Fri 13 Feb 2009
Hillary: Asia Bound
Posted by USA / Roy G under Balkers
[9] Comments
Secretary of State Travels to Asia, 15 Feb
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In her first trip abroad since taking office, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will travel to Asia, departing Washington, DC on February 15. Secretary Clinton will visit Japan (February 16-18), Indonesia (February 18-19), the Republic of Korea (February 19-20), and China (February 20-22).
In all capitals, Secretary Clinton will be discussing common approaches to the challenges facing the international community, including the financial markets turmoil, humanitarian issues, security and climate change.
In Tokyo, Secretary Clinton will meet with senior Japanese officials for discussions on the strategic bilateral alliance and cooperation with Japan on regional and global issues.
The Secretary then will travel to Jakarta to hold consultations will senior Indonesian officials to discuss the close and growing partnership with Indonesia and perspectives on common interests in Southeast Asia.
In Seoul, Secretary Clinton will meet with senior leaders to discuss our expanding global cooperative partnership with our ally, the Republic of Korea.
The Secretary will conclude her trip in China where she will meet with senior officials in Beijing to further develop a positive, cooperative relationship between the United States and the People’s Republic of China.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2009/02/116159.htm
Well – something new already. Bush never heard of climate change…
(Then again with the arctic winter we’re having in the U.S., not sure I’m buying it either… ;^)
I was surprised when Hillary accepted the SOS job – not really a diplomat kind of gal, more of a hard-liner for her issues. Which have historically been domestic ones.
Although as First Lady in the ’90’s, she was the very first public figure
in America to call for a Palestinian state. And the corporate media here, excoriated her as a radical for it. Now it is the accepted way forward for lasting peace in the region.
And when she chaired the U.S. delegation at the World Conference on Women in Beijing, 1995, it gave her legitimate standing on the world
stage IMO.
She will certainly have gravitas and presence on it, that Bush’s lackey
Condi Rice never did…
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Remarks by Secretary Clinton En Route to Tokyo, Japan
15 February, 2009
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I wanted to come back and talk to you about this trip. It’s my first trip, obviously, as Secretary of State, and going to Asia is, for me, a very big part of how we’re going to demonstrate the Obama Administration’s approach to dealing with the multitude of problems that we see, but also the opportunities as well.
This region is indispensible to our efforts to seize the opportunities and meet the challenges of the 21st century, and it is part of a larger context in which we intend to create networks of partners in order to deal with the problems that no nation, even ours, can deal with alone. And for me, this means employing all the tools of smart power. And I will be discussing with the leaders with whom I’ll be meeting not only our bilateral relationships and our relationships with institutions in the region, but joint efforts that we can undertake on behalf of global problems like climate change or nuclear proliferation, or specific issues like the future of our efforts in Afghanistan and Pakistan and beyond.
Now, this is not just about meeting with leaders, though, because I think it’s important that we get out of the ministerial buildings and listen to the people in the countries where I’ll be visiting. So to that end, I’ll be doing town halls and visits in areas of concern that we can discuss with NGO leaders and local officials.
This is not the first time I’ve been in these countries, but it’s obviously the first time that I come in this capacity. But it’s an opportunity to renew relationships with some people that I’ve known before, as well as those with whom I’ll be meeting for the first time.
And it really is about listening as much as talking. I think that’s an important point I want to underscore. We think it’s not only a smart approach to engage our friends, partners, and have an opportunity to hear from them, but we also are looking for the best ideas about how to further the objectives of this Administration in pursuing peace and prosperity and progress.
The final point I would say is that the global economic crisis is the backdrop against which this visit takes place. The four nations I’ll be visiting are all members of the G-20. They will be in London. I will be discussing with them the approaches that each are taking, explaining what we have just done with the passage of our stimulus bill, and seeking greater cooperation about how together we’re going to work our way through these very difficult economic times.
But I’m optimistic and very much looking forward to this trip. I chose to go to Asia deliberately in order to send that message that we are reaching out. We do see Asia as part of America’s future. As I said in my speech at the Asia Society, we are both a transatlantic and a transpacific power. And part of what I hope we can do is better understand and create the kind of future that will benefit both Asians and Americans.
