Little by little, the George Bush administration's foreign policy is being unveiled and - no surprise - it isn't strikingly different from the one Bill Clinton left behind.
Some fresh details emerged on Sunday when Secretary of State Colin Powell gave his first extended television interview. On the main issues, his tone was cautious and supportive of the status quo. Even on the potentially most divisive programme, that of constructing the National Missile Defence System, he suggested the project, at least for the time being, would involve more talking than building.
In fact, General Powell even retreated a bit from the campaign rhetoric of his boss. American troops won't be withdrawn from the Balkans after all, and the US Embassy in Israel will remain in Tel Aviv, rather than move to Jerusalem while that city's final status remains unresolved.
For this part of the world, US policy towards China is of primary concern, and the secretary's remarks indicated little immediate change. General Powell, a former chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, said America would retain its strong military presence in Asia because he considered it a key to regional security. That reaffirms the Clinton strategy adopted in 1998, which most Asian states have come to accept, including China and North Korea.
And there was no hint of 'confronting' China, as some right-wing Republicans would like to do. General Powell seemed quite relaxed about Beijing's military build-up, saying: 'I would expect it to improve its military.' More important than hardware, he continued, were Chinese policies which 'affect stability in the region'. If they were not disruptive, he implied, the US would not complain much about fresh arms purchases from Russia or elsewhere.
Neither was there much new about Taiwan. He promised America would continue providing Taiwan arms for self-defence, but said nothing about including such new weapons as the Aegis-class destroyer. Previously, Secretary Powell had said the US would continue to support the 'one-China' policy and broad engagement with the Chinese regime.
