The extract from U.S.Secretary of S

[moe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Dear Netters,
                         The following is the excerpt from U.S. Secretary of
State Madeleine Albright's statement submitted to  the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee on 10th Of February .Please redistribute it via the Net
and emails.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Julien Moe.
----------------
Extract from Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright's  
Statement before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee 
Washington, DC, February 10, 1998
As released by the Office of the Spokesman
U.S. Department of State 

Asia.

The United States is a Pacific nation, just as we are an Atlantic and a 
Caribbean nation. We have allies and friends in every part of the 
continent. We are major buyers and sellers in Asia-Pacific markets. We 
are backers of Asian democracy which--as the recent election in the 
Republic of Korea indicates--is alive and well. And we have a vital 
stake in the security of Asia, where we have fought three wars during 
the past six decades.

Since becoming Secretary of State, I have traveled to East Asia three 
times and to the APEC Ministerial and Summit in Vancouver. This reflects 
the priority we have placed on improving ties throughout the region. 

Our overarching objective is to continue building a new and inclusive 
Pacific community based on stability, shared interests and the rule of 
law.

To this end, we have fortified our core alliances, crafted new defense 
guidelines with Japan, maintained our forward deployment of troops, 
embarked on Four Party talks to create a basis for lasting peace on the 
Korean Peninsula, and continued to implement, with our partners, the 
Agreed Framework which is dismantling North Korea's dangerous nuclear 
program.

In addition, we are working with ASEAN and other regional leaders to 
encourage a return to representative government in Cambodia, and a 
meaningful dialogue in Burma between the authorities there and the 
democratic opposition, led by Aung San Suu Kyi.