MRS. CLINTON GOES TO CHINA
Gordon G. Chang
Forbes, February 11, 2009
Hillary Clinton, breaking recent tradition, will go to Asia on her first trip abroad as secretary of state. Beginning the middle of this month, she will visit Japan, Indonesia and South Korea. The last stop on her itinerary will be China. China was also the last stop on Madeleine Albright's maiden trip in 1997 when she started in Europe and worked her way east. Both Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell visited Europe and the Middle East on their first foreign visits.
Rich in symbolism, first trips are always important. To her credit, Mrs. Clinton is making Tokyo her initial stop. As she told the Senate last month, "Our alliance with Japan is a cornerstone of American policy in Asia."
Despite their importance, the Japanese have come to doubt their relationship with the U.S., and ties became strained toward the end of the Bush administration. They were worried about many differences they had with Washington--such as those over North Korea--but their real concern was that America would eventually abandon them in favor of the giant next door.
Indeed, it was Mrs. Clinton's husband who started the "Japan passing" fear by going to Beijing in 1998 and skipping Tokyo. The State Department, always concerned about angering the Chinese, said that Mrs. Clinton chose Tokyo for her first stop due to "scheduling" reasons, but that's not how the rest of the world sees it.
Yet few outside Japan will be watching when the secretary of state touches down in Tokyo. For one thing, Japan looks like it is in the midst of a historic political transition. The odds are that both Prime Minister Taro Aso and his Liberal Democratic Party will be out of power by September, the deadline for the next election for the Diet's lower house.
The Jakarta and Seoul stopovers will also be largely ignored by the global community. It is only when the planet's lone superpower pays a visit to its most populous nation that the world will start paying attention.
Forbes, February 11, 2009
Hillary Clinton, breaking recent tradition, will go to Asia on her first trip abroad as secretary of state. Beginning the middle of this month, she will visit Japan, Indonesia and South Korea. The last stop on her itinerary will be China. China was also the last stop on Madeleine Albright's maiden trip in 1997 when she started in Europe and worked her way east. Both Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell visited Europe and the Middle East on their first foreign visits.
Rich in symbolism, first trips are always important. To her credit, Mrs. Clinton is making Tokyo her initial stop. As she told the Senate last month, "Our alliance with Japan is a cornerstone of American policy in Asia."
Despite their importance, the Japanese have come to doubt their relationship with the U.S., and ties became strained toward the end of the Bush administration. They were worried about many differences they had with Washington--such as those over North Korea--but their real concern was that America would eventually abandon them in favor of the giant next door.
Indeed, it was Mrs. Clinton's husband who started the "Japan passing" fear by going to Beijing in 1998 and skipping Tokyo. The State Department, always concerned about angering the Chinese, said that Mrs. Clinton chose Tokyo for her first stop due to "scheduling" reasons, but that's not how the rest of the world sees it.
Yet few outside Japan will be watching when the secretary of state touches down in Tokyo. For one thing, Japan looks like it is in the midst of a historic political transition. The odds are that both Prime Minister Taro Aso and his Liberal Democratic Party will be out of power by September, the deadline for the next election for the Diet's lower house.
The Jakarta and Seoul stopovers will also be largely ignored by the global community. It is only when the planet's lone superpower pays a visit to its most populous nation that the world will start paying attention.
(...) [artículo aquí]
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