Hillary Clinton wraps up 7-nation Asia-Pacific tour

United States Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton flew out of Australia on Monday, wrapping up her seven-stop tour to the Asia-Pacific region.

The tour, built around the East Asia Summit (EAS) in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, was widely believed as an effort of the United States to engage in Asia and enhance its influence in the region. The visit underscores U.S. administration's emphasis on Asia on issues of strategic, political and economic aspects.

Australia is the final leg of Clinton's tour to the region, which also took her to Vietnam, China, Cambodia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand.

JOINING EAS AS CHANCE OF GREATER INFLUENCE IN ASIA-PACIFIC

Clinton traveled to Hanoi on Oct. 29 from Hawaii to start her trip to the Asia-Pacific region. She was present at the East Asia Summit as a special representative of U.S. President Barack Obama.

The EAS is a forum for dialogue on strategic, political and economic issues among the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.

The United States and Russia will become formal members of the EAS next year. The U.S. membership is seen as part of its strategy to reinforce its influence in the region.

On the sidelines of the summit, Clinton held talks with leaders of U.S. allies such as Japan and South Korea, as well as officials from other regional nations including ASEAN members and China.

In her meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, she said her country would like to make joint efforts with China to boost their high-level exchanges and bilateral cooperation in various fields.

Yang said with joint efforts, the Sino-U.S. relations had kept an overall stable momentum for development. However, he reaffirmed China's sovereignty over the Diaoyu Islands and urged the United States to act cautiously regarding the highly sensitive issue, respect China's sovereignty and territorial integration.


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