Cohen arrives in KL on 1st leg of East Asian tour
Cohen arrives in KL on 1st leg of East Asian tour
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen
arrived here yesterday at the start of an 11-day Asian tour aimed
at reassuring the region of support in tough times and urging
them towards the "responsible" handling of labor unrest.
Accompanied by an entourage of about 60 people including
several senior officials and a large group of reporters, Cohen
was greeted at the airforce base on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur
by Malaysia's armed forces chief-of-staff Lt. Gen. Nawi Alias, a
U.S. spokesperson said.
Cohen, who will also visit Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand,
China, Japan and South Korea, is to meet Malaysian Deputy Prime
Minister and Finance Minister Anwar Ibrahim before holding talks
with Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and Defense Minister Syed
Hamid Albar today.
He will also deliver a speech on practical steps for security
and defense cooperation at a regional security conference before
leaving for Jakarta tomorrow, where the Indonesian military last
week called for calm after a new plunge in the rupiah sparked
panic buying at stores and prompted rumors that a coup was being
planned.
"There is a sense right now of vulnerability, of uncertainty,
and they are looking to the United States for our determination
to remain involved. And that's what this trip is about," a senior
Pentagon official said Thursday in Washington.
The U.S. rapprochement with China, Washington's greatest long-
term security challenge in the region, remains a central focus of
the trip, the first to Beijing by a U.S. defense secretary since
1994.
But since the visit was first scheduled in November, then
postponed because of trouble with Iraq, financial turmoil has
transformed the regional outlook.
"The message of this visit is that the United States has a
strong interest in security in Asia," Pentagon spokesman Kenneth
Bacon said in Washington last week, noting the presence of
100,000 U.S. troops in the region.
"We want to work with countries throughout Asia, to maintain
peace and stability in the region. Economic stability is a very
important part of general stability in the region," he said.
A senior Pentagon official who asked not to be named said
Cohen would urge "responsible" handling of labor unrest and make
clear that Washington supports working out less onerous terms for
existing arms contracts with U.S. companies.
Thailand is already seeking to stretch out payments for eight
F/A-18s it purchased for $400 million. South Korea is reported to
have shelved plans to buy US C-17s and coast radar systems.
In China, Cohen will meet President Jiang Zemin and hold
discussions with Chinese leaders on developments in the Gulf, the
Korean peninsula and the economic crisis in Southeast Asia.
He intends to press the Chinese on proliferation commitments,
including its promise to halt nuclear exports to Iran, officials
said.
Cohen's three-day visit to Beijing Jan. 17-19 is aimed at
encouraging more open relations between the U.S. and Chinese
militaries. They will sign a maritime agreement to prevent naval
incidents at sea.
Cohen will then hold talks in Japan Jan. 20 before traveling
the following day to Seoul where he will meet president-elect Kim
Dae-jung and members of the outgoing government.
Worries that North Korea might take advantage of the crisis in
the South to create disturbances have not materialized,
suggesting that Pyongyang is ready for engagement with Seoul,
analysts say.
But the upheaval in South Korea's economy comes at a delicate
point in efforts to advance four-way peace talks involving North
Korea, South Korea, China and the United States.