Obama tipped to visit Asia in early days of office
Updated
Iraq and Afghanistan are no doubt among the most important foreign policy issues on the Obama administration's agenda, with the North Korean and Iranian nuclear programmes also vying for his attention, along with the the Israel-Palestinian question.
Radio Australia's Canberra correspondent Linda Mottram takes a look at where Asia sits in the new US leadership's list of priorities.
Presenter: Linda Mottram
Speakers: Dr Michael McKinley, Australian National University's Department of Political Science and International Relations; Kim Beazley, former Australian defence minister
MOTTRAM: There is one undeniable Obama link to Asia -- the new U-S President's much-discussed time in Indonesia from the ages of six to ten. The new President has maintained the link. He sent a letter to his former school in Jakarta on the occasion of his inauguration. There was much celebration. Add to this the more important points -- Indonesia's size especially as the most populous Muslim nation, its strategic position in Asia and it isn't too big an intellectual leap for observers to speculate that in fulfilment of his campaign pledge to visit a large Muslim nation early in his presidency, Barack Obama will visit Indonesia. President Obama underscored his intention to build new links with the Muslim world in his inauguration speech. He has signalled very strongly that he believes he has a particular job to do.
McKINLEY: This comes after a sense in the Muslim world that the Bush administration was basically anti-Muslim.
MOTTRAM: Dr Michael McKinley, from the Australian National University's Department of Political Science and International Relations, who says the other major Asian Muslim state, Malaysia, is too small, and doesn't carry the strategic weight of Indonesia. There is no doubt though, Dr McKinley says, that the candidate country must be moderate and Indonesia fits the bill.
McKINLEY: Its easy, its opportunistic, its pragmatic because it manages I think to maintain his status which is reasonably positive with the pro-Israeli community in the United States. And its interesting of course, and its attracted a lot of comment, that the Gaza offensive basically slowed down just before the inauguration. So it got him off the hook somewhat with some people. But going to Indonesia would be somewhat neutral in this regard as well as encouraging Asia to think that there's a genuine interest in it.
MOTTRAM: As to whether there is a genuine and broad Obama interest in Asia, not only does the new President have difficult and deadly foreign policy priorities elsewhere, he also has a very domestic focus. The talk is of remaking America, and that's not just about the financial crisis to which America gave birth. Beyond a necessary eye on the emerging powerhouses, China and India, Asia may not be the highest priority. Australian Labor Party elder, and former Australian defence minister, Kim Beazley.
BEAZLEY: There's no question that there are many members of this administration who have very close relationships with their counterparts in Australia. Sort of second tier diplomacy outfits like the Australian-American Leadership Dialogue have left people like Stephen Smith and Kevin Rudd in close touch with some very senior officials now in the State Department and the White house. But if you listened very carefully to President Obama today, you'd have seen that the overwhelming focus of his mind in international politics is on the wars that the Americans are currently engaged in and the relationship with the Muslim world. So the Asia Pacific region which I actually think in long term is much more important to the United States, and the role we play in it, its down the list now.
MOTTRAM; And that may yet get back to Indonesia, which has a strong desire to be given a place at the top table commensurate with its size and influence. Last year's G-20 meeting on the global financial crisis was important in this regard. Should reform of the United Nations Security Council eventuate, Indonesia is also likely to seek its place there. A visit from the man upon whom many are pinning enormous expectations would be a certain asset in elevating Indonesia's perceived importance on the international stage.
