As the Obama administration moves ahead with its new policy of engaging the Burmese military junta, a top US official today said it will actively consult India along with China on its new strategy.
Assistant secretary of State for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell told US lawmakers that he would be travelling to India next week to discuss with its leaders the objectives of the new Burma policy of restoration democracy in the country and protecting human rights.
Campbell was in Beijing last week and met senior Chinese officials who focus on Burma. "I think it would be fair to say -- to characterise those discussions first by saying that the Chinese are intensely interested in our proposed dialogues. They see that the US is stepping up its overall engagement in Southeast Asia. They are watching that carefully," he said during a hearing on Burma by the House Committee on foreign affairs.
"I asked specifically for Chinese assistance particularly in terms of establishing a dialogue with internal parties in advance of the 2010 elections, and I asked for China's overall support for the US policy of engagement," he said.
