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Obama Begins Asian Swing With Gaza Fighting in Mind Obama Begins Asian Swing With Gaza Fighting in Mind
(about 3 hours later)
BANGKOK — President Obama opened a three-country post-election swing through Southeast Asia on Sunday intended to highlight the growing importance of the region for American foreign policy. BANGKOK — President Obama on Sunday opened a three-country postelection swing through Southeast Asia designed to highlight the growing importance of the region for American foreign policy, even as he remained partly focused on the fighting in the Middle East.
After a round-the-world flight, Mr. Obama disembarked at Bangkok airport and headed straight to a series of cultural visits and meetings with leaders in Thailand, one of America’s oldest and closest allies in the region. Mr. Obama landed here in Thailand to bolster a longtime ally and demonstrate that the United States will draw together China’s neighbors in a web of partnerships.
The Asia journey comes at a complicated moment for Mr. Obama, who scheduled the four-day trip to Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia to demonstrate his commitment to rebalancing second-term foreign policy away from the Middle East and toward the Pacific. But even as Air Force One raced to Southeast Asia, the Middle East was once again consuming the president’s time and attention with the outbreak of fighting in Gaza. But as the death toll in the Gaza Strip and Israel worsened on Sunday, factoring into the president’s speeches, it underscored the challenges in reorienting the United States away from the historic headaches of the Middle East more toward the emerging Asia-Pacific region. As Mr. Obama has discovered on more than one overseas journey, the best-laid plans for building progress around the world are often upended by newfound turmoil in the region that has dominated American attention for more than a decade.
In addition to preparing for his Asia meetings, Mr. Obama spent the day before leaving Washington working the phones hoping to settle down the Middle East. He spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel as well as President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. Speaking with reporters after meeting with Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, Mr. Obama said he was working to ease the conflict between Israel and Hamas, but he defended Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.
“I would anticipate that he’ll continue to work on it” even while in Asia, Benjamin J. Rhodes, his deputy national security adviser, told reporters aboard Air Force One. “He’s being regularly briefed on it. It’s possible that he’ll make calls.” “There’s no country on earth that would tolerate missiles raining down on its citizens from outside its borders,” Mr. Obama said. “We are fully supportive of Israel’s right to defend itself.”
Mr. Obama headed from the airport here to the Wat Pho Royal Monastery, one of the country’s most revered cultural outposts. After a tour, he planned to stop at Siriraj Hospital, to pay respects to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the 84-year-old Massachusetts-born monarch who has been ailing. Mr. Obama landed here in midafternoon and headed immediately from the airport to the Wat Pho Royal Monastery, one of the country’s most revered cultural outposts, where he and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton inspected the famed giant reclining Buddha.
From there, the president will head to the Government House to meet with Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, the sister of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was deposed in a military coup in 2006 and fled the country. Ms. Yingluck, who assumed office last year, will join Mr. Obama for a joint session with reporters and then host the president for dinner. Even domestic issues followed him, as he found himself talking about the so-called fiscal cliff back home with a Buddhist monk whom he asked to pray for a resolution. “If a Buddhist monk is wishing me well, I’m going to take whatever good vibes he’s giving me,” Mr. Obama said later.
Mr. Obama plans to leave Monday morning for Myanmar, where he will stay on the ground for about six hours, and then fly on to Cambodia to participate in meetings with leaders from across the region. He will be the first sitting American president to visit either country. From there, Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton, making their last official trip abroad together, headed to Siriraj Hospital, to pay respects to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the 84-year-old Massachusetts-born monarch who has been ailing. They then went to the Government House for meetings and dinner with Ms. Yingluck, the prime minister who came to office last year five years after her brother, Thaksin Shinawatra, was deposed in a military coup.
Human rights activists have criticized the trip since all three countries to various degrees have records of repression. For Mr. Obama, the challenge of the trip will be finding a way to nudge those governments toward greater freedom while cementing stronger relations. Mr. Obama planned to leave Monday morning for Myanmar, where he will stay on the ground for about six hours, and then fly on to Cambodia, where he will participate in meetings with leaders from across the region. He will be the first sitting American president to visit either country.
