Chiangmai (mizzima news) - United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is set to arrive in Thailand early next week for a round of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meetings, where it is expected the situation inside Burma will be discussed.
Briefing reporters in Washington on Wednesday, Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and Ambassador for ASEAN Affairs Scot Marciel announced, "I expect that issues such as Burma will come up in that meeting," in reference to the ASEAN Post-Ministerial Conference.
He added the ASEAN Regional Forum meeting is also "likely to cover a wide range of issues, everything from climate change and disaster relief to pandemic influenza to North Korea to Burma."
The trip underscores a shift from the policies of former United States President George W. Bush to the current Obama administration. While the former often stood accused of neglecting multilateral interests and, specifically, not engaging enough with ASEAN, the latter is attempting to rebuild and develop United States cooperation in the region.
"As you know from the Secretary’s travel to Jakarta in February, the Administration is very focused on improving our relationship with ASEAN," remarked Marciel.
He additionally chose not to rule out the possibility that the United States would sign ASEAN's Treaty of Amity and Cooperation by the close of the conference on Wednesday, confirming that the United States is actively pursuing its interest in adding its name to the growing list of signatories.
The Treaty has come under attack from some quarters for its enshrining of ASEAN's principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of member states, a clause some perceive as serving to protect the continued rule of Burma's military regime.
Clinton's trip comes as the United States continues to review the Burma policy it inherited from the Bush administration, a review, initiated in February, which is admittedly being hampered by ongoing developments inside Burma.
"It’s been slowed, I guess I would say, because of the new developments, specifically the Burmese arrest and prosecution of Aung San Suu Kyi, and that ongoing trial is certainly factoring into our policy review," explained Marciel.
However, the Deputy Assistant refuted the notion that the United States lacks any Burma policy at the present time, stipulating Washington supports "the beginning of a dialogue between the government and the opposition and the ethnic minority groups, release of political prisoners and improved governance and, we would hope, more of an opening to the international community."
There is reportedly no scheduled bilateral meeting between Clinton and her Burmese counterpart in the cards, though they will likely both be present at various functions.
Marciel additionally remained noncommittal when asked whether the Secretary of State would raise Thai-Burma border issues while visiting with officials in Bangkok prior to joining the ASEAN meetings.
Convening Friday the 17th and continuing through Wednesday, July 22nd, Phuket, Thailand, will play host to the 42nd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting, Post Ministerial Conference and 16th ASEAN Regional Forum.
