29 Mar 2024
Thursday 8 September 2016 - 16:07
Story Code : 230574

Reaching out to Laos, Obama seeks 'Concession Prize' in twilight of Presidency

Barack Obama is accelerating his pivot to Asia, and seeking closer ties with Laos and new trade partners in the region, Dustin Daugherty, ASEAN Business Intelligence Associate at Dezan Shira & Associates, told Radio Sputnik.

At the Association ofSoutheast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit inLaos this week, US President Barack Obama made a speech inwhich he sought toacknowledge the suffering and devastation caused byAmerica's bombing campaign duringthe Vietnam War.

Between 1964 and 1973 the US dropped 260 million bombs overLaos, a campaign which made it the world's most heavily bombed country inhuman history.

Obama is the first sitting US president tovisit Laos, and promised the country $90 million inaid overthree years tohelp the country find and dispose ofunexploded bombs. Dustin Daugherty, ASEAN Business Intelligence Associate atDezan Shira & Associates, told Radio Sputnik that Obama's effort tobuild bridges withLaos is one ofseveral attempts ata closer relationship withcountries that have a difficult history withthe US. "Many Americans might not be aware ofit, or haven't heard ofLaos sincethe 70s, butthere is a troubled relationship there, so I think these moves are very positive and part and parcel ofhis legacy ofhaving opened the door toCuba, and the nuclear deal withIran."

Daugherty said that reaching outto Laos is also part ofthe Obama administration's attempt topivot towardsAsia. While pulling Laos outof the China's sphere ofinfluence is unrealistic, Washington is hoping forcloser economic ties, similar tothose it has withVietnam.

"Washington has a modus operandi toget inthere, and now it has an economic impetus behindit." The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is unlikely tobe agreed beforethe Obama presidency finishes atthe end ofthis year, so fostering closer ties withLaos and attracting new Asian trade partners would soften that blow. "Any improvements that can be had withnew trade partners inAsia inlieu ofthe TPP would be a concession prize forObama," Daugherty said. "This is a last push duringthe Obama presidency, withsome uncertainty aboutwhat happens next, and also a response tothe continuing rise ofChina's influence inthe region."

By Sputnik News
https://theiranproject.com/vdca0wnuy49nem1.tgk4.html
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