US President Barack Obama will attend the 2011 East Asia Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia, say reports quoting informed sources in Washington.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell arrived for a closed door meeting on Wednesday to discuss possible relocation areas, a month ahead of Hatoyama’s self-imposed end-of-May deadline. Under a 2006 agreement still backed by Washington, Futenma’s facilities were to be shifted from a city center to a less populated part of Okinawa.

Resistance to the airbase has burgeoned steadily in Okinawa, where resentful residents consider it an unfair burden for maintaining the 50-year-old U.S.-Japan security alliance. They also cite much dislike for the crime, accidents and noise associated with the bases.

Sources:
Japan PM Keeps Party Kingpin, Plans Base Trip [Reuters, 28 Apr 2010]
Japan PM to Visit Okinawa over US Base Row [AFP, 28 Apr 2010]

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Protestors signaled warnings toward Prime Minister Hatoyama by dressing in yellow, reminding him of the promise he made during elections to move the busy base off Okinawa altogether. Hatoyama’s efforts to find a new location for the base have not appeased Washington. The original 2006 deal calls for moving the base from its current location, in the center of the city of Ginowan, to Camp Schwab, an existing Marine base in less-populated northern Okinawa.

Japanese have long been resentful of the massive US base on the island, which is home to more than half the 47,000 American troops based in Japan. Hatoyama has given himself till end May to resolve the issue.

Sources:
90,000 Protest U.S. Base on Okinawa [The New York Times, 25 Apr 2010]
Japanese Islanders Stage Mass Rally Against US Base [ChannelNewsAsia, 25 Apr 2010]
Mass Rally in Japan Against US Base on Okinawa [BBC News 25 Apr 2010]

Photographs and images used on this website are obtained from publicly-accessible resources. No copyright infringement is intended.

The subject of Yuan appreciation has become a bone of contention between Beijing and Washington.China today denied reports of reaching an agreement with the United States over Washington’s demand to let its currency Yuan appreciate.

China:To Gradually Adopt Floating Exchange-Rate System Under Management [Wall Street Journal,16 April 2010]
China says yuan appreciation expectations rising [Reuters, 19 April 2010]

UNITED States President Barack Obama’s decision to postpone his visit to Indonesia and Australia last week was understandable. The health-care Bill, a centrepiece in his legislative agenda, was at a critical juncture and domestic priorities trump international visits. Moreover, the President had visited Asia less than six months ago and has rescheduled for June, not so far off.

Yet while the postponement will be accepted – including by the Indonesians, who had looked forward to welcoming Mr Obama to the land where he spent part of his youth – it is neither insignificant nor without consequence.

This goes beyond the symbolism of the Chinese Premier deciding to visit Indonesia before Mr Obama arrives in June. It points to deeper questions about America’s future in Asia. And it also touches upon the different visions of the regional architecture that have been put forward by Australia, Japan and Asean.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has proposed an Asia-Pacific Community while Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has spoken of an East Asian Community. In the meantime, Asean leaders have emphasised the group’s centrality and would prefer to develop existing regional structures instead of creating new ones. Some in Asean propose expanding the East Asian Summit, where Asean hosts the leaders of China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand. Singapore Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong recently suggested bringing in the US and Russia, to make what might be called an Asean+8. Details have yet to be given. But this is more than just a question of acronyms and numerals.

Asia may propose, but much will depend on US attitudes. Its willingness to engage Asia cannot be taken for granted. The postponement of Mr Obama’s visit to Indonesia is another sign of how the mood is changing in the US.

The Obama administration began with considerable ambitions in Asia. It showed its commitment in the first Asean-US Summit, with the President personally declaring himself the first Pacific President. But at the end of last year, when Mr Obama journeyed to Singapore for the Apec summit, he was pilloried at home.

Concurrently, frustration about joblessness grew and the President’s approval ratings fell. The US economy remains fragile now and domestic issues continue to take precedence over international ones. The consequence may well be drift in America’s relations with East Asia.

Consider trade: When President Obama attended the Apec summit, he won kudos for showing interest in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. But the truth is that a number of free trade agreements that the US has already negotiated – with South Korea, for instance – remain mired in Congress, unratified.

When American attention does turn to Asia, its agenda can be worrying. It is now filled with complaints about China, including its undervalued currency. This signals a growing belief among Americans that trade with Asia is not always to their benefit. Given this mood, it is possible the US will either be largely absent from Asia, or engage with it acrimoniously.

In the past, Asians would have sought to accommodate America’s demands. Not so now. China for one sees no need to bend to US pressure. Even Japan is openly debating the value of US military bases in the country. Asians are growing more confident and self-assertive, and not without justification.

But Asian triumphalism must be avoided. So too must the belief that Asians can go it alone, without America. There are security threats and rivalries in the region that continue to require US involvement. Moreover, the US is still by far the largest economy, and a critical market for Asia.

Instead of simply waiting for Mr Obama, Asians should seek to engage America in new and more sustainable ways. One forum can be Apec. But Apec is focused on economics and its membership goes beyond just Asia and the US.

Another forum can be the summit that Mr Obama began with Asean. This is important as a complement to the active ties that Asean has with China, Japan, India and other key players.

Another initiative by Asians may be useful. Hence the various proposals. While these differ, some key principles can be aligned. First, any new arrangement should aim to ensure a regular dialogue among strategic partners, especially the US. However, we must accept that these dialogues cannot occur too often. The political reality is that while America continues to be important to Asia, its leadership may not always be present.

