Secretary of State Hillary Clinton signed a friendship pact here Wednesday with the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) amid complaints that Obama's predecessor George W. Bush had neglected the group.

"I want to send a very clear message that the United States is back, that we are fully engaged and committed to our relationships in Southeast Asia," she said before the signing in the resort of Phuket.

Clinton's predecessor Condoleezza Rice skipped two ASEAN regional forums, upsetting members that had been used to a long line of chief US diplomats attending.

The Obama administration, Clinton said, will also announce the appointment soon of a permanent ambassador to ASEAN headquarters in Jakarta. The current US ambassador for ASEAN affairs is based in Washington.

John Harrison, a security analyst at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, said the signing of the pact "is designed to try to re-establish a more active US presence in Southeast Asia particularly vis-a-vis China."

"The US wants to make sure that Southeast Asia still feels that it is an important area for the US and does not want to create the perception that there is a vacuum that China would come in and fill," he told AFP.

As part of her diplomatic offensive, Clinton promised that the Obama administration will stand firm in the face of what she called concerns that North Korea may be shipping conventional weapons and even nuclear know-how to Myanmar, an ASEAN member.

Cooperation between Pyongyang and Yangon would be "destabilising" for the region, Clinton said after talks on Tuesday with Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

The signing in Phuket, on the eve of Asia's biggest annual security forum, known as ARF, marked the US accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia.

It fulfilled a pledge Clinton made when she visited Indonesia in February on her first tour abroad as secretary of state, when she also visited China and traditional allies Japan and South Korea.

By inking the pact, which contains commitments to peaceful settlement of disputes and non-interference in domestic affairs, Clinton is signalling Washington's desire to deepen ties and offset China's power, diplomats say.

But the United States nonetheless faces growing competition from China, which inked the same treaty six years ago and has emerged as a key player in meetings with ASEAN.

Clinton earlier this year warned that a Bush administration policy of isolating anti-US countries in Latin America like Venezuela threw them into the arms of China and Iran.

But the United States actually has an edge over China in East and Southeast Asia, according to a survey conducted in early 2008 by the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

Based on public opinion surveys in ASEAN members Vietnam and Indonesia as well as China, Japan and South Korea, the report reveals that perceptions of China's "soft power" generally trail those of the United States and Japan.

By "soft power" it meant economic, cultural and political clout, as opposed to military power.

Analyst Harrison said meanwhile that Bush had not totally neglected Southeast Asia, pursuing counter-terrorism cooperation with the Philippines for example.

"Certainly, the Obama administration wants to establish a different tone in the relationship with Southeast Asia and this (signing of the treaty) is a very important step."

The new US approach to relations has "a broader tone. It is one that focusses both on security and also on the broader cultural and economic issues that may not have been as emphasised during the last administration."

ASEAN is made up of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

earlier related report
US commander in Japan says base moves must happen
The commander of US forces in Japan said Thursday a plan for the realignment of its bases there must be completed, speaking weeks before a crucial national election.

Lieutenant General Edward A. Rice said the deal, which includes moving some 8,000 Marines from Okinawa island to the US territory of Guam, "is the right agreement for Japan and the people of the United States."

The plan has been controversial, in part because Japan would pay billions of dollars for the move, and because US forces would open new facilities on the island, including a base in a pristine wildlife area.

Okinawa is home to more than half the 40,000 US troops in Japan.

Rice was speaking as the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) -- which is widely expected to take power after the August 30 lower house election -- is reportedly preparing to call for "a review" of the plan.

The party has previously demanded thorough changes to the US military deployments in Japan. Its former leader Ichiro Ozawa has called for a drastic reduction of US military bases.

The DPJ however has toned down its rhetoric as it has stepped closer to taking government for the first time, an outcome suggested by most polls, and has reiterated the importance of the Japan-US alliance.

Analysts expect little change in Japanese diplomacy if the DPJ takes power.

The United States, since defeating Japan in World War II, has been its most important military ally, providing deterrence while Japan's post-war constitution bars its Self-Defence Forces from offensive action.

The DPJ has already backed off from its demand to quickly pull out of a refuelling mission supporting the US-led operations in Afghanistan.

Rice said Washington would work with whatever administration rules Japan, just as Tokyo had worked with different US presidents.

"After the election, we will work with whatever government the people of Japan select," said Rice. "The primacy of the relationship between the United States and Japan will remain."

He added that he had not met with members of the opposition party.

The former bomber pilot said the realignment plan should ensure regional security while lowering the burden on neighbours who live near US bases.

Residents have in the past protested over noise from fighter jets, frictions with off-duty US troops, and other problems near the military bases.

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