Most attention has focused on Myanmar, which is only emerging from decades of hardline military rule. Under President Thein Sein, the country has begun releasing political prisoners and easing restrictions on the media. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel laureate and opposition leader, has been freed from house arrest and allowed to run and win a seat in parliament. Mr. Obama has responded by sending the first American ambassador in 22 years and by easing sanctions to make it easier to invest in the impoverished country of 55 million. He defended his decision to visit Myanmar against criticism from human rights activists who consider it premature. Under President Thein Sein, the country has begun releasing political prisoners and easing restrictions on the media. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel winning opposition leader, has been freed from house arrest and allowed to run and win a seat in parliament. But more than 200 political prisoners remain in custody and the government continues to wage a brutal campaign against insurgents in Kachin State. The government has also been accused of not doing enough to stop, and even tacitly encouraging, the outbreak of ethnic violence against Muslims in Rakhine State.
But more than 200 political prisoners remain in custody and the government continues to wage a brutal campaign against insurgents in Kachin State. The government has also been accused of not doing enough to stop, and even tacitly encouraging, the outbreak of ethnic violence against Muslims in Rakhine State.
Human Rights Watch on Sunday said satellite imagery showed extensive destruction of homes in Rohingya Muslim areas after a wave of violence and arson in October that it said was carried out with the support of state security forces and local government officials.Human Rights Watch on Sunday said satellite imagery showed extensive destruction of homes in Rohingya Muslim areas after a wave of violence and arson in October that it said was carried out with the support of state security forces and local government officials.
In Cambodia, Prime Minister Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge commander, has ruled for more than a quarter century, presiding over a system that has crushed dissent. Opposition leaders lately have been subjected to politically charged prosecutions and hundreds of thousands of people have been affected by forced evictions over the last decade. Mr. Obama praised the government’s reforms while saying more work needed to be done. “This is not an endorsement of the Burmese government,” he said. “This is an acknowledgment that there is a process under way inside that country that even a year and a half, two years ago, nobody foresaw.”
He added: “I don’t think anybody’s under any illusion that Burma’s arrived, that they’re where they need to be. On the other hand, if we waited to engage until they achieved a perfect democracy, my suspicion is we’d be waiting an awful long time.”
State television in Yangon reported that Mr. Thein Sein had ordered the release of 66 prisoners in advance of Mr. Obama’s arrival, but it was not immediately clear whether any were political prisoners, The Associated Press reported. A similar released of more than 450 prisoners late last week disappointed human rights activists because they were almost entirely common criminals rather than those locked up for political activities.
Mr. Obama will meet with Mr. Thein Sein and Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi during his brief stop in Yangon, then give a speech at the University of Yangon defining his hopes for the nation. Mr. Obama has already sent the first American ambassador to Myanmar in 22 years and eased sanctions. Aides hinted at further incentives. Benjamin J. Rhodes, the president’s deputy national security adviser, said Mr. Obama would be “addressing our assistance relationship.”
His last stop in Cambodia offers a challenge of its own. Unlike Myanmar’s leadership, Prime Minister Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge commander, has ruled for more than a quarter century with little indication of easing a system that has crushed dissent. Mr. Obama is visiting Phnom Penh not to visit with him but to attend meetings with a variety of regional leaders.
Even here in Thailand, considered the most modern and sophisticated of the three countries Mr. Obama is visiting, the state of the country’s political system has been precarious, particularly since the ouster of the prime minister’s brother. Human rights groups cite security force abuses, restrictions on free speech and the failure to protect a large population of refugees, asylum seekers and migrant workers.Even here in Thailand, considered the most modern and sophisticated of the three countries Mr. Obama is visiting, the state of the country’s political system has been precarious, particularly since the ouster of the prime minister’s brother. Human rights groups cite security force abuses, restrictions on free speech and the failure to protect a large population of refugees, asylum seekers and migrant workers.
Mr. Obama’s aides said he is well aware of the situation in the region and hopes to use his visit to shore up progress toward reform, especially in Myanmar, also known as Burma. The president hopes to use the visit there in particular to lock in the gains so far and to encourage Mr. Thein Sein to keep opening up society in advance of elections now scheduled for 2015. Mr. Rhodes said the president would be “addressing our assistance relationship,” hinting at an increase in American aid. Mr. Obama made no mention of that in his opening remarks to reporters and addressed it only when a Thai reporter asked about problems with freedom in his country. The president offered no criticism of his host.
“We believe it’s very important to show up, and that if we want to promote human rights and promote American values, we intend to do so through engagement,” Mr. Rhodes said. “And I think there’s a track record here of the U.S. engaging and seeing positive actions taken by the Burmese following that engagement.” “Democracy is not something that is static,” he said. “It’s something that we constantly have to work on.”