US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta will outline Washington’s strategic shift to the Pacific and a tentative rapprochement with Myanmar when he meets Friday with his Asian counterparts at a conference in Cambodia, officials said.
Wrapping up a week-long tour of Southeast Asia that comes before President Barack Obama visits the region next week, Panetta will join 10 fellow defence ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in the Cambodian resort of Siem Reap.
In his talks, Panetta is expected to discuss America’s careful steps toward reopening ties with Myanmar’s military as well as Washington’s bid to “rebalance” to the Asia-Pacific.
The US tilt to Asia as well as warming relations with Myanmar reflect a concerted effort by the Obama administration to assert American influence in the face of China’s growing economic and military might.
Next week, Obama will be the first sitting US president to visit Cambodia as well as Myanmar, following a series of dramatic political changes in a country emerging from decades of military rule.
A senior US defence official told reporters travelling with Panetta that the United States was open to reviving military ties with Myanmar, but that the Pentagon would proceed at a deliberate pace.
US officials are considering cooperating with Myanmar’s armed forces on non-lethal programmes focused on military medicine, education and disaster relief exercises.