Obama to visit Burma, Cambodia, Thailand on Asia tour

Obama will travel on his first foreign trip of his second term to visit Southeast Asia, the administration officials announced late Thursday. Obama will embark on Saturday on a tour that will include stops in Thailand, Burma and Cambodia and he will focus on economic, security and democracy interest in the region. It is the first visit by a sitting U.S. president to Burma and Cambodia. "Continuing to fill in our pivot to Asia will be a critical part of the President's second term and ultimately his foreign policy legacy. We see this as an opportunity to dramatically increase U.S. exports, to increase US leadership in the fastest growing part of the world, and in advancing our values as well as our interests, which this trip is designed to do," National Security Council advisor Ben Rhodes said in a press conference late Thursday. The US has eased sanctions against Burma and is encouraging the country's fragile democratization process. Danny Russel, Obama's top Asia adviser, said the president's personal visit to leaders in Burma would be an effective tool in pressing for further democratic reforms. "This is a moment when we believe the Burmese leaders have put their feet on the right path and that it's critical to us that we not miss the moment to influence them to keep going," Russel said during the press conference. In Thailand, Obama will meet with Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to underscore bilateral relations and military-to-military ties between the United States and Thailand. Aides said Obama would raise US concerns about Cambodia's crackdowns on dissidents and civil society groups when he meets with the country's longtime Prime Minister Hun Sen. Cambodia is hosting the East Asia Summit, an annual meeting in which the U.S. participates. Obama will meet on the sidelines of the summit with outgoing Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, perhaps their last meeting before the Asian country formerly transfers power for the first time in a decade.