US President Barack Obama in order to have greater US engagement in Asia, pragmatic cooperation with China,insist to push for deeper trade ties with the region.
Engagement with Asia, President Barack Obama said the US did not seek to “contain” a rising China even as he asserted that it would not be “cowed” by North Korea’s defiance over its nuclear issue.Obama reaffirmed Washington’s alliance with Japan, and said Washington would approach the rising regional power “with a focus on our interests”. The Japenese capital is the first stop in Obama’s nine-day Asian tour.On the eve of his maiden trip to Beijing as President, Obama, in a major policy speech on Asia in Tokyo, refrained from mentioning Tibet while Taiwan, which China claims as its province, was also off his radar.”The United States does not seek to contain China, nor does a deeper relationship with China mean a weakening of our bilateral alliances,” Obama, who is in Tokyo as part of his four-nation Asia tour, said in a 40-minute address before a 1500-strong audience at the Suntory Hall.The rise of a strong, prosperous China can be a source of strength for the community of nations, he said.His visit to China, Obama said that “in Beijing and beyond, we will work to deepen our Strategic and Economic Dialogue, and improve communication between our militaries.” Obama warned that “we will not agree on every issue, and the United States will never waver in speaking up for the fundamental values that we hold dear and that includes respect for the religion and cultures of all people.”On North Korea, Obama said the US and others will not “be cowed” by North Korea’s threats to step up its nuclear programme and will advance the goal of securing all of the world’s “vulnerable” atomic material within four years.
For decades, North Korea has chosen a path of “confrontation and provocation,” including the pursuit of nuclear weapons,” Obama said.”It should be clear where that path leads. We have tightened sanctions on Pyongyang. We have passed the most sweeping UN Security Council resolution to date to restrict their weapons of mass destruction activities,” he said.
“We will not be cowed by threats, and we will continue to send a clear message through our actions, and not just our words: North Korea’s refusal to meet its international obligations will lead only to less security not more.”
Noting that strengthening the global non-proliferation regime is not about singling out individual nations, Obama said it is about all nations living up to their responsibilities. “That includes the Islamic Republic of Iran. And it includes North Korea.”Turning to Myanmar, Obama ruled out any lifting of sanctions on the country, saying they would remain till the military regime takes concrete steps towards restoration of democracy and release opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi along with other political prisoners.
“We are now communicating directly with the (Myanmar) leadership to make it clear that existing sanctions will remain until there are concrete steps toward democratic reform,” he said while expressing his commitment to strengthen US ties with Asia.
The US had recently announced the US policy to engage the military junta in a dialogue, a marked departure from the past wherein it slapped sanctions on Myanmar for its inability to restore democracy and protect human rights.