So I’d be glad to answer questions.
QUESTION: Thank you, Madame Secretary. On the global economic and financial crisis, you said the other day that you have discussed with Secretary Geithner how you’re going to deal with China and how, if you want – if you like, divide the tasks and the labor. There’s been a lot of speculation about the fact that you’re trying to claim turf that belonged to the Treasury under the previous administration, and so on, when it comes to China.
How are you going to handle the problem in terms of responsibilities and sharing the burden with Secretary Geithner? Thanks.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, first, the division of responsibilities is something that we are working out within our government. I have had a long conversation with Secretary Geithner. We believe that we have to have a comprehensive approach to our dialogues with China, which we did have, but they were divided between the Strategic Economic Dialogue and the Senior Dialogues. And we want a more comprehensive, unified approach to the discussions that we will be engaged in with the Chinese. But we’re going to discuss the best way forward with the Chinese, because, clearly, you know, they have a lot of equities within their own government in trying to determine how best to engage with us.
But I’m very positive about the kind of cooperation that we can achieve together on behalf of really serious issues like clean energy and climate change and nuclear proliferation, as well as the economic crisis. And I would just point out that the Chinese have a very robust stimulus plan as well, so they’re certainly taking internal steps. And what we have to do is work out a way together on these range of important matters as to how we can be most effective working together to solve these problems. And that’s what our discussion internally and with them will be about.
QUESTION: Secretary Clinton, are you going to meet with any human rights activists when you’re in China? And if not, why not?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I will be doing a town hall in China. I will be going to church in China. I will be meeting with a wide variety of people. And certainly, the issue of human rights will be part of the agenda that I discuss with the Chinese.
QUESTION: Well, just to follow up on that, you got – seven major human rights organizations sent you a letter last week in which they said that human rights had been progressively moved to the margins of the U.S.-China relationship in the last eight years, and they urged you to signal that the relationship will depend in the future on whether China lives up to human rights norms. So I don’t know if you’ve seen that letter, but is that – is that something that you would like to bring as part of your discussions there, to press them further on human rights than they’ve been pressed in recent years?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, human rights is a part of our agenda with the Chinese, as is climate change and clean energy and nuclear nonproliferation and dealing with the North Korean denuclearization challenge and the Six-Party Talks. We have a range of issues, as I just said, with respect to the economic crisis. And that’s why we want a comprehensive dialogue. We’re not going to be shying away from talking about human rights issues, but we have a very broad agenda to deal with when it comes to China and all of the countries that we’re going to be visiting. So I think it’s fair to say that this first trip will be one intended to really find a path forward to have as robust an engagement as possible on a range of issues.
QUESTION: Madame Secretary, the President ran on a cap-and-trade platform. Senator Boxer has put forward principles for doing this. Do you think part of your discussion, which would be a major change from the Bush Administration, obviously, will be to tell the Chinese we’re – we, the United States, are moving forward on capping CO2 and that we are not demanding any kind of reciprocity; you’re just there to see what they might do, responding to when we move first?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, we’re going to be talking about a range of options. Todd Stern will be with me in Beijing in those meetings. And there are a number of different ways that we want to explore with the Chinese that we can be partnering. I’ll be visiting a clean energy plant that is a joint project in Beijing between GE and the Chinese.
I think we’ll talk about what we are intending to do, although, as you note, no policy decisions have yet been made within the Administration. And the way forward for us with climate change inside the United States will be a part of the political process, and we’re going to make it a high priority, as the President has said.
We want to talk with the Chinese about what are the options that they’re seriously considering, and where can we best partner and coordinate with them. And I think it’s premature to reach any conclusions about, you know, what that partnership will consist of, except to emphasize how important it is to us that climate change be a major part of our engagement with China.
