The Next Truth

The United States will buttress security partnerships across the Pacific as it strengthens ties with island nations, but also hopes to work more closely with China as Beijing expands its own influence in the region, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday.

The United States will buttress security partnerships across the Pacific as it strengthens ties with island nations, but also hopes to work more closely with China as Beijing expands its own influence in the region, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Friday.

Clinton arrived in the tiny Pacific outpost of the Cook Islands for this year’s Pacific Islands Forum, part of Washington’s effort to woo nations across the Asia-Pacific which are increasingly coming under China’s shadow.

Clinton told the gathering, which represents 16 independent and self-governing states ranging from Australia and New Zealand to smaller islands such as Tuvalu and Nauru, that the United States was in the region for the long haul.

But she also played down growing perceptions of a U.S.-China rivalry in the region, declaring “the Pacific is big enough for all of us” and dismissing the notion that expanded U.S. activity was “a hedge against particular countries.”

“We think it is important for the Pacific Island nations to have good relationships with as many partners as possible, and that includes China as well as the United States,” Clinton told a news conference with New Zealand Prime Minister John Key.

“We want to see more international development projects that include the participation of China,” Clinton said, citing disaster relief, maritime security and preserving bio-diversity.

“We think that there’s a great opportunity to work with China and we’re going to be looking for more ways to do that,” she said.

China’s Vice Foreign Minister Cui Tiankai is also attending the Pacific forum and told reporters Beijing’s presence in the Pacific was not about geo-political influence.

“We are here in this region not to seek any particular influence, still less dominance,” Cui told a news conference before Clinton made her remarks.

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US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has congratulated Vietnam on its National Day (September 2) and expressed her belief in the stronger strategic relationship between the two countries in future.

In her congratulatory message, Clinton recalled her third visit to Hanoi in July 2012 as Secretary of State, marking progress in bilateral relations since the US and Vietnam normalised diplomatic ties in 1995.

She noted that two-way trade between the US and Vietnam has grown and flourished from almost nothing in 1995 to nearly US$22 billion annually and that the upward trend will continue in the coming years.

In her words, bilateral cooperation has expanded in various areas, including maritime security, public health, disaster relief, and education.

The Fulbright programme alone, which marks its 20^th anniversary this year, has sent many Vietnamese student and officials to the US for study.

The number of Vietnamese students studying at US universities and colleges has also increased significantly over the years, reaching nearly 15,000 at present, which helps promote mutual understanding between the two nations.

According to the diplomat, both countries will continue increasing people-to-people exchanges and expanding cooperation in trade, health and environmental challenges.

“We are committed to strengthening the strategic relationship between our countries based on mutual respect and our common desire to foster peace and stability throughout the Asia-Pacific,” said Clinton.

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