U.S. Relations With the People's Republic of China (2008)

U.S. Department of State

Daily Press Briefing

Sean McCormack, Spokesman
Washington, DC
May 7, 2008

12:42 p.m. EDT

MR. MCCORMACK: Good afternoon, everybody. A couple of notes. One administrative note up front. We are putting together a conference call for you guys at 1 o'clock with Shari Villarosa, who's our Charg‚ d'Affaires in Burma. Thought you might be interested in hearing directly from her what she's seeing on the ground and her impressions of the scope of the disaster that the world is now attempting to deal with.

I also want to talk to you a little bit about what we in the U.S. Government are doing to try to bring about a situation where the Burmese Government will allow in not only our assistance teams but other assistance teams. We've been in touch with the Burmese Embassy here in Washington to encourage access for U.S. assistance and experts, and we have also been in contact with neighboring countries to Burma, including Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia to encourage them to use whatever leverage they may have with the Burmese Government to allow assistance teams in. We have the U.S. Ambassador for ASEAN Scot Marciel -- M-a-r-c-i-e-l -- in the region and he's working the issue. We've also been in contact with China, Japan, and India about their using whatever leverage and influence they might have with the Burmese regime.

We are working to pre-position supplies and materials for the eventuality that assistance is allowed in. We are, in that regard, working very closely with the Pacific Command of the U.S. military. We have provided overhead imagery to the Burmese Government and to the UN to assist them in damage assessment. Our people on the ground -- and you can ask Shari a little bit more about this -- at Embassy Rangoon have been working with NGOs, the donor community, UN relief agencies, and the Burmese Foreign Ministry on assistance needs.

So that's just a little bit of an update for you on what we're doing. I know it's a topic of interest. And with that, I'd be happy to take your questions.

QUESTION: What exactly -- sorry -- just on the call. Is that going to be something we can use the audio for broadcast or --

MR. MCCORMACK: Sure, yeah.

QUESTION: All right.

QUESTION: What exactly are you saying in your conversations with the Thais, Malaysians, Indonesians, Chinese, Japanese and Indians?

MR. MCCORMACK: Very basically, use what leverage you have with the Burmese Government to allow -- to get them to allow in outside assistance teams so that they can help make assistance -- assessments so they can provide on-the-ground assistance to help out with what is very clearly a humanitarian disaster of immense scope.

[ ...Intervening Text... ]

(The briefing was concluded at 12:56 p.m.)