Kurt Campbell, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific, visited Vietnam and Cambodia last week. The purpose of his visit to Vietnam was to “engage in detailed discussions with Vietnamese colleagues” on issues related to the US role in Asia, the bilateral security relationship, engagement with multilateral organizations in Asia such as the ASEAN Regional Forum and the East Asia Summit, and US military presence in Asia. Vietnamese government sought to understand US plans to strengthen trade, financial and military interactions with Vietnam, while US officials expressed concerns on human rights and freedom of expression issues. Secretary Campbell said the United States hopes to improve relations in a “step-by-step” manner through more dialogue to build trust and confidence to solve issues of common interest.
In Cambodia, Secretary Campbell met with the Cambodian Foreign Minister to discuss bilateral cooperation and support Cambodian leadership of ASEAN events in 2012. This year is the 35th anniversary of the United States’ engagement with ASEAN and Secretary Campbell also announced that Washington, D.C., will be hosting the 4th US-ASEAN Summit in November. Campbell said “I look forward to visiting Cambodia many times in the months ahead” in preparation for ASEAN events this year.
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