QUESTION: Madame Secretary, on North Korea, you offered a lot of carrots in your speech – full diplomatic relations, the armistice – but do they have to completely and verifiably dismantle before that stage can be taken? How do you envision the sequencing in a best-case scenario?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, the North Koreans have already agreed to dismantling in the 2007 agreement, and we expect them to fulfill the obligations that they entered into. So our position is that when they move forward on presenting a verifiable and complete dismantling and denuclearization, we have a great openness to working with them. And it’s not only on the diplomatic front. It’s not only the peace treaty instead of the armistice, or the bilateral relations, but a willingness to help the people of North Korea, not just in a narrow way with food and fuel, but economic and energy assistance more broadly. But it does require the North Korean Government to commit to denuclearization and nonproliferation.
QUESTION: Can I just verify something?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Yes.
QUESTION: (Off-mike.)
SECRETARY CLINTON: Yes, yes, that’s right.
QUESTION: Thank you, Madame Secretary. It’s a question that is not related to Asia. Perhaps you can answer. We’re just wondering how hopeful are you – how hopeful are you about the possibility of talks with the Russians, cooperation with the Russians on – if the United States pulls back on the missile defense shield that you’d get more cooperation from the Russians on Iran? We understand Bill Burns has been discussing this in Moscow. Can you tell us anything more?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, we’re hoping for a positive start to our relationships with Russia. I’ll be meeting, as you know, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in about two weeks. And that is part of an effort on behalf of this Administration to engage at all levels with Russian counterparts. But we’ve made no decisions about anything. We have made it clear that we hope to have a positive relationship going forward, which means that we’ll find areas where we can enhance our cooperation; and where we have differences, we will continue to address those.
But we think there are tremendous opportunities for us to work with the Russians on nuclear nonproliferation, on the START treaty which expires at the end of this year, on a range of concerns that we think connect us, particularly with respect to Afghanistan, which is a matter of joint concern. There are a lot of areas that we want to explore with the Russians, but we’re not making any decisions in isolation from those discussions.
QUESTION: (Off-mike.)
SECRETARY CLINTON: I’ve said it two times. We’re not making – we’ve made no decisions about any of that.
We can do a few more. Yeah, let’s try to stick to Asia if we can, but Russia is an Asian country, too.
QUESTION: On Japan, you showed an interest in the abductee issue, and I wonder if that is a suggestion that you share the Japanese concern that maybe the Bush Administration in its final year was in too much of a hurry to make concessions to the North Koreans.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I’m not going to comment on that, but I will say the abductee issue is an issue of grave concern. It’s such a human tragedy. And I think all of us can imagine how we would feel if a family member or an entire family that we were connected to in some way just disappeared and were never heard from. And only in recent years have we learned what happened to them.
So we do want to press the North Koreans to be more forthcoming with information. It’s part of the Six-Party Talks. It is not just a concern of Japan. It is a concern of the comprehensive framework that the Six-Party Talks represents, and so we will be raising it. And I will be meeting with some of the abductees’ families. As I’ve traveled around the world for many years, I’ve met with victims of genocide and terrorism. I’ve met with families of the disappeared in Argentina. I feel such a sense of sympathy and empathy with people whose lives are so upended by actions like that, and I want to show that personal concern that I have as well as our government’s concern.
QUESTION: Thank you, Madame Secretary. Long-time listener, first-time caller. A twofer, if you would. First, would you take this opportunity right here, since we’ll be disseminating what you say when we land in Alaska, to reassure the Japanese that the U.S. nuclear umbrella is still strong and will still protect our Asian allies?
And secondly, I want to hearken back to something that you stated in your Senate confirmation hearing. You said that the highly enriched uranium program of North Korea was, quote, “never quite verified.” And I wonder how you can succeed in your stated task of getting these negotiations, the Six-Party negotiations, back on track if you proceed from such a different point of view about the nature of North Korea’s nuclear program than our allies do, all of whom have no doubts about the existence of the HEU program.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, first, as to the question about our nuclear umbrella, we have and continue to support a policy of extended deterrence that provides protection as part of our alliance with Japan. It remains as strong as it has ever been. We are absolutely committed to it, and we’ll be discussing that and other matters with Japanese officials.
