LIANE HANSEN, Host: NPR's Anthony Kuhn is traveling with the secretary and has this report from Siem Reap, Cambodia.</s>ANTHONY KUHN: In Hanoi yesterday, Secretary Clinton restated U.S. support for Japan's jurisdiction over the uninhabited islands in the East China Sea.</s>HILLARY CLINTON: With respect to the Senkaku Islands, the United States has never taken a position on sovereignty. But we have made it very clear that the islands are part of our mutual treaty obligations and the obligation to defend Japan.</s>NORIYUKI SHIKATA: We appreciate the U.S. commitments for the defense of Japan and trying to ensure peace and security in the Asian region.</s>ANTHONY KUHN: Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Noriyuki Shikata suggests that the simmering dispute with China will draw the U.S. and Japan closer.</s>NORIYUKI SHIKATA: We think that the current uncertain situation in the region will provide opportunities for us to update our alliance.</s>ANTHONY KUHN: Yesterday, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi warned Secretary Clinton to be careful in handling and speaking about the Diaoyu Islands row. Secretary Clinton made it clear that U.S. relations with China were not the lynchpin of U.S. involvement in the region.</s>HILLARY CLINTON: We will consult closely with our treaty allies, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Thailand, and the Philippines, as the foundation of our engagement in the Asia-Pacific. And we will continue to expand our emerging partnerships with a wide range of countries from New Zealand, India, China, Indonesia.</s>ANTHONY KUHN: Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's tour through Southeast Asia and the Pacific is aimed at stepping up U.S. engagement on a host of regional issues in the region. But friction between Japan and China over a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea pushed its way onto Clinton's agenda Saturday.