The Atlanta Black Star
Next
week will bring the start of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
Regional Forum in Post-Ministerial Conference in Phnom Penh, Cambodia,
which may bring a diplomatic turning point for USA-China relationships.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be present at the ASEAN
conference, where forum members have expressed fears that the region may
become an area of “dangerous strategic competition” between the two
super powers.
“As Washington gears up diplomatic efforts in Southeast Asia, it is
equally important for the United States to maintain a sound relationship
with China for the prosperity and peace of the Asia-Pacific region,” US
Assistant Secretary of State for Asia and the Pacific Kurt Cambell said
on Wednesday. “One of the most important things for us at the forum is
to make it clear, particularly to colleagues in ASEAN, that we are
committed to a strong, stable and durable relationship with China.”
Chinese Secretary of State Yang Jiechi will also be in attendance at
the meeting, and will partner with Clinton to present new plans for
humanitarian disaster relief and wildlife protection in the area. On
Thursday, Hong Lei, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said
that Beijing and Washington are looking to cooperate with each other as
well as the ASEAN nations to reach mutual goals.
“Beijing hopes to steadily boost both countries’ cooperation in the
Asia-Pacific region on the principle of mutual respect, win-win and
step-by-step, and jointly promote prosperity and stability with
countries in the region,” Hong told reporters.
There are growing concerns that conflicts of interest between
expanding Chinese ministries and the newly re-engaged U.S. diplomats
could create a situation similar to that of the Cold War, with weaker
countries caught in between looking to the U.S. or China for aid against
the other.
With current issues, such as a territorial dispute between China, the
Philippines and Vietnam, Campbell says the U.S. is determined not to
take a stand in favor of any of the parties, and instead supports the
path of diplomacy between the three involved nations. The main goal for
the U.S. is to balance relations between China and the Asian-Pacific
nations without forcing the countries to choose between either of the
world’s biggest economies.
Bonnie Glaser, an Asian Pacific security expert at the Center for
Strategic and International Studies, spoke on the on-going tensions.
“Although the U.S. and other media often pin blame on China, I think
other claimants of South China Sea also sometimes behave in provocative
or confrontational ways that has generated concern from the U.S.
government,” she said.
2 comments:
The yuon try to use china.
I hope the battle ground would be in Hanoi this time around,not CCambodia.
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