Hillary Clinton declares the U.S. 'is back' in Asia

Clinton moved right into talks with Asian counterparts gathered for two days of international meetings to discuss North Korea, Myanmar and a range of other regional issues.

She said she will sign the seminal Treaty of Amity and Cooperation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, a commitment to peacefully resolve regional disputes that already has been signed by more than a dozen countries outside the 10-nation bloc.

"The United States is back," she declared upon arrival in the Thai capital Tuesday.

In an appearance Wednesday on a Thai TV talk show she said, "President Obama and I are giving great importance to this region," suggesting that the administration of former President George W. Bush neglected U.S. interests in Asia.

Evidence of the new U.S. approach, she said, is the fact that her first overseas trip, in February, was to Asia.

"I believe strongly the United States has to be involved in this region," she added. Her main aim in visiting Southeast Asia this time, she said, is to "work hard to try to bring a sense of future possibilities" for partnerships to ensure peace and prosperity.

Clinton was asked whether she thinks the U.S. image abroad has been improving under President Barack Obama. "It certainly feels like it," she said. "There is a great sigh of relief in some places" she has visited this year.

She also said the U.S. has a plan to prevent Iranian domination in the Middle East if it gets the nuclear bomb. "We want Iran to calculate what I think is a fair assessment: that if the United States extends a defense umbrella over the region, if we do even more to develop the military capacity of those (allies) in the Gulf, it is unlikely that Iran will be any stronger or safer."

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