The just concluded official trip of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to a number of Asian countries was a welcome opportunity for these governments to further strengthen and improve bilateral relations, especially on matters that relate to regional security in the Asia-Pacific region.
However, many international political observers couldn’t help but comment on Mrs. Clinton’s visit to some selected Asian cities, if only to pass around the important messages that President Barack Obama, considering that those that had been expecting for her presence were deeply frustrated at the outcome of her visit. It wasn’t clear enough if the visit was pre-arranged so as to avoid those Asian countries that are notorious in so far as political developments are concerned.
This blogger had noticed, for instance, Mrs. Clinton had missed visiting a number of its allies in the Asian region. One in particular is the Philippines, a staunch ally of the United States in so far as fighting international terrorism is concerned. And nobody knows exactly the reason why?
Just recently, Philippines president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo made a side trip to the United States to meet President Barack Obama. But it seemed Obama’s schedule was so tight that she failed to get an audience with the newly elected US president. Reports said that the secret service did not allow her to come inside the church where President Obama was hearing mass, along with selected guests and foreign dignitaries. Whatever the reasons are of President Obama, nobody knows the answers.
Perhaps, the only possible answer to the question that hangs among people’s minds is that President Obama is a straight guy. This means that shenanigans in foreign governments, which the new president is aware of, such as rampant graft and corruption is something that any Western ally could not ignore. Otherwise, Mrs. Clinton could have made even a short stopover, even if only to say hello to Mrs. Arroyo. Better luck next time, madamme!
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