The decision by Hillary Clinton to choose Asia as the destination for her first trip abroad as US Secretary of State is a warning to Europe, an article in the Hong Kong newspaper Ta Kung Pao said Monday.

Visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is delivering a speech during the press conference at start of her Asia tour in Tokyo on Feb. 17, 2009. [Photo: Chinadaily.com.cn]

Europe will have to actively work to overcome the estrangement across the Atlantic if its ambition to form a dominant power bloc with the US is to come to fruition, the paper said.

Clinton's decision to visit Asia first is seen as a sign of a major readjustment of US foreign policy; previous Secretaries of State have usually chosen Europe or the Middle East for their first official visits.

Circuitous tactics

Since Barack Obama was sworn in as President, US foreign policy seems to have been in line with his promise to bring "Change". But despite Clinton's decision to visit Asia first, many think the main focus of US policy remains Europe and the Middle East. She is scheduled to visit Japan, Indonesia, South Korean and China, and her itinerary reveals something of the real intentions of the USA.

Clinton's first stop in Japan is meant to reassure the latter of its unchanged role in Asia. Before her route was finalized, Japan was worried that China might be chosen as first stop, signaling a downgrading of Japan's role in Asia. That would have been a heavy blow to Japan's aim to use its security relationship with America to seek hegemony in Asia. So Hillary Clinton's decision to visit Japan first delivers the message that bilateral ties remain as important as in the Bush era.

In terms of US strategy in Asia, so far the US has only established economic relations with China and there are no signs the US is looking to replace Japan as its chief ally in Asia, not least because the US also fears a possible Sino-Japanese alliance. Japan for its part is sticking to its policy of "Stay close to America and remain estranged with China."

Clinton's second stop in Indonesia was chosen for strategic reasons. The US has eased its grip on energy resources in the whole Middle East since the drop in oil prices, and is seeking to improve its relationships with allies of Middle Eastern countries.

Indonesia is the largest Islamic country in the world and has close relationship with the Middle East countries. Obama hopes to mend ties with Iran, but cannot directly contact Iran, so he has turned to Indonesia as a step in that direction. He wants to show the US attaches importance to ties with Indonesia, and therefore with the Middle East. And Clinton appeased Japan first, so Indonesia would view her visit as a guarantee of alliance, which was exactly the US plan.