Obama speech sees mixed reaction on US momentum in Southeast Asia
US President Barack Obama’s Southeast Asia-only trip in 2012 marked a high point in the US prioritization of the region. But there has been a drop in the presence of high-level US diplomats since then, and in his recent State of the Union speech, Obama spoke of Asia only rarely.
Some analysts say that could mean the US won’t be able to sustain its so-called “pivot to Asia.” …
Since taking office, Obama has often touted his diplomatic pivot—generally seen as a strategic refocusing on the region to counter China’s growing influence there. His 2012 visit to Southeast Asia included historic trips to Burma and Cambodia, where he attended the Asean Summit. But the president canceled a Southeast Asia trip in October due to the government shutdown. …
Speaking at the National Press Club in Washington last week, Daniel Russel, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the US State Department, said the US remains strongly committed to the region not only for security interests. …
That includes the president’s Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative, which was announced in December to empower the next generation of leaders in Southeast Asia, where 65 percent of the population is under 35. Ou Virak, president of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, says that kind of initiative would be welcome in Cambodia. But following the State of the Union speech, he too worried about a missed opportunity to capitalize on the region’s demographic change, including in Cambodia, which he says now holds “historic” potential for democratic transition in the region. “Because now across the whole region, only Cambodia is at a major political crossroads, where there is the opportunity to strengthen democracy,” he said. “So the US should pay close attention to Cambodia.” He says he worries that growing Chinese influence will mean rising authoritarianism in Cambodia and the region in the coming years. So he hopes Obama will pay attention to Cambodia’s democratization potential. …
Sophat Soeung
http://www.voacambodia.com/content/obama-speech-sees-mixed-reaction-on-us-momentum-southeast-asia-cambodia-khmer/1848293.html
