July 2012
Mizzima News

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has been invited by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to travel to Cambodia on Friday to address a high-level U.S. business conference.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Surapong Tovichakchaikul said Yingluck had accepted the invitation to give a speech at the US-Asean Business Council conference in Siem Reap.

On her visit to Cambodia to attend the Asean Summit, Clinton is accompanied by U.S. entrepreneurs who will meet to discuss investments in the Asean region.

Yingluck will deliver a speech to the US-Asean Business Forum and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Asean connectivity and Thailand's economic plan after the flood, officials said.

She is scheduled to meet and have a bilateral discussion with Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Hun Sen prior to speaking to U.S. business representatives.

Economic Issues Dominate Clinton's Asia Tour [... support for democracy and human rights is the "heart" of the United States' strategy in Asia - then why is the US supporting Dictators like Hun Xen??]

Vietnam's Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (R) looks at U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as they walk to the meeting room at the Government Guest House in Hanoi, July 10, 2012. (Photo: Reuters)

Tuesday, 10 July 2012
VOA News | Washington, DC

"We need to make the 21st century a time in which people across Asia don't only become more wealthy."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is expected to focus more on economic than military concerns as she tours Southeast Asia this week.

Clinton, who arrived in Vietnam Tuesday, is scheduled to announce a series of proposals aimed at expanding U.S. investment and exports in a region that boasts some of the world's fastest growing economies.

But increased U.S. economic activity in Southeast Asia is likely to be viewed as a challenge by China, which has already voiced opposition to the Obama administration's new strategic focus on the Pacific.

Since Washington's "pivot" toward Asia was announced last year, the U.S. has renewed military ties with several countries - including the Philippines and Vietnam - which share U.S. concerns over China's rising economic power and military assertiveness.

Clinton raps Vietnam on rights, sees limits to ties

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivers a speech during a meeting with the business community in Hanoi July 10, 2012. REUTERS/Luong Thai Linh/Pool

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivers a speech during a meeting with the business community in Hanoi July 10, 2012. REUTERS/Luong Thai Linh/Pool

By Arshad Mohammed | Reuters 07/10/2012

HANOI (Reuters) - Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized Vietnam's human rights record on Tuesday, especially its restriction of free speech online, and her aides said there were limits to better ties until it improved.

During a brief visit to Vietnam, a one-party state that is dominated by the Communist Party, Clinton also rejected the idea that economic growth should be given priority over democratic freedoms, arguing that the two "go hand in hand".

U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity said the United States, which provides its former adversary nonlethal military equipment, would not consider selling lethal equipment unless the country's human rights record improved considerably.

The sea change in relations between the two countries since the Vietnam War's is reflected in their economic ties - with trade reaching $22 billion last year, officials said.

US to Assure ASEAN on China During Meetings

Friday, 6 July 2012
Turkish Weekly

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton travels to Southeast Asia next week to attend the ASEAN regional forum in Cambodia and the foreign ministers meeting of the East Asia Summit. The meetings come amid rising tensions between ASEAN members and China over the South China Sea. While the issue is likely to get a lot of attention during Secretary Clinton’s visit, the U.S. is also looking to strengthen its ties with allies and boost its economic engagement in the region.

In Vietnam, protesters recently rallied against China’s claims in the South China Sea, outraged with Beijing's recent actions there -- including a decision to open bids for oil and gas development in waters Vietnam says are clearly its own.

Vietnam is not the only country that has had flare-ups with China in recent months.

Still, that has done little to deter Beijing, which recently began sending surveillance vessels to patrol the disputed waters.

US to Assure ASEAN on China During Meetings

http://www.voanews.com/media/video/1364161.html

July 05, 2012
William Ide
VOA News

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton travels to Southeast Asia next week to attend the ASEAN regional forum in Cambodia and the foreign ministers meeting of the East Asia Summit. The meetings come amid rising tensions between ASEAN members and China over the South China Sea. While the issue is likely to get a lot of attention during Secretary Clinton’s visit, the U.S. is also looking to strengthen its ties with allies and boost its economic engagement in the region.

In Vietnam, protesters recently rallied against China’s claims in the South China Sea, outraged with Beijing's recent actions there -- including a decision to open bids for oil and gas development in waters Vietnam says are clearly its own.

Vietnam is not the only country that has had flare-ups with China in recent months.

US Asean Ambassador Encourages Strong Law, Low Corruption in Region

David Carden

Tuesday, 12 June 2012
Kong Sothanarith, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh

"Decreased corruption and strengthened law can help draw investors to a country."

The US ambassador to Asean met with other regional leaders in Phnom Penh on Tuesday, encouraging them to fight against corruption and strengthen the rule of law in their countries.

Ambassador David Carden addressed about 70 officials from 10 Asean countries as part of a seminar on legal information networks in the region.

Decreased corruption and strengthened law can help draw investors to a country, Carden said.

“If outside investment comes from outside of Asean, or within Asean, Cambodia has to protect those investors,” he said. In the US, he said, “we respect people who come in to invest in our country and create jobs for our citizens, and we will protect them in the court.”

