Interview with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton

A: Hopefully, the Obama administration will demonstrate that America is back and we are pursuing our foreign policy in accordance with our values and our interests as well as our high standards. It's important to me personally to recognize that there has been so much progress in many areas within Asia. And yet, we think there are so much work to be done. And we want people of Asia, not just governments but people, to know the United States is in it for the long haul and that we have been friends for some countries like Thailand and we are trying to broaden and deepen our relationship with other countries like China but that we are going to work hard to try to bring a sense of future possibility, where we can have more peaceful, prosperous and progressive region. And I think that's all possible. I really do. I believe that there is a great commitment to continuing to push forward in Asia. And yet, it's unclear exactly what form of that we will take. So the more we work in partnership that we stand up for each other and stand up for our interests, the better we can see the future unfold.

Q: Are you saying that you are refocusing on Asia?

A: Yes.

Q: What was the mistake that the previous administration did towards Asia that you intend to correct?

A: I don't want to go back to the past. That's over.

Q: A little of the past?

A: There was an important election held. And the American people made a very definite decision. And of course with President Obama, we have someone who has roots in Southeast Asia-the time that he spent in Indonesia which was very formative. So we'd rather still focus on what we can do going forward. Every country has to constantly be asking itself are we doing the best we can and are we making the right decisions. And in our case, when we came into office, it became clear that many of our friends in Asia felt like we hadn't been paying attention and we have been absent. I don't know it was that feeling here but we certainly have heard of that communicated. And the United Stated is uniquely, geographically positioned. We are both an Atlantic and a Pacific power. And I don't think you can do one and not the other because our interests, our alliances and our partnerships span the globe. We are not going to pretend or claim that we are the answer of every problem but we want to be a constructive actor in dealing with the major problems that confront Asia.

Q: What do you think is the biggest threat to the peace of the region at this moment?

A: The threat that I always worry about, first and foremost, is proliferation of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction. And obviously we are concerned about North Korea and recent reports about perhaps their dealings with (what we call) Burma.

Q: You refuse to call it Myanmar?

A: We do. We would like to see the democracy made decisions about the future of a country. That has yet come to pass. We are very strongly in favor of putting pressure on that government, trying to make it clear that the future doesn't lie with those who would try to repress their people and limit the opportunities to very small ruling group. That is not in the interest of people of Burma or people anywhere. So we are worried about the transfer of nuclear technology from North Korea to Burma.

Q: So you are concerned about the close ties between North Korea and Burma? How seriously?

A: We are going to explore it in Phuket and talk to all the other foreign ministers who are there. We want to try to focus the attention by countries that have a direct relationship or shared border as Thailand does. So that there can be a united front against that ever happening. I'm not saying it is happening but we want to be prepared to try to stand against it.

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