Clinton en Route for Indonesia, China

By WAI MOE and LALIT K JHA

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to arrive in Indonesia on Wednesday and will travel to China on Friday. In both countries, she is expected to talk about Burma.

The Indonesian and Chinese visits come as the second and as the final stops respectively on her four-nation tour of Asia, which also includes Japan and South Korea.

Khin Maung Swe, a member of the central executive committee of the main opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that he hoped Secretary Clinton would raise Burmese issues with her Indonesian and Chinese counterparts.

“The international community should be more proactive on behalf of the people of Burma—not just pay lip service to the problems,” he said. “She can raise the issue of political progress in Burma with both countries.”

Ahead of Clinton’s arrival, Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Hassan Wirajuda said that his country and the US will discuss Iran, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), Afghanistan and East Asia.

China and Indonesia are historically and strategically close to Burma’s military junta. Analysts insisted Clinton should speak out about the US’ concerns on democratization and human rights issues in Burma.

Aung Din, the policy director with the US Campaign for Burma, said the fact that Secretary Clinton chose East Asia as her first trip showed the extent of US interest in the region, including Burma.

“I expect Mrs Clinton will discuss Burma issues when she meets with the leaders of China, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea,” he said. “Burma is one of the main topics on this trip.”

He added that the release of political prisoners and genuine democratic transition in Burma are common ground among all countries. “They are just different in method. So I hope the US, China and other Asian nations will work together to find a solution to Burma’s problems,” he said.

China is an economic and strategic partner for the US, as well as the main supporter of the Burmese junta. China has signed an agreement with the Burmese junta to build an oil and natural gas pipeline from the Bay of Bengal to southwestern China through Burma, which is due to begin this year.

Indonesia, the world’s third largest democracy, was very close to the Burmese regime during the reign of President Suharto. However, in recent years, Indonesia has also suggested the Burmese junta move toward democracy based on the Indonesian experience.

Three of the countries on Clinton’s trip— China, Indonesia and Japan— are members of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s “Group of Friends of the Secretary-General on Myanmar,” along with the United States. The group was formed to find solution to Burma’s political woes.

US policy under the Bush administration was seen as strong and outspoken. Under the Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE (Junta’s Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act 2008, the US imposed direct sanctions on military leaders in Burma and their business cronies. In addition, the act commissioned a “US Special Representative and Policy Coordinator” for Burma to work with Burma’s neighbors and develop a more proactive approach.

“All countries in Asia share a sense of frustration at the lack of progress inside Burma,” said David Mathieson, a Burma researcher with Human Rights Watch. “The US, China and Indonesia should take the lead in a more effective Burma policy. Burma issues must definitely come up during her trip.”

Clinton’s decision to choose Asia for her maiden voyage as Secretary of State was undoubtedly intended to send a message. On arriving in Japan, she said the trip was “to convey that America's relationships across the Pacific are indispensable to addressing the challenges and seizing the opportunities of the 21st century.”

“The choice of Asia as her first destination is intended to signal a more global focus for US President Barack Obama’s administration, as opposed to the heavy emphasis on the Middle East and South Asia seen in the last years of the Bush administration,” said Rodger Baker, East Asia analyst, writing in the global intelligence Web site Startfor.

State Department officials who briefed journalists before Clinton left the US mentioned that Burma, along with Tibet, could figure in Clinton's talks with Chinese authorities.

However, the tone and tenor of response from State Department officials clearly indicated that it would come up only as a routine matter, and not something which the US would push China to react on immediately.

In her first major foreign policy speech delivered at the prestigious Asia Society in New York on Friday, Clinton said, "As part of our dialogues, we will hold ourselves and others accountable as we work to expand human rights and create a world that respects those rights, one where Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi can live freely in her own country, where the people of North Korea can freely choose their own leaders, and where Tibetans and all Chinese people can enjoy religious freedom without fear of prosecution."