SECRETARY OF STATE TESTIMONY ON FOR

[moe@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

EPF202 06/16/98 
TEXT: ALBRIGHT BEFORE SENATE APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE 
(SecState testimony on foreign aid budget June 16) (10,160) 

Washington -- Secretary of State Albright has urged Congress to fully fund
the Clinton Administration's foreign operations
budget request to insure US leadership around the world. 
ASIA 

In Asia, we are working to maintain stability by solidifing our key
alliances with Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the
Philippines and Thailand. 

I had the great pleasure of visiting Japan last month to reaffirm the
strength and breadth of our bilateral relationship. The
US-Japan security alliance is a foundation of Asian stability. I took the
opportunity, while in Tokyo, to express US concerns
about Japan's economic situation and the need for efforts to promote
domestic-led growth and deregulation. 

I also had a chance in May to visit Korea, whose new President Kim Dae Jung
was in Washington for a state visit just last
week. 

During that visit, President Clinton made it clear that the United States
remains committed to South Korea's security and
supports President Kim's bold program of economic reform. We are also
coordinating efforts to facilitate a lasting peace on the
Korean Peninsula, to be achieved through a process of dialogue between North
and South. 

Obviously, the past twelve months have been difficult for many parts of
Asia. Our policy has been to promote economic and
political reforms that are essential to prosperity and human dignity from
Bangkok to Beijing. 

In Korea, the Philippines and Thailand, for example, democratic governments
have made progress in overcoming the Asian
economic crisis in part because their people were able to elect new
governments, which started work in a climate of openness
and trust, and with the moral legitimacy to call for shared sacrifice. 

Indonesia now has a chance to achieve both democracy and stability, but it
also faces immense challenges from restoring
growth, to preserving religious tolerance, to building truly representative
institutions. 

Democracy can only be built by the people of Indonesia. But what America
says and does will matter, as it has in other critical
periods in Indonesia's history. 

Our message is simple. America's interest lies not in who rules Indonesia,
but in how that immense and important country is
ruled: whether it ends up with a legitimate democratic government, or an
unrepresentative, unaccountable and therefore unstable
regime. 

The key is credible progress toward open, accountable government. Free
elections must be held in a timeframe and under rules
acceptable to the Indonesian people. Political parties and labor unions must
be allowed to form. Press freedoms must be
respected. Political prisoners must be released. 

America's interest also lies in standing by the Indonesian people now. We
will continue to provide humanitarian and
development assistance and aid to civil society. And if and when elections
are held, we will stand ready to help in any way we
can. 

As the world well knows, Mr. Chairman, President Clinton will leave next
week for a visit to China. 

Although some have suggested that the President not make this trip, I cannot
imagine anything more consistent with his
responsibilities as President. For the President's purpose is to promote the
security, political and economic interests of the
United States and to bring to China a message of support for democracy, the
rule of law and human rights. 

Although the space for political discussion in China has clearly expanded in
recent times, the President will have the opportunity
to say things that the people of China cannot say, and have not heard. And
the President's presence in Tiananmen Square will
ensure that the world does not forget, as it must not forget, terrible
suppression of peaceful political expression that occurred
there. 

Moreover, the President's visit will create the chance for additional
progress towards a more constructive overall relationship
with China. Mr. Chairman, that process of engagement is not the same as
endorsement. We continue to have sharp differences
with China on human rights, Tibet and other issues, but we also believe that
the best way to narrow those differences is to
encourage China to become a full and responsible participant in the
international system. 

Steps in the right direction include China's security cooperation on the
Korean peninsula and very recently in South Asia, its
commitment to strictly control nuclear exports, its assurances on nuclear
cooperation with Iran, its continued economic
liberalization, its positive role in responding to the East Asian economic
crisis, its agreement to pursue cooperative activities with
us to strengthen the rule of law, the release of Wei Jingsheng and the
remarkable Wang Dan, and its announced intention to sign
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 

In Cambodia, we are deeply engaged in a diplomatic effort to press the
Government to hold free and fair elections in which all
elements of the opposition can participate without fear of intimidation or
threat. 

In Burma, we are deeply troubled by the military's regime's refusal to enter
a dialogue with its democratic opposition, its
continued repression of dissent, and by its ties to leading drug traffickers. 

I know that you are deeply concerned as well, Mr. Chairman. Indeed, it seems
we are both members of the "international
colonialist gang" that the regime's propaganda machine loves to complain
about, since we both believe that the Burmese people
should have a say in running their country. I want to thank you for helping
develop a range of measures to ensure that Burma's
generals cannot realize their economic ambitions without heeding the
aspirations of their people. 

As you know, Mr. Chairman we also have a small humanitarian aid program
designed to help the Burmese people survive
without helping their government endure. The people who receive our support
realize that it comes from the friends of Burmese
democracy abroad, not from the junta that is the cause of 
their suffering. Their needs are staggering; years of government neglect and
denial, for example, have left Burma with the highest
rate of AIDS infection in all of East Asia. 

Let me assure you, Mr. Chairman, that we will not move forward in this area
or in the area of counternarcotics -- without
consulting with the Congress. And any efforts we undertake will only be
designed with the support and involvement of Burma's
legitimate elected leaders.