US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan, right, during their meeting at Foreign Ministry in Seoul, on Oct. 7, 2011
WASHINGTON — The US wants Burma to have good relations with its giant neighbors China and India, a senior US diplomat said ahead of trilateral talks with India and Japan and as the US special envoy for Burma is in Beijing to brief Chinese officials on Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's trip to Burma earlier this month.
“We seek a country that has a good, strong, trustful relationship with all its neighbors, principally India and China. We will be in close consultations with both of them about the developments inside the country,” said Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell.
Washington aims to promote further reform in Burma, he said, adding that the US wants to coordinate its efforts with Japan and India during talks with diplomats from those countries to be held next week.
“We would like to compare our overall strategy,” said Campbell, citing the release of political prisoners, the greater opening of political space, an easing of ethnic tensions and progress towards national reconciliation, and the removal of military ties between Naypyidaw and Pyongyang as areas in which the three countries should “speak in one voice.”
Campbell said that the US also wants to coordinate its Burma policy with Asia's two largest democracies in other areas, such as “capacity building, rule of law, agricultural issues and health concerns.”
The trilateral meeting, scheduled to be held in Washington next Monday, will be the first of its kind, and will cover a range of key regional and global economic, military and strategic issues.
Meanwhile, the US special envoy for Burma, Derek Mitchell, told reporters in Beijing that Burma's greatest challenge is national reconciliation, noting that the country needs to resolve the division between the ethnic minorities and the Burman majority if it is to achieve lasting stability.
“I think that remains the biggest concern that we all must have about the stability of the country,” said Mitchell. “You can have artificial stability through force of arms, but that’s not sustainable.”
Mitchell also referred to the impact Burma's conflicts have had on its neighbors.
“I won’t speak for China, but I know there are cross-border impacts of all of this that affect ... Thailand, affect India, Bangladesh, and many of the neighbors. This is something we ought to think about and hopefully assist in the right way Burma’s development towards national reconciliation,” he said.
“We seek a country that has a good, strong, trustful relationship with all its neighbors, principally India and China. We will be in close consultations with both of them about the developments inside the country,” said Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell.
Washington aims to promote further reform in Burma, he said, adding that the US wants to coordinate its efforts with Japan and India during talks with diplomats from those countries to be held next week.
“We would like to compare our overall strategy,” said Campbell, citing the release of political prisoners, the greater opening of political space, an easing of ethnic tensions and progress towards national reconciliation, and the removal of military ties between Naypyidaw and Pyongyang as areas in which the three countries should “speak in one voice.”
Campbell said that the US also wants to coordinate its Burma policy with Asia's two largest democracies in other areas, such as “capacity building, rule of law, agricultural issues and health concerns.”
The trilateral meeting, scheduled to be held in Washington next Monday, will be the first of its kind, and will cover a range of key regional and global economic, military and strategic issues.
Meanwhile, the US special envoy for Burma, Derek Mitchell, told reporters in Beijing that Burma's greatest challenge is national reconciliation, noting that the country needs to resolve the division between the ethnic minorities and the Burman majority if it is to achieve lasting stability.
“I think that remains the biggest concern that we all must have about the stability of the country,” said Mitchell. “You can have artificial stability through force of arms, but that’s not sustainable.”
Mitchell also referred to the impact Burma's conflicts have had on its neighbors.
“I won’t speak for China, but I know there are cross-border impacts of all of this that affect ... Thailand, affect India, Bangladesh, and many of the neighbors. This is something we ought to think about and hopefully assist in the right way Burma’s development towards national reconciliation,” he said.
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