US President Barack Obama arrives in Cambodia

Phnom Penh, NOV. 19 (dpa/GNA) – US President Barack Obama arrived in the Cambodian capital Monday to join talks with the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and participate in the East Asia Summit.   The newly re-elected president was expected to meet ASEAN leaders in Phnom Penh Monday. After a gala dinner, he was set to take part in Tuesday’s East Asia Summit, where territorial disputes surrounding the South China Sea were expected to be raised.   “Invariably - inevitably, the leaders will want to discuss the salient strategic and security issue facing the region, which is the issue stemming from the competing territorial claims in the South China Sea,” said Danny Russel, National Security Council senior director for Asia, in a press briefing by US officials last week.   China claims most of the South China Sea, including a vital shipping lane and resource-rich areas. The Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei – all ASEAN members – also have overlapping claims in the area, as does Taiwan.   Obama was also expected to meet with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on the summit margins. Tensions between Japan and China have flared up in recent weeks over a small group of disputed islands in the East China Sea. The president was also expected to broach human rights issues in talks with Hun Sen, the prime minster of ASEAN chair Cambodia, officials said.   Obama’s two-day Cambodia visit follows stops in Yangon, Myanmar, and Bangkok, Thailand. The significance of heading to Asia less than two weeks after being elected has been seen as part of a pivoting of US foreign policy towards the region. Obama was due to leave Cambodia for the US on Tuesday.   ASEAN groups Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Brunei. GNA US President Barack Obama arrives in Cambodia     Phnom Penh, NOV. 19 (dpa/GNA) – US President Barack Obama arrived in the Cambodian capital Monday to join talks with the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and participate in the East Asia Summit.   The newly re-elected president was expected to meet ASEAN leaders in Phnom Penh Monday. After a gala dinner, he was set to take part in Tuesday’s East Asia Summit, where territorial disputes surrounding the South China Sea were expected to be raised.   “Invariably - inevitably, the leaders will want to discuss the salient strategic and security issue facing the region, which is the issue stemming from the competing territorial claims in the South China Sea,” said Danny Russel, National Security Council senior director for Asia, in a press briefing by US officials last week.   China claims most of the South China Sea, including a vital shipping lane and resource-rich areas. The Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei – all ASEAN members – also have overlapping claims in the area, as does Taiwan.   Obama was also expected to meet with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on the summit margins. Tensions between Japan and China have flared up in recent weeks over a small group of disputed islands in the East China Sea. The president was also expected to broach human rights issues in talks with Hun Sen, the prime minster of ASEAN chair Cambodia, officials said.   Obama’s two-day Cambodia visit follows stops in Yangon, Myanmar, and Bangkok, Thailand. The significance of heading to Asia less than two weeks after being elected has been seen as part of a pivoting of US foreign policy towards the region. Obama was due to leave Cambodia for the US on Tuesday.   ASEAN groups Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Brunei. GNA  ... Read Full Story