Clinton pledges increased U.S. economic leadership in Asia

Posted By Josh Rogin Wednesday, March 9, 2011 - 11:29 AM Share

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed Asian economic leaders Wednesday morning and pledged U.S. leadership on building a free, transparent, and fair trade community in East and Southeast Asia.

Clinton's remarks were part of the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum being held in downtown Washington, which will feature meetings with senior Obama administration officials throughout the week. The United States is hosting the annual APEC conference this November in Hawaii.

Clinton also called for APEC to serve as a more active driver of economic institution building in Asia. "We must decide how we will work together -- what rules we will adopt; what principles we will abide by; what behavior we will encourage and discourage in ourselves and in each other. These are open questions. We are called to answer them as individual economies and as an economic community," Clinton said. "APEC provides a forum for reaching those answers."

She touted increased U.S. involvement in Asian regional organizations, including the Obama administration's decision to join the East Asia Summit, its push to expand the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, and an increased dedication of time and resources to U.S. membership in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The Senate just confirmed Obama campaign bundler David Carden as America's first-ever full time resident ambassador to ASEAN. Until Carden's arrival, Scot Marcial served as both the State Department's representative at ASEAN and the U.S. ambassador to Indonesia.

"Together, these actions by the United States comprise a strategy that we call ‘forward-deployed diplomacy,'" Clinton said. "It reflects our belief that the security and prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region is critical to the security and prosperity of the United States and the world. And furthermore, that as a Pacific nation and a Pacific power, the United States has a responsibility to help lead in meeting the challenges and making the most of the opportunities facing us today."

Clinton explained that trade in Asia was key to the administration's effort to increase economic growth, and reiterated that the Obama administration wanted Congress to ratify free trade agreements with South Korea, Columbia and Panama. She didn't mention Asia's largest economy, China, in her remarks.