US finds rough sailing in Southeast Asian waters

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. AFP

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia—The Obama administration now has a taste of the difficult diplomacy necessary to sharpen the focus of American power on Asia, seeking investment opportunities alongside reforms from rights-abusing governments and working with China while defending US interests.

From democratic Mongolia to once-hostile Vietnam and long-isolated Laos, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton this week faced governments eager to embrace the United States as a counterweight to China’s expanding military and economic dominance of the region, while still lukewarm about American demands for greater democracy and rule of law.

And after meeting face-to-face with China’s foreign minister on Thursday as she began to wrap up a tour of Asia, Clinton lauded Washington’s cooperation with Beijing even as she took up the case of Southeast Asian nations threatened by the communist government’s expansive claims over the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea).

US officials outlined their belief in greater democracy and freedom for Asian nations. The vision is part of a larger Obama administration effort to change the direction of US diplomacy and commercial policy and redirect it to the place most likely to become the center of the global economy over the next century.

American values

“I’ve talked about the breadth of American engagement in this region, especially our work to strengthen economic ties and support democracy and human rights,” Clinton told reporters. “This is all part of advancing our vision of an open, just and sustainable regional order for the Asia-Pacific.”

Clinton was to meet on Friday with Burma (Myanmar) President Thein Sein and introduce him to American business leaders looking for investment opportunities. The United States has eased sanctions on the once reclusive military dictatorship, opening up new opportunities for the administration as it seeks to double American exports.

In Japan, Clinton assured a longtime ally the US was committed to its security. From there, she visited four countries in China’s backyard, part of a larger economic area among the world’s most dynamic.

In each place, Clinton was careful to make the case for American values alongside American business aspirations.

Code of conduct

In probably her most difficult work of the week, Clinton pressed Beijing to accept a code of conduct in the South China Sea.

Meeting on the sidelines of the Asean’s annual gathering, Clinton stressed the ways Washington and Beijing were cooperating, while Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi spoke of building even closer US-Chinese ties.

‘Confrontational behavior’

Afterward, they got into the sensitive talk of the South China Sea.

The waters host about a third of the world’s cargo traffic, rich fishing grounds and vast oil and gas reserves—economic opportunities the US would be locked out of if China were to seize total control.

Clinton singled out “confrontational behavior” in the Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal off northwestern Philippines.