Clinton set to arrive tomorrow

Gov. Felix Camacho plans to talk to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about military buildup funding, Okinawa politics and the possibility of a visa waiver program for tourists from China and Russia. Governor's spokesman Shawn Gumataotao said yesterday Camacho hopes to focus on these issues at a meeting during Clinton's Guam visit, which was announced yesterday by the Department of State.

They are expected to meet on Andersen Air Force Base tomorrow.

Gumataotao said Camacho specifically wants to:

Learn about the status of about $4 billion of buildup funding expected from the federal government; Hear Clinton's opinion on the political state in Japan and controversy over the relocation of the Futenma Air Base in Okinawa, which could be a buildup hurdle; and Ask for Clinton's support of Guam's bid for the visa waiver program for tourists from mainland China and Russia, which could diversify and revive the island's slowing tourism industry.

Gumataotao said Clinton's endorsement could be a significant step toward Guam's visa waiver request. Clinton has been an integral player in the Obama administration's military realignment talks with Japan and a voice for the buildup progress in Japan.

Camacho and Lt. Gov. Mike Cruz will meet with Clinton when she visits Guam at the beginning of the State Department head's Asia trip that will take her to six countries in less than two weeks. During a Washington, D.C., media briefing yesterday, Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, released the first detailed itinerary of Clinton's trip. Campbell said Clinton will stop on Guam between Hawaii and Hanoi to speak with troops and hold a "bilateral meeting" with the Camacho administration and "Guam representatives."

"I just want to underscore that we often talk about stepping up our game in the Asian Pacific region," Campbell said. "In that formulation, the A gets a lot more attention than the P, the Pacific. You will note on this particular trip that the secretary will be stopping in three Pacific islands." Campbell said Clinton's trip will take her to Hawaii, Guam, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Australia and American Samoa, in that order. The trip is scheduled to end Nov. 8. Clinton isn't scheduled to go to Japan, but she will meet with Japanese Foreign Minister Maehara in Hawaii, Campbell said.

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