Rumsfeld is scheduled to meet privately with a number of defense leaders from the region, including India's defense minister, Pranab Mukherjee, who is making his first appearance at the conference, known as the Shangri-La Dialogue.
Representatives from about two- dozen nations were invited to the meeting, which has been hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies for five years.
By Lolita C. Baldor
SINGAPORE -- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld will make his first trip to Vietnam next week, as part of a broader effort to forge stronger military relationships with countries in Southeast Asia.
Speaking to reporters yesterday at the start of an annual defense leaders' conference in Singapore, Rumsfeld said the US military's relationship with its former enemy is growing and he hopes the conference will foster more inclusiveness in the region.
Rumsfeld said he will also visit Indonesia, which is reeling from a devastating earthquake that left thousands dead. The Asian nations, he said, are working together to fight piracy, terrorism, and other regional problems.
Rumsfeld is encouraging Southeast Asian nations to work closely with the United States, in the face of pressure from China and Russia to sometimes exclude the United States from regional meetings.
Pentagon officials said Rumsfeld will take a more positive approach than last year, when he took direct aim at China's ongoing military buildup and stressed the need for greater openness in that country.
Rumsfeld's visit, and his speech today, ``will underscore the strategic importance of Asia," said Eric Ruff, Pentagon spokesman. ``The secretary's visit here demonstrates our commitment to Asia and to the friends and allies we have in this region."
Speaking en route to Singapore, a senior defense official said Rumsfeld would not dwell on lingering questions about China's closely held military growth. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the speech was not public yet, said that instead Rumsfeld would speak more broadly about the need for the countries to work together.
The Bush administration was concerned last year when the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met with representatives from China, Korea, and Japan, but excluded the United States. Southeast Asia is an important ally for the United States, with its strategic location and its nations, such as Indonesia, that are predominantly Muslim and have been allies in the war on terrorism.
Rumsfeld is scheduled to meet privately with a number of defense leaders from the region, including India's defense minister, Pranab Mukherjee, who is making his first appearance at the conference, known as the Shangri-La Dialogue.
Representatives from about two- dozen nations were invited to the meeting, which has been hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies for five years.
Rumsfeld has been an outspoken advocate for improving military relations with countries in Southeast Asia. He has contended that the United States ``lost a generation of relationships" with the Indonesian military because of sanctions put in place because of human rights abuses by the military.