Secondly, with respect to North Korea, I can only remind you that the North Korean nuclear weapons program is based on their reprocessing of plutonium, which they began to do in earnest after the Agreed Framework was torn up. The Agreed Framework was torn up on the basis of the concerns about the highly enriched uranium program. There is a debate within the intelligence community as to exactly the extent of the HEU program. There is no debate that once the Agreed Framework was torn up, the North Koreans began to reprocess plutonium with a vengeance because all bets were off. And the result is that they now have nuclear weapons, which they did not have before.
My goal is the denuclearization of North Korea, and that means a verifiably complete accounting of whatever programs they have and the removal of the reprocessed plutonium that they were able to achieve because they were given the opportunity to do so.
So it’s clear to me that one can raise questions about the extent of the highly enriched uranium program. We want to know for sure exactly what it is, where it is, and make sure it is dismantled. But there is no doubt about the reprocessing of plutonium, which has led to the acquisition of nuclear material on the part of the North Koreans.
QUESTION: One last question about China. One issue on China that has not come up in the briefings but is an irritant in the relationship is Taiwan, and especially the military sales to Taiwan by the United States. Is the U.S. intent on continuing those supplies, selling arms to Taiwan?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, as you know, our policy with respect to Taiwan is based on the One China policy and the three communiqués and the Taiwan Relations Act. And under the Taiwan Relations Act, there is a clear provision that the United States will provide support for Taiwan’s defense. And that is why there have been, over the many years, the sale of defensive materials to Taiwan.
What I’m pleased about is the decreased tension across the Taiwan Strait and the increasing cooperation that we’ve recently seen. We obviously want to support and promote that, and I think that the current Chinese Government and the current government in Taiwan also have that as an objective. But our policy remains as it has been.
http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2009a/02/117345.htm
Can’t wait for her visit to Russia.
If she goes over there in her usual pushy manner, and tries to talk down to Lavrov or the other Russian diplomats he’ll send her on her way in the manner he did Condi Rice after she apparently talked down to him.
From what I understand Lavrov was downright nasty and stated to rice “Just who do you think you are coming into my country demanding anything”?
It was interesting to see Hillary Clinton addressing the Japanese, talking down to them, telling them that the world is suffering from an economic melt down and that millions of people worldwide could become unemployed as the result. They must have been struck by the clarity of this amazing revelation, by her wisdom, and by her acute perception of world economics. I could just picture them jumping up exclaiming hoon-gowa hoon-gowa to her every statement. They are not the fools she takes them for. They are very much aware that the economic collapse plaguing their country came from the mismanagement of Wall Street in the US, and that the deregulation enacted by her husband when he was president was the cause.
Welcome aboard Bill. Our first UK’er to balkback!
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The U.S. and China Working Toward Clean Energy
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Online Chat Moderated by Professor Qi Ye, Hosted by China Daily
Beijing, China
February 22, 2009
PROFESSOR QI: First of all, our netizens are very much interested in learning how your family — you know, you, your family, former President Clinton, Chelsea — do the environment – the energy conservation.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, first of all, let me thank you for having me be able to speak to the netizens – I like that phrase — and I am so pleased that you are focusing on such an important topic as energy efficiency and climate change.
PROFESSOR QI: Right.
SECRETARY CLINTON: In our own lives, we have tried to be much more conscious of what we should do. So, for example, we use compact fluorescent bulbs, which are less of a drain on the electricity grid. We have installed more high-energy resistant windows, more insulted windows. We have, obviously, insulated our utilities and our homes. We have also recycled, so that we are trying not to add to the landfill waste more than absolutely necessary.
And my husband, of course, with the Clinton Foundation, is running a climate change program with, I think, 40 cities around the world working on higher energy efficiency, and so much else. So, we have tried to do more, but we are constantly asking ourselves what more we can do.
