America's SE Asia policy

With the Republican National Convention in full swing, one issue that is not featuring all that much is foreign affairs. During a teleconference held yesterday at the U.S. Embassy (in Bangkok), Stephen J. Hadley, foreign policy adviser for the George W. Bush campaign, spoke from Philadelphia. He did not shed any light at all on the overall directions of Bush's policies towards most of Asia.

The next U.S. president has to pay more attention to Southeast Asia, the region where the U.S. has been able to safely maintain a military presence since World War II. Throughout the Clinton administration, Washington has failed to come to grips with the changing political landscape in this area, which has resulted in a growing groundswell of anti-American sentiment.

If Southeast Asia continues to be ignored or taken for granted, the next American leader may find a different ideology flowering in the region, one into which it will not easily fit or be able to influence.

-- The Nation, Bangkok