deepening its engagement in Asia Pacific, and Southeast Asia specifically. As my colleague pointed out, the focus of our efforts here in Burma are really on the democracy and human rights issues that we care very strongly about that have very broad -- that engender very broad interest in the United States. At the same time, again, as this process moves forward, there is extraordinary potential for a positive set of developments in the region, where you have Burma moving in the direction of reform and potentially having a different relationship with the United States and a deeper integration with the region and the international community.
Senior US administration official: Could I add on the China question, first and foremost, this is a decision about Burma, of human rights, and it’s in response to measurable, concrete progress that the Burmese leaders are making. It’s, therefore, not -- it’s about Burma, not about China. Secondly, China itself benefits from a Burma that is stable, that is prosperous, and that is -- they’re integrated into the international community. And thirdly, engagement with Burmese leaders by the United States does not come at the expense of China or China’s relationship with Burma.
Q: Just following up on that, taking it from a different tack, do you guys think that part of why Burma is doing what it’s doing is because they want to decrease their reliance on China and broaden themselves out to the rest of the world? Do you think that they’re playing a role from that point of view?
Senior US administration official: I think, first of all, it would be fair to say that there are a number of countries in the world that are extraordinarily difficult to make authoritative conclusions about why they do things. North Korea is in that category. Until quite recently, so has Burma.
However, I think that, undeniably, one of the things that has led to this process is the leadership of the country is seeing as they travel around Southeast Asia and other parts of the world that Burma is falling farther and farther behind. This is a country -- and I'll just give you an example, if I could, just one -- so their senior team is here. They don’t carry BlackBerrys because there's almost -- or any kind of Internet device because there's very little service inside the country. They recognize that the cockpit of global prosperity is in the Asian Pacific region, and they’re not playing.
And so I think that, more than anything else. I will also say, having interacted with these guy a lot, they clearly did not enjoy the international isolation that we have subjected them to for decades and they want to rejoin, and they have, frankly, appreciated the respect and the engagement that they’re beginning to receive, and they want to build on that.
And so I think, like all decisions like that, there are a complex set of variables that come to play. But I also think that they are convinced of the seriousness of how the President has approached this, and the determination of the Secretary of State. And I’m confident that -- again, they’ve only taken a first step, but they recognize that we are prepared to meet them in that first step as well.
Q: You’ve all said that they haven’t done enough and so forth. So do you have any specific benchmarks that you’ll be looking for them to accomplish, for example, all of the political prisoners that remain behind bars?
Senior US administration official: Look, our set of issues -- and these are, by the way, not simply issues that the United States seeks. They're broadly recognized among what was often referred to as the "Friends of Burma" -- people in Europe, much of Asia, those who follow the developments in this really mythical and tragic country in many respects.
We would like to see, very clearly, political prisoners released. We're working closely with authorities there and with various organizations, including the International Red Cross. Probably near the top of the list is a serious internal, domestic, diplomacy between the leadership and the various ethnic groups. Remember, the country is made up of a large number of largely different cultures, and some parts of the country have been at war -- civil war -- for decades, since the 1940s. So we need a really systemic level of interaction.
We're seeking further assurances from the government, with respect to its relationship with North Korea and previous interactions on banned articles that we think are antithetical to the maintenance of regional peace and stability.
So there are a whole host of things that we want to continue to work on. But we have to say that on the issues that we have laid out at the outset of these discussions -- remember, even a long journey begins with a couple of steps -- they have been clear, taking those steps, and have worked with us on identifying the path forward. And that's one of the reasons why Secretary Clinton is looking forward to going.
Q: And do you have any concerns that the changes that they've made have been cosmetic, as some in the country seem to fear, and that once they get to a certain point of international recognition they'll turn back the clock or something?
Senior US administration official: Maybe my colleagues would want to say -- but I would just simply say I actually don't pick that up at all. I think most of the people that I interact with -- and I spend a lot of time talking with people inside the country -- principally Aung San Suu Kyi and her colleagues and others in civil society believe that the moment is now, that this is a sincere effort; the United States had to get off the sidelines.
And so I think the fear is not that these are simply symbolic or less-than-significant reforms. I think the concern is how they entrench them, how to continue this process, how to make sure that they are locked in going forward.
Senior US administration official: I would just add to that that this is also part of the reason why the President felt it was very important to talk to Aung San Suu Kyi before we took this step, in part because he wanted to confirm her support for this engagement. And in fact she was quite supportive and enthusiastic about the need to try to reinforce the positive steps that have been taken, and to create momentum for reform.