PROFESSOR QI: Great, thank you. And during this trip you have emphasized this cooperative — this positive cooperation. Would you mind to elaborate a little bit on that, you know, how that is going to work for this China-U.S. cooperation on environment, energy, and climate change?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, as part of the agreement in principle that we announced yesterday between myself and Foreign Minister Yang, we will enter into strategic and economic dialogues co-chaired by myself and the Treasury Secretary.
And one of the most important tracks will be clean energy and climate change. We wish to create a series of actions and partnerships between our countries, between our businesses, our academic institutions, our citizens. And we hope to work together in the lead-up to Copenhagen at the end of this year, with a new climate treaty. We hope that there will be many opportunities, as I saw for myself yesterday, for partnerships between American companies and Chinese companies to produce cleaner energy. And our new Energy Secretary, Dr. Steven Chu, wants to work to help create more intellectual property that would be jointly designed and implemented by Chinese and American researchers.
So, we are just at the beginning of this cooperative relationship on clean energy and climate change. But I am very hopeful that it will continue to grow.
PROFESSOR QI: Great. Does this mean the 10-year framework, the cooperative effort developed during the strategic economic dialogue is going to continue, and is going to work through all these areas related to environment, climate change, and energy conservation?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Yes, and we are going to build on the 10-year strategic dialogue about climate change and clean energy. We want to expand it even more and I was heartened by the commitments shown by the Chinese government to Copenhagen, that they want to participate and look for how the Chinese economy and the Chinese policies can contribute to lowering emissions.
Historically, as you know, the United States is the greatest emitter. But this year the Chinese surpassed us. And we can’t look at per capita basis, we have to look at absolute emissions, and how we reverse that. So this is going to be an expanded aspect of our dialogue.
PROFESSOR QI: There is no question that China and the U.S. are the two largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the world. And that is also a very important reason for the two to work together. And when the two governments working hard, trying to get kind of agreement, you know, one of the things is to find a common base.
In the 20 years, the 2 decades from 1980 to the year 2000, the energy efficiency here in China actually doubled. And, according to the current policies and programs, the energy intensity is going to further cut by 20 percent, which means the carbon emission is going to be 3 times — based on that program — it’s going to be 3 times as much as the entire EU commitment under the Kyoto Protocol.
My question is, is this the kind of effort that can build the base for bilateral — maybe a multi-lateral — cooperation, looking into the future, say Copenhagen agreement?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, that’s what we’re going to explore together. One of the challenges is the way that the emissions are calculated, because, as you point out, certainly there has been efficiency achievements here in China, as there has been in the United States. But we are still emitting too much.
And, as China continues to develop — one of your ministers said to me yesterday that more and more Chinese people want more and more appliances, as you should. I mean, you should have a rising standard of living. It is not anything that the United States or any other country should, in any way, criticize. I mean, the people in China deserve to have a rising standard of living.
We just don’t want you to make the same mistakes we made. So that, instead of just building more coal-fired power plants, which may be slightly more efficient but still large emitters, how do we work together so that you get your energy needs met without putting more absolute greenhouse gas emission totals into the air?
So, we are going to explore that. But I was very pleased at the openness that was exhibited yesterday. You know, nobody has all the answers. We have to work together in ways that can discover new answers that will be effective in dealing with this global threat.
PROFESSOR QI: Right. You made this same statement yesterday — which I very much agree on — when speaking to the students and scholars at Tsinghua University. You said, you know, “China and U.S. should work together to avoid the kind of mistakes that the U.S. made in the past.”
I wonder if you could name some of those mistakes, and how we’re going to work together to avoid that.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I will give you one example. Back in the early 1970s, when the price of oil shot up, and the cost of gasoline shot up, individuals and governments under President Carter — and President Ford before him — tried to impose conservation measures, and tried to encourage the development of higher gas mileage cars, and more energy efficiency.
In the early 1980s, the price of gasoline went down. So everybody in America said, “Oh, well, we don’t have to worry about that any more, and we don’t have to have gas-efficient cars, we can continue to have very inefficient cars.” And it was a mistake.
