The president says the US has a profound moral obligation to help clean up the unexploded bombs.
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Upon his arrival at the airport, Li said in a written speech that this year marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of dialogue between China and ASEAN, noting that bilateral ties have reached a new historical starting point.
“The remnants of war continue to shatter lives here in Laos”.
Vorachit “welcomed the United States government’s continued commitment to clear unexploded ordnance, assist victims, prevent future casualties and develop local capacity to ensure sustainability of this work”, a joint statement said.
270 million – the number of cluster bombs that were dropped on Laos during this period.
Obama plans to meet with injured survivors and be briefed by center officials.
The president did not come to apologize. He offered no apologies, calling the campaign and its aftermath reminders that “whatever the cause, whatever our intentions, war inflicts a bad toll”.
Laos’s economy has been stagnant and undeveloped for many years, and relies heavily on foreign aid.
Obama is also telling the survivor of one of the bombs that he’s inspired by him. “But we are concerned about the upwards of 15,000 survivors around the country that are still in need of support”.
In recent years, USA aid toward removing those bombs has slowly increased, and deaths have decreased from 300 a year to fewer than 50.
“The funding comes at a pretty crucial time … we’re kind of at the cusp of something that could make a huge difference – assuming the funding stays strong”, said Titus Peachey, chairman of the board for Legacies of War, an advocacy organization working to address the impact of conflict in Laos during the Vietnam War-era.
For nine years, the US conducted a punishing, covert bombing campaign on landlocked Laos in an effort to cut off communist forces in neighboring Vietnam.
Southeast Asian leaders pose for photo during the Asean Summit in Vientiane, Laos, September 7, 2016.
U.S. President Barrack Obama’s one of the signature policies have been “Asia-Pacific Pivot”, which was targeted to increase the influence of America in the region to prevent China’s expansion desire.
Obama’s outreach to those regional powers hit a snag just as he arrived in the region from China.
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte is expressing regret after his obscenity-laden rant against President Barack Obama prompted the White House to cancel planned bilateral talks between the two leaders.
However, an official transcript of the press conference, and video of the complete exchange posted on Facebook by the president’s aides, makes it quite clear that Duterte’s scorn was aimed squarely at Obama – in part because he also demanded an apology from the USA for the killing of Filipino insurgents during the brutal American occupation of the Philippines a century ago.
Obama met earlier Tuesday with Laotian President Bounnhang Vorachit in Vientiane and announced a three-year, $90 million contribution to Laos for a national survey of unexploded ordnance and efforts to clear the bombs dropped by US forces in the 1960s and 1970s.
President Barack Obama says Southeast Asia means a lot to him and that driving around Laos reminds him of his childhood.
So with just four months left in office, Obama used his historic trip to Laos to reassert his aims.
“Across the region, including in the East and South China Seas, the United States will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever global law allows and support the right of all countries to do the same”, he said.
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Last week at a public conference in Bangkok, Sombath’s wife, Ng Shui Meng, pleaded for Obama and other leaders visiting Laos to raise her husband’s case and the issue of human rights with Laotian leaders.
