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USA is a Pacific nation, says Obama
US President Barack Obama, starting an Asia tour in Tokyo today, stressed his country's commitment to its long-term ally Japan and said that the United States is a Pacific Rim nation."The alliance between the United States and Japan is a foundation for security and prosperity, not just for our two countries, but for the Asian-Pacific region," said Mr Obama in a Tokyo press conference. After meeting centre-left Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, who took power two months ago, Mr Obama said "our alliance will endure and our efforts will be focused on revitalising that friendship so that it's even stronger and more successful in meeting the challenges of the 21st century". Mr Obama, who at the weekend meets leaders of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum before travelling to China and South Korea, stressed that the United States sees itself as part of the region. "Throughout my trip and throughout my presidency I intend to make clear that the United States is a Pacific nation and we will be deepening our engagement in this part of the world," he said.
Mr Obama said he and Hatoyama had agreed to work together toward a nuclear-weapons-free world. Asked whether he would want to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the cities bombed by the United States in World War II, he said: "I certainly would be honoured, it would be meaningful for me to visit those two cities in the future. "I don't have immediate travel plans, but it's something that would be meaningful to me."
Posted by: tipper 2009-11-13 |
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| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=283243 |