BUSAN, South Korea (Reuters) - U.S.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed cautious optimism on Wednesday
that tentative democratic reforms in Myanmar could develop into a movement for
change to the benefit of the people of the country.
Clinton is due to arrive in Myanmar later on
Wednesday on a high-stakes visit that could mark the resource-rich Asian
nation's return to the world stage after more than 50 years of political
isolation.
Her visit follows a decision by U.S. President
Barack Obama this month to open the door to expanded ties with the country
sandwiched between China and India.
Obama said he saw "flickers of
progress" in Myanmar, which until recently has been seen as a reclusive
dictatorship firmly aligned with China.
"I am obviously looking to determine for
myself ... what is the intention of the current government with regard to
continuing reforms both political and economic," Clinton told a news
conference in South Korea.
"But obviously, we and many other nations
are quite hopeful that these 'flickers of progress' ... will be ignited into a
movement for change that will benefit the people of the country."
Clinton will be the first U.S. secretary of
state to visit Myanmar -- also known as Burma -- since the military seized
power in 1962, and diplomats are looking at her access and the tone of her
reception as they assess the changes underway.
She will meet twice with pro-democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi, who spent 15 of the last 21 years in detention after leading
a mass popular uprising that was crushed by the army.
The visit could herald a broad rehabilitation
of Myanmar and may persuade Washington and other western powers to ease
sanctions that have driven it deeper into China's embrace.
Clinton was in South Korea for a development
conference before flying to Myanmar's remote new capital of Naypyitaw where she
will hold talks with President Thein Sein, Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin
and senior officials from parliament.
Her Myanmar visit looked certain to raise
concern in China as part of an increasingly assertive U.S. stance in Asia.
Both Obama and Clinton recently made major
diplomatic tours in the region, signaling both to longtime U.S. allies and to
Beijing that the United States is not ready to take a back seat to China's
political and economic influence.
Obama, unveiling a "pivot" in U.S.
policy toward Asia as wars wind down in Iraq and Afghanistan, recently
announced a new de facto U.S. military base in Australia and a new willingness
to push back against China, particularly in Southeast Asia where territorial
disputes have caused tension.
Reuters
(Writing by Robert Birsel; Editing by Sugita
Katyal)
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