Interview with Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Kurt Campbell

I am very much looking forward to it. I very much enjoy my interaction in last couple of years with my Indian colleagues.

Question: What is the purpose and agenda of the tri-lateral dialogue between the US, Japan and India?

Answer: Let me say at the outset that we have long supported India’s desire to play a larger role in the Asia Pacific region. So the impetus of the Look East strategy on the part of India is something that we warmly endorse and support. We have sought over the last couple of years to have extensive consultations with Indian friends about developments, trade opportunities, and strategic interactions in the Asia Pacific region. Part of that is to encourage India’s strong and positive relationships and dialogues with a range of actors.

So we have been a strong supporter of an increase in ties and discussions between Delhi and Beijing. We also support India’s emerging interaction and its influence in countries such as Indonesia. But obviously given shared interest and strong ties we have sought to see a relationship between Japan and India grow as well. We support not only multilateral institutions in Asia, but what we might call mini-laterals, so there could be smaller groupings to talk about issues of mutual concerns. So we have long thought that a dialogue starting carefully and with clear and specific objectives, but a dialogue between the United States, Japan and India makes good strategic sense.

Question: When you meet with your Indian and Japanese counterparts on 19th what are the issues that the three countries would be discussing.

Answer: There are a number of issues that we want to discuss: larger and strategic development in Asia, trends, economic, military, strategic. But there are couples of specific issues that I believe will gain substantial attention. First it is obviously in the interest of all three countries to keep in close touch with respect to developments of Myanmar / Burma. It’s important to all three countries. We believe that there are new operational concepts that link the Indian Ocean with the Pacific Ocean, we want to talk about the manifestations of that, both in terms of maritime security and other aspects of commerce and security interactions and we would talk about developments among all the key countries in the Asia Pacific region. But our talks wouldn’t end there. There would also be talks on global issues. I am very excited about these developments and I think they have the potential to advance trust and understanding among all three Capitals.

Question: Is it going to be an one off meeting? Or do you think, it would continue annually ..

Answer: Well, it has taken us some time to set up this meeting. I think, we all will see how this one goes. I think, we will make our assessment after that. We certainly would be open to more frequent discussions, but all parties would have to be comfortable with that. And I think, what we are trying to do is to take step at a time and just see how this first set of interactions goes.

Question: Media reports coming out of China, they are a little bit apprehensive about this tri-lateral and they see this as some kind of thing that is against them .. part of the US move to encircle China. Is that the case? If not, how do you do the balancing act between India and China?

Answer: Let me say that one of the things that we try to make clear in all of the strategic interactions that it is in the interest of every country in Asia to improve their relationship with China. And that is a foreign policy objective of the foremost importance. Now countries also want good relationship with the United States as well. I think, they believe that the relationship with the United States actually enables them to have a strong relationship with China. So we are sending an unambiguous signal that not only do we want to work towards a strong relationship towards China but we expect that’s the case, too, in the region. So the idea of containment is simply preposterous on its face. Let me also say, if I can, we are in active consultations with Chinese friends on a number of smaller meetings that include them. For instance, we have talked for years about the prospects of a meeting between the United States, Japan and China. Something that we would support. But as importantly, we believe that it is absolutely critical the three great states of the 21st century United States, China and India begin closer consultations as well. So we see none of these venues as in any way exclusive or exclusionary. Right. Neither exclusive nor exclusionary. And we are interested in supporting a range of interlocking, overlapping dialogues in Asia going forward.

Question: Do you propose a similar trilateral meeting between India, US and China?

Answer: I can’t project one way or the other. All I can tell you, you have seen statements from the United States and also from India, open to the idea. But every country has to be comfortable. We have to ensure that all players would be comfortable with such a set of interaction. I just want and make clear that we would be open to it.

Question: There is a sense coming out of China that China is not very comfortable with this kind of trilateral dialogue involving India, US and China. Is this the same feedback that you are receiving from Beijing?

Answer: I do not know, if we heard that at a formal level. No, I don’t think we heard anything directly. We would have some consultations with China coming up. We look forward to talking with them on this issue.

Question: One of your major landmark foreign policy achievements has been the visit of Secretary of State to Burma this month. In what way the US, Japan and India can work together to see that there is more open democracy and Burma joins the mainstream in coming years?

Answer: Let me just say, it’s the US intention.. first of all we stated very clearly when the Secretary of State went to Nay Pyi Daw that we seek a country that has a good strong trustful relationship with all its neighbors, principally India and China. We will be in close consultations with both of them about the developments inside the country. We seek to promote further reform and we would be discussion with Japan and India, how we can work together to co-ordinate our efforts to support the continuation of reform inside the country.

Question: Japan is one of the largest donors for Burma and India has its own close relationship with the Burmese government. What specific things you want these two countries to do, so that your goals are met?

Answer: Look, what is most important is that we would love to have feedback from both countries about the visit of Secretary Clinton. We would like to compare our overall strategy. I would like to make clear that we believe that if we speak in one voice in areas about the areas that we are seeking progress ie; the release of political prisoners, the greater opening of political space to allowing parties like the NLD and others to participate in elections, a sheer and intensive effort devoted to easing ethnic tension and moving towards national reconciliation and lastly a responsible military set of interaction that finally removes military ties between Nay Pyi Daw and Pyongyang. These are the interests that we think are widely shared and we want to talk about those and also how we might best co-ordinate assistance to deal with capacity building, rule of law, agricultural issues and health concerns.