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Foreign
service official describes U.S. foreign policy in Southeast Asia
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Photo
by Jeff Watts
State Department official Judith Strotz describes U.S. foreign
policy in Southeast Asia to Quansheng Zhao’s SIS class
and the AU community. |
BY EMILY D.
JOHNSON
Southeast Asia is an area rarely mentioned in the U.S. press unless
it suffers a disaster, said Judith Strotz, director of the Office
for Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam Affairs in the
U.S. State Department. But the United States has strong economic,
political, and security interests there, said Strotz, who gave an
overview of U.S. foreign policy in the region.
In Southeast Asia, where political systems range from the military
dictatorship of repressive Burma to democratic Thailand, democritization
is the major theme of U.S. policy. The United States is also concerned
with POW and MIA questions left over from the Vietnam war, counter-narcotics,
human rights, and counter-terrorism, especially after the Jemaah
Islamiah bombing of Bali nightclubs in October 2002.
In October of last year Bush put a lot of emphasis on economic development
in Southeast Asia, which was progressing well until the Asian financial
crisis in 1997. The United States concluded a free trade agreement
with Singapore earlier this year and announced its intention to
negotiate a free trade agreement with Thailand. In October Bush
visited the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting in
Bangkok, Thailand.
Strotz spoke most specifically about Thailand and Burma in her remarks.
Thailand, she said, is a close ally of the United States and a role
model for the region. It is a long-term U.S. counter narcotic partner
that has successfully found alternative products for opium growers.
The United States is now helping the Thai government deal with a
flow of methamphetamines coming from Burma. Thailand also has U.S.
support to work on its problems with prosecuting human traffickers
and eliminating corruption.
Burma, on the other hand, Strotz called “a pretty grim situation”
with a terrible record on human rights and economic management.
Since last July the United States has banned Burmese imports and
ceased issuing visas to Burmese officials. A U.N. special envoy
from Malaysia has been trying to bring about dialogue between the
Burmese government and the international community.
Strotz also briefly discussed her recommendations to students interested
in a career in foreign service. She told them the most important
thing is to know what’s going on in the world. “Have a
broad knowledge of international affairs,” she said. “Take
international relations classes. Read magazines like the Economist.
Read the paper every day.”
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