U.S. consolidates ties with Lower Mekong countries

By Puy Kea PHUKET, Thailand, July 23 Kyodo -

The United States and the four Lower Mekong nations of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam consolidated relations Thursday through the holding of their first-ever ministerial meeting.

At the five-nation talks, held on the sidelines of ASEAN-organized meetings on the Thai resort island of Phuket, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the foreign ministers of the four Southeast Asian countries reached agreements on U.S. assistance and cooperation in the areas of environment, health and education.

A joint statement said participants discussed such issues as fighting infectious disease, expanding the use of technology for education and development, and tackling climate change, for which the new administration of U.S. President Barack Obama has asked the U.S. Congress for a seven-fold increase in funding for Southeast Asia. Clinton underlined the importance of the Lower Mekong region to the United States and stressed the U.S. commitment to advancing peace and prosperity in Southeast Asia as a whole.

Also, the participants reached an agreement between the Mekong River Commission and the Mississippi River Commission to pursue a ''sister river'' partnership to share expertise. In recent years, the Lower Mekong countries have voiced concerns over the building of hydropower upstream in China, but sources said that issue was not discussed in the inaugural ministerial meeting.

The meeting took place a day after Clinton declared that ''the U.S. is back in Southeast Asia,'' suggesting the region had been neglected by the previous administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush. She said she and Obama believe that ''this region is vital to global progress, peace and prosperity'' and vowed the United States will ''fully engage with our ASEAN partners on the wide range of challenges confronting us: from regional and global security to the economic crisis to human rights and climate change.''

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam ASEAN diplomats said that both Laos and Cambodia had wanted Upper Mekong countries China and Myanmar, regarded by Washington as a pariah state, included in Thursday's ministerial meeting, but they finally agreed with having only Lower Mekong countries involved.

Some observers suggested the United States was hoping to bolster its influence in the Lower Mekong subregion by excluding China, which is already a major player there.

Kyodo