What happens in the Asia Pacific matters to the rest of the world now more than ever before. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry shares his vision of an ever-stronger partnership with the region. What Pacific issues matter most to you and why?

This video was produced by the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Information Programs in April 2013. It features Secretary of State John Kerry during a speech he gave in Tokyo on April 15, 2013.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry delivers remarks on a 21st Century Pacific Partnership at Tokyo Tech University on Tokyo, Japan on April 14, 2013. A text transcript can be found at http://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2013/04/207487.htm.

Richard Buangan serves as Director of Digital Engagement at the U.S. Department of State.

Followers of @StateDept watched the State Department’s Twitter account surpass 500,000 followers this week, and also saw Secretary of State John Kerry wage a friendly bet with his Canadian counterpart, Foreign Minister John Baird, on whether the U.S. women’s team would beat Canada’s team in the women’s world hockey championship. The U.S. team won the game, and Foreign Minister Baird made good on the bet, offering Secretary Kerry a case of Canadian beer during the G-8 Foreign Ministers Meeting in London.

Secretary Kerry departed London today for East Asia, where he will visit the Republic of Korea, followed by travel to China and Japan. And, during his travel, you’ll discover more reasons to follow our websites and social media properties. First, we are pleased to announce our new U.S. Department of State Live webpage, where you’ll be able to watch the State Department’s daily press briefings, major speeches by the Secretary of State, and more. Tune in on Sunday, April 14 at approximately 8:30 p.m. EDT, when Secretary Kerry delivers remarks on U.S. engagement in the Asian-Pacific region. Our@StateDeptLive account will be tweeting the Secretary’s remarks live, and we’ll be releasing the latest photographs from his trip on Facebook, Flickr, and Tumblr.

You can also follow @StateDept and @eAsiaMediaHub for more details on the Secretary’s travel and go to the websites of our embassies in the Republic of Korea,China, and Japan for more on U.S. diplomacy in the region.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry delivers remarks with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea Yun Byung-se after their meeting at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., on April 2, 2013.

About the Author: Tara D. Sonenshine serves as Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.

March has been a good month for wildlife. 

At its annual meeting, held in Bangkok, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) voted to place new trade limits on sharks, mantas, and turtles for the first time in nearly a decade. 

This is an important step in countering a fishing trade that claims the lives of 100 million sharks a year. There is also widespread fishing of mantas, in response to strong demand in Asia — where many believe mantas’ gill plates have invigorating medicinal qualities. Turtles have existed for 300 million years but are now in serious trouble around the world as they are frequently used as food and in traditional medicines in Asia, and their use in the pet trade… more »

President Obama Meets With the Sultan of Brunei

About the Author: Megan Slack serves at the White House.

On March 12, 2013, President Obama hosted His Majesty the Sultan of Brunei for a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office to affirm the relationship between our two countries that dates back more than 160 years.

The two leaders discussed their shared interest in a strong, peaceful, and prosperous Asia-Pacific region, and continued cooperation between our nations on a range of issues.

With Brunei set to host October’s ASEAN East Asia Summit meeting, President Obama said they would be working together on “everything from how we deal with issues of energy and climate change to how we expand commerce, potentially through the Trans-Pacific Partnership that has the opportunity of creating jobs and prosperity…more »

About the Authors: Rachel Kastenberg serves as a Senior Advisor for the Secretary of State’s Global Partnerships Initiative, and Justin Sosne serves as a Senior Advisor in the Secretary of State’s Office of Global Women’s Issues.

Most of us in the United States don’t think twice when we turn on a light to work late into the night or cook dinner without inhaling dangerous smoke. Yet, these everyday tasks are still out of reach for the estimated 1.3 billion people around the world who lack access to electricity, and the estimated 2.7 billion people without access to clean cooking facilities — 95 percent of whom are in either sub-Saharan Africa or Asia.

During Women’s… more »

About the Author: Tomicah Tillemann serves as the Secretary of State’s Senior Advisor for Civil Society and Emerging Democracies.

Our work to rebalance U.S. diplomacy in Asia goes beyond economic and security considerations. We are also committed to standing up for America’s values.

In mid-November, I was in the city of Hangzhou, China participating in a groundbreaking conference on the role of civil society in U.S. foreign policy. The meeting was organized by the Institute for American Studies at Zhejiang University, and it marked the first time scholars in China have ever come together to discuss why organizations outside of government are such an important feature of America’s global engagement.

Participants in the meeting included experts from Chinese universities, the Academy of Sciences, and leaders from American civil society organizations. Our Chinese colleagues arrived with a wide range of assumptions about how American civil society groups operate and the degree to which… more »

Media Note
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
September 7, 2012

Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Mike Hammer will travel to Asia from September 10 to 15. He will visit Ulaanbaatar, Beijing, and Hong Kong.

Assistant Secretary Hammer will meet with government representatives to discuss ongoing media issues. He will also meet with members of the media, students, and NGOs to discuss American public diplomacy, press freedom, internet freedom and freedom of expression.

For further information, please contact Amanda Mansour at MansourAJ@state.gov or (202) 647-6088, or visit www.state.gov/p/eap.

Fact Sheet
Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
August 31, 2012

For over a century, the United States has remained a positive force for development throughout the Pacific region — from the establishment of Naval Station Pearl Harbor in 1912 to its commitment of over 200 Peace Corps volunteers serving throughout the region today. A Pacific nation itself, the United States not only shares the same values as its neighbors; it understands their hopes and aspirations – and seeks to assist the peoples and nations of the Pacific as they strive to realize them. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s attendance at the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Post Forum Dialogue, the first ever by a U.S. Secretary of State, demonstrates the Unites States’ commitment to partnering with the Pacific Island countries to address local and global challenges, such as climate change, economic development, gender equality, education, and peace and security. MORE