It set us back. Now, if you compare what our entire country did with what one state did — California kept pushing energy conservation. California tried to push higher gas mileage cars. And, today, California still has a lower-per-capita use of electricity because of efficiency measures than the rest of the United States.
So, we made a mistake. People thought, “Oh, we don’t have to worry about it any more.” We know we have to worry and we are trying to be good partners, and coordinate with other countries, including making our own changes.
PROFESSOR QI: Right, right. Well, that’s a great point. Moving into the next phase, Copenhagen. IPCC, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, proposed 25 to 40 percent of cuts in greenhouse gas emissions for the developed countries in order to avoid a dangerous deterioration of the climate. Do you think that’s possible for the U.S. – that 25 to 40 percent cut by the year 2020?
SECRETARY CLINTON: I think that a great deal is possible. Very much of it is technically possible. Our challenge now is to make it politically and personally possible. And that is what President Obama is committed to doing, is, with our stimulus money, which was a very significant down payment on modernizing our electric grid, on incentivizing changes in building construction and design, and retrofitting federal buildings.
The science and technology is possible for us to be much more energy efficient. In fact, concentrating on energy efficiency more than renewable energies is a very obvious way of trying to move toward our targets. We just have to convince enough of our fellow citizens to agree with us.
You started by asking what my family does. Well, we have tried to change our mental attitude – turning off appliances, turning off lights. My late father grew up with the belief that you didn’t waste things like electricity. So, we would turn off the furnace at night. We would turn off all the lights when we left a room.
And then, I confess, we got a little bit less aware. And I think most Americans did. So we weren’t paying attention. We had so many utensils, appliances plugged into the walls and draining electricity all the time, and we would walk out of a room with all the lights on, and our big buildings would be lit all night long, and we wasted a lot of energy and we wasted a lot of money. We can’t do that.
And so, being more efficient will take us a long way toward what we need to achieve. But it is also clear that it is not only the developed countries, it is economies like China and India that have to become full partners.
How you do it, given your challenges, is something we want to work on, because we will have different approaches. And Kyoto recognized that. Different approaches to common objectives is how we have to consider the Copenhagen treaty.
PROFESSOR QI: Great. And it is great to see such a great level of optimism. And thank you so much for being with us.
SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you. It’s a pleasure.
http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2009a/02/119435.htm
I have a hard time trusting any Clinton after watching the video about their secret lives. I think she accepted the position of SOS for negative reasons. Just a gut feeling. I do not like her! To see the video I mentioned, Google Clinton – Secret lives and watch the documentary or I’ll try posting the link here…http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2819829376783659846&ei=o3WvSc3CL5Gu-QHVh9zcDw&q=clinton+the+secret+lives&hl=en
I have a real problem with the idea that we meaning the us is trying to create trust a relationship wwith countries in the middle east when these same countries do nt want to have a woma talking to them eye to eye just as they dont in the society so why do we have a woman as a secretary of state to talk with countries that view woman as a less than man mentality, I beleive woman are as equal as men but the very countries we are trying to communicate with dont so we put a woman in charge of trying to talk to them . why??
Welcome aboard earthperson!
And aren’t we all… ;^)
That’s a legit question IMO and I believe I can offer a good answer or 2.
a) We’re lucky to have a world ambassador of the capacities of Hillary Clinton. Anyone harboring some bias of gender deficiencies, won’t keep them long around her.
b) Female Secretaries of State, and heads of State, are not new in the world and leadership of Middle Eastern nations are already accustomed to that – whatever their internal culturalisms may be.
c) The Middle East is not a monolith, despite the U.S. media covering it as such much of the time. It has all kinds of gradations of secular and religious life, antique and modern practices and culture. We will do well as Western citizens and nations, to understand it’s various nuances. George Bush reportedly had no one clue him in before his Iraq invasion for example,
that the country had horrible strife between Muslim sects Sunni and Shi’a.
And pull up Marwa Rahka’s link under the B/P Favored blogroll. Now there
is a contemporary female in Cairo, telling it like it is and blazing trails for gender equality in Egypt and the greater Middle East. The world is shrinking, and it’s good for regular people everywhere…