Washington, June 17: US Secretary of State Colin Powell left yesterday for a southeast Asian security conference carrying tough messages on Myanmar and North Korea but the all-business diplomat will not linger long at the meeting. Powell plans to spend less than 48 hours on the ground in Cambodia, this year's host of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Regional Forum (ARF), before heading to Bangladesh.
The Secretary of State then flies on for his second visit to Jordan this month -- and third trip to the Middle East in six weeks -- in a bid to press ahead with faltering Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.
There were hints that flexibility in Powell's schedule may allow for a stopover in Israel on Friday, prior to his scheduled visit to Jordan.
In Cambodia, Powell will be pushing for governments to take a harsher line with Asean member Myanmar's crackdown on opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
"As long as that detention continues, I think you'll find that will be an area of specific focus from the international community," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.
"She and her party won an election. She's been jailed repeatedly for speaking out and others have been jailed for merely expressing their views." Bureau Report