Second, any new arrangement cannot be seen as trumping intra-Asian frameworks, in which Asean has been central. No major power, including the US, can be allowed to dominate these arrangements.

Third, any new arrangement should be inclusive and based on principles of equality. Asia cannot be run by a small directorate of major powers. Medium- and small-sized states must be included.

The Australian, Japanese and various Asean proposals will be debated. Whatever emerges, one hopes it will embody these principles – to the benefit of all those who wish Asia to continue to engage America and vice versa.

The writer is chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs. Think-Tank is a weekly column rotated among eight leading figures in Singapore’s tertiary and research institutions.

China, backed by its growing economic power,  has adopted an increasingly muscular stance towards the West, most notably visible through its reticience at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen and its encumbrance of the UN Security Council negotiations over Iran sanctions.

Now, however, the U.S. is pushing back. The weapons sales coincided with some public criticism by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of China’s stance on Iran. Recently, the U.S. has also been vocal in championing Internet freedom.

Last summer, in a row over Chinese dumping of tyres, China loudly announced investigations into imports of several U.S. products, but the actual sanctions eventually levied were minor. The actual significance of the current falling out remains to be seen.

Sources:

Keith Bradsher, “China Threatens Sanctions in Fallout Over Taiwan,” New York Times, January 30, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/31/world/asia/31china.html?ref=asia

Helen Cooper, “U.S. Starts to Push Back Against China in Growing Rift,” New York Times, January 31, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/01/world/asia/01china.html?ref=asia

Since last year’s election, there have been a flurry of diplomatic visits between China and Japan. The Yoimuri Shimbun even cited an anonymous diplomatic source that said there could be reconciliation over historical issues, which would include a visit by PM Hatoyama to Nanjing to apologize for the 1937 massacre. Though both sides dismissed the report, onlookers have speculated that it may have been a trial balloon.

Meanwhile, conflict has escalated in the row over the relocation of US bases in Okinawa. Today, candidate who opposes the base won the mayoral election of Okinawa, increasing pressure on PM Hatoyama.

For more on relations between the Asia-Pacific’s three largest economies, see below.

Martin Fackler, “In Japan, U.S. is Losing Ground to China,” New York Times, January 23, 2010.

Martin Fackler, “Mayor-Elect of Okinawa Opposes U.S. Base,” New York Times, January 23, 2010.

News sources are now reporting that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has canceled the remainder of her Asia trip to deal with the crisis in Haiti.

The trip would have taken her to Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand.

Secretary of State Clinton called the long history of natural disasters that continue to trouble Haiti “biblical” and “tragic”. She has a special relationship with the Americas’ poorest country: she and former president Bill Clinton honeymooned there, while Mr Clinton is currently the United Nations special envoy to Haiti.

In calling off the rest of her trip, Clinton will miss the 25th Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations in Canberra, which would have brought Clinton and US Defense Secretary Robert Gates together with their Australian counterparts.

Clinton announced that she plans to reschedule the trip, and that the three nations were understanding of her decision.

She had planned to highlight environmental issues in Papua New Guinea, before going to New Zealand to meet Prime Minister John Key to discuss progress on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a potential free trade group that links Singapore, New Zealand, Brunei, Chile, and possibly the US. From there, Clinton would have traveled to Australia for discussions that likely would have featured Australian involvement in the Afghanistan war.

Sources:

Reuters, “Clinton to cut short Asia trip after Haitian quake,” January 13, 2010, http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60C5N020100113?type=politicsNews

Reuters, “Clinton to talk bases, security on Pacific swing,” January 10, 2010, http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60A0O320100111?type=politicsNews

Agence France Presse (through Yahoo! News), “Clinton cancels Asia tour to deal with Haiti crisis,” January 13, 2010, http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100113/pl_afp/haitiquakeusdiplomacyclintonasia_20100113233040

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton outlined a pragmatic stance on human rights in China and Russia, saying it is sometimes better to raise problems with them “behind closed doors.”

The chief US diplomat’s speech sparked concern from leading human rights group Amnesty International, even as her spokesman urged China publicly to immediately release Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo.

“Principled pragmatism informs our approach on human rights, informs our approach with all countries but particularly with key countries like China and Russia,” she said in unveiling the Obama administration’s human rights agenda.

US cooperation with Moscow and Beijing is “critical” to efforts to revive the global economy, halt the nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea, check the spread of dangerous weapons, and tackle climate change, Clinton said.

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SEOUL (AFP) – The United States and North Korea agreed to discuss a peace treaty on the Korean peninsula at four-nation talks involving the two nations, China and South Korea, a news report said Sunday.

The “common understanding” was reached when US envoy Stephen Bosworth visited Pyongyang from December 8 to 10, Yonhap news agency said, citing an unnamed Seoul official.

A peace treaty would replace an armistice to formally end the 1950-1953 Korean War at which Communist North Korea, backed by Chinese troops, fought South Korea, supported by US-led UN troops.

Bosworth’s trip to Pyongyang was to persuade North Korea to return to six-party nuclear disarmament talks — which also group South Korea, China, Japan and Russia. Pyongyang quit the talks in April.

Though failing to set a date for the North’s return to the six-party process, the US envoy said both sides agreed on the need to resume nuclear disarmament talks during what he termed “very useful” meetings.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091213/…