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Younghusband
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Younghusband

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February 14th, 2009

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RDK on Clinton in Asia; and some speculation

The latest Dispatch from Robert D. Kaplan: Hillary’s Road Trip

In a semi-related note, I find it interesting that while in Japan the SecState will be meeting with the families of abductees kidnapped by North Korea. This issue has been a stickler for both US-Japanese relations and the Six Party Talks. The previous American administration always paid lip service to the abductee issue even while chafing at its stalling effects on the nuclear negotiations. Is this newfound attentiveness on the part of Clinton a pre-emptive move to reassure the Japanese about the strength of the US-Japan relationship while simultaneously edging them out of the Talks? We all know the talks are a sham in their current form. The Obama administration could be looking to make headway on the Korean Peninsula by changing the equation.

Comments to this entry

Aceface
February 15, 2009
8:24 am
Well,Clinton visit and meeting with abductees families are all nothing more than
performance.But then again,as Kaplan says,"Half of life is showing up" and we'll just say thanks for the idea.

Anyway six-party talks only revealed Washington's inability to affect Asian geopolitics for good.I think it's time for Tokyo to think about how to protect it's citizen and national interest with or without American support.60 years was just too long.
Saru
February 15, 2009
6:27 pm
Interesting speculation, but I think it too bold a move for the Administration to abandon the six-party framework. But I wonder if meeting with the families of the abductees might not be setting Japan up for disappointment down the road. This action is likely to send a signal that the Obama Administration will place an even greater emphasis on the abductee issue than did the Bush Administration. If the Obama Administration fails to maintain this expectation down the road, I think many Japanese may feel like Clinton deceived them by not following through on what they perceived to be a clear statement that the United States and Japan share the same level of commitment to addressing the abductee issue. Ayako Doi recently published an article in the CSIS Pacnet Newsletter (#8) that raised a similar concern following Clinton's phone conversation with the Japanese Foreign Minister in which she reportedly stated that she would like the United States to cooperate with Japan in resolving the issue.
Aceface
February 17, 2009
8:04 am
No one will be surprised to see Clinton betraying Japan.So that's OK.