Obama’s Asia Visit Highlights Region’s Priority for Second Term

A monk walks by graffiti welcoming President Obama to Rangoon. Obama will be the first U.S. president to visit Burma. Photo: ©AP Images

President Obama’s first trip since his November 6 re-election will be to the Asia-Pacific region, which sends a “powerful signal” that the region will remain a strategic priority for the United States and a focus for its diplomatic activity, resources and engagement, says the president’s national security adviser, Tom Donilon. In remarks prepared for delivery November 15 to the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, Donilon said Obama will be visiting Thailand, Burma and Cambodia November 17–20 and will participate in the East Asia Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. No American president has ever visited Burma or Cambodia, and Obama will be only the fifth U.S. president to visit Thailand, which Donilon described as “our oldest friend in the region.” Read the full article.

• Remarks With Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida After Their Meeting (2013-01-18)
• Travel of the Delegation Led by Special Representative Davies to Seoul, Beijing, and Tokyo (2013-01-16)
• Conclusion of Peacekeeping Operations in Timor-Leste (2013-01-01)
• Fact Sheet: East Asia Summit Outcomes (2012-11-20)
• Joint Statement of the 4th ASEAN-U.S. Leaders' Meeting (2012-11-19)
• Remarks by President Obama and Prime Minister Noda of Japan Before Bilateral Meeting (2012-11-20) | Remarks by President Obama and Premier Wen Jiabao Before Bilateral Meeting (2012-11-20)

• Remarks by President Obama and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (2012-11-19) | Remarks by President Obama at the University of Yangon (2012-11-19)