Wrapping up his Japan visit, US President Barack Obama pledged greater cooperation with Asia as the self-proclaimed "first Pacific President" of the USA headed for the weekend’s annual Asia-Pacific summit in Singapore.
In Tokyo on his first trip to Asia as US president, Barack Obama pledged to pursue cooperation with China, engage more deeply in Asia, and push for stronger trade ties with the region. He will also visit Singapore, China, and South Korea.
US President Barack Obama's whirlwind tour of Asia is aimed at signalling a new era of US engagement in a region that could offer vital support on security issues and which accounts for more than half of the world's economy.
US President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama agreed on the need to strengthen their alliance during a summit in Tokyo Friday, on Obama's first stop in his Asian tour.
US President Barack Obama embarked Thursday on his first presidential tour of Asia, a trip that will include stops in Japan, China, South Korea and the APEC summit in Singapore, as well as a meeting with all 10 ASEAN leaders.
Asian nations discussed plans at a major summit Saturday to "lead the world" by boosting economic and political cooperation and possibly forming an EU-style community.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said that North Korea has no friends left and must scrap its nuclear activities. Pyongyang officials have reportedly responded by calling Clinton a "primary schoolgirl".
Foreign ministers from members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are set to endorse the region's first human rights body, despite criticism that it will be powerless to affect the rights policies of autocratic ASEAN members like Burma.
As Asian and European foreign ministers meet in Vietnam Monday, the Burmese military criticised neighbouring Thailand’s condemnation of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial and accused Bangkok of interfering in its internal affairs.
Finance ministers of the ASEAN members plus China, Japan and South Korea have agreed to set up a crisis fund worth up to 120 billion dollars to help the region fight off a credit crunch and overcome the global financial crisis.
