Monday, November 1, 2010
By John Pomfret
The Washington Post
PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA - Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton called on Cambodia Monday to maintain an independent foreign policy and avoid relying too much on China.
On the second leg on a seven-country swing through Asia, Clinton's trip is designed to reinforce a central plank of foreign policy in the Obama administration: that the United States views Asia as key to the future and that the U.S. must act in this region to balance China's influence. President Obama also heads to Asia later this week for meetings in India, Indonesia and South Korea.
"You don't want to get too dependent on any one country," Clinton said in response to a question about China's influence during a meeting with Cambodian students on Monday.
"There are important issues that Cambodia must raise with China," she continued, pointing to a string of Chinese dams on the upper Mekong River that risk lowering the flow of the river as it courses through Cambodia.
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