US, EU Call for Investigation of Activist’s Shooting Death

Chut Wutty died along with a military policeman, In Ratana, in an exchange of gunfire in remote Koh Kong province that has left many unanswered questions. (Photo: by Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer)

Thursday, 03 May 2012
Heng Reaksmey, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh

“We also urge the Government to take concrete and immediate measures to ensure the safety of all witnesses and investigators as well the families of the deceased men.”

The US and the EU have separately urged the Cambodian government to undertake a thorough investigation of the shooting death of conservationist Chut Wutty.

Chut Wutty died along with a military policeman, In Ratana, in an exchange of gunfire in remote Koh Kong province that has left many unanswered questions.

The government has established an investigative committee, and two men have been detained for questioning in the April 26 shooting. However, neither of them has been charged with a crime.

The US Embassy on Thursday urged the government “to undertake a thorough, transparent, and credible investigation into this matter.”

Vietnam and the US: The Odd Couple

The US won't need this stuff back

Tuesday, 27 March 2012
Written by David Brown
Asia Sentinel

The Vietnamese regime’s posture on human rights will remain a weighty burden on the US-Vietnam relationship. There’s a new generation of politically savvy Vietnamese-Americans who not only care about such things but can swing quite a few votes. Particularly in this American election year, Hanoi’s repression of domestic dissidents can lob a spanner into the bilateral security and trade dialogues. 

Big oil companies have been put on notice that if they want a piece of the action in China, they’d better get out of Vietnam. Britain’s BP divested its Vietnam properties in 2010, and early this year the second-biggest American oil company, Conoco-Phillips, sold its US$1 billion stake in Vietnam to a French firm. Exxon-Mobil, however, says it’s intent on developing a recent strike offshore central Vietnam.

An alliance of convenience becomes a strategic relationship

Particularly in this American election year, human rights issues will test the durability of the rapprochement between Vietnam and the United States – former enemies now seemingly the best of friends.

Officials from Hanoi and Washington get together frequently these days. An eavesdropper on the bilateral contacts might conclude that the unpleasantness of two generations ago, what Vietnamese refer to as “the American war,” was just a speed bump on the road to intimacy.

Indeed, the officials have plenty to talk about. They are tending a lengthening list of shared interests that include booming two-way trade, the elaboration of a military partnership, US support for public health, education and environmental protection initiatives and a pact that could clear the way for transfers of American nuclear technology.

When the toasting begins after a day of negotiations, there are euphoric references to the ‘remarkable development’ of cooperation between Hanoi and Washington.

What’s remarkable isn’t that old enemies are now friends, but that an alliance of convenience has been dressed up and presented as a ‘strategic relationship.’

Two objectives have guided Hanoi’s re-engagement with the US:

• The regime’s ability to deliver sustained economic growth to Vietnam’s citizenry depends importantly on easy access to the American market and investment capital, and
• US military cooperation will cause China to think twice about pursuing expansionist ambitions in the South China Sea.

"US Policy on counterterrorism can't do anything against HUN SEN?" - Op-Ed by Tieng Narith

http://www.box.com/s/7f6afq0o9mocqxuyu0lo

Henry Kissinger, China And Third Indo-China War – Analysis

February 2, 2012
By V. Suryanarayan
SAAG

“Ideology had disappeared from the conflicts. The communist power centres were conducting a balance-of–power contest based not on ideology, but on national interest.” – Kisssinger, On China

“There had been an amazing cynicism and duplicity on the Chinese side. And they preach against imperialism and act themselves in the old imperialist and expansionist way. Altogether their policy seems to be one of unabashed chauvinism.” - Jawaharlal Nehru, Speech in Lok Sabha, December 10, 1962

The much awaited book, On China, written by scholar diplomat Henry Kissinger, not only makes fascinating reading, it is an invaluable reference material for students of international relations. From July 1971, when Kissinger made his first secret visit to China, he has maintained excellent equations with successive generations of Chinese leaders. He views contemporary history of China as a continuation of the past and describes the rationale behind Chinese thinking, diplomacy, strategy and negotiations.

This essay is a re-evaluation of the Third Indo-China War based on the writings of Henry Kissinger. The author has also referred to the Memoirs of Singapore statesman Lee Kuan Yew, From Third World to First: The Singapore Story, 1965-2000, and the recently published autobiography of former President of Singapore SR Nathan, who was associated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the Third Indo-China War. The book is entitled An Unexpected Journey, Path to Presidency. Few preliminary observations are in order before analyzing the subject under scrutiny.

Significance of Vietnamese Revolution

The revolution in Vietnam, under the inspiring leadership of Ho Chih Minh, is one of the most brilliant chapters in the history of twentieth century. With massive aid from both Soviet Union and China, but with only their reluctant assent and occasionally even against their wishes, the heroic people of Vietnam humbled the United States and struck a death blow to imperialism and neo-colonialism. During the Third Indo-China War there was a vicious attempt to distort the true nature of the Vietnamese revolution, malign and vilify the Vietnamese leaders as war mongers and legitimize, in retrospect, the American military intervention in Vietnam. We must be on our guard against this distortion of history.