JULIA GILLARD will meet the most powerful woman in US politics when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits Australia next month as part of a two-week tour of the Asia-Pacific region.
[snip]
Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd and Defence Minister Stephen Smith will also meet Mrs Clinton for discussions on regional and global security.
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates will also be here for the 25th annual Australia-US ministerial consultation in Melbourne.
Mrs Clinton's visit will come at the end of a six-week regional tour of Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Cambodia and Malaysia. Mr Obama sees South-East Asia as a key diplomatic priority.
Mr Rudd said the visits were welcomed by the government and diplomatic community.
Continues @ The Sydney Morning Herald
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That is real good politics.
Greater local ownership of security matters is good for the U.S, especially given the global imbalances in trade deficits.
As the global economy continues to level, we cannot afford to bail out every country's border dispute. Australia as a regional force can take a bigger role in Asia and they are well positioned for doing that i.e., no real historic polarization against Australia within Asia or rest of the world.
