CNA - 10 November 2009 0749 hrs
WASHINGTON: The United States said on Monday it would no
longer allow its row with Myanmar to hold its ties with Southeast
Asia hostage, as President Barack Obama geared up for his debut
official visit to the region.
Obama is due to hold the first-ever meeting between a US president
and leaders of all 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) members, including Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein, on
Sunday in Singapore.
"One of the frustrations that we've had with policy toward Burma
over recent years has been that the inability to have interaction
with Burma has prevented certain kinds of interaction with ASEAN as
a whole," said Obama's top Asia policy aide Jeffrey Bader.
"The statement we're trying to make
here is that we're not going to let the Burmese tail wag the
ASEAN dog."
Bader said the meeting was a multilateral session, and not intended
to serve as an opportunity for Obama to have a conversation with a
Myanmar leader – though he did not categorically rule out such an
encounter.
"We're going to meet with all 10 and we're not going to punish the
other nine simply because Burma is in the room, but this is not a
bilateral."
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This is a repulsive and insulting remark that ASEAN is a
dog!
My friends' friend is an idiot but my friends' friend's
friend is a bigger issued.
But Asean really has become just a talk shop...it could not
solved Myanmar, it probably cannot resolved Thai - Cambo issued
either.