We tend to focus on human rights, which are separate from governmental systems, in terms of analysis.

This is the division, in terms of the debate.

I think this has been a very good opportunity for us to exercise some oversight, here in the Congress, on the evolution of policy.

We take one standard on electoral process in a place like Thailand, and then we'll say--or we will not say, to Vietnam or China, that they should even have elections.

We have clearly articulated, from a governmental perspective, different standards, in terms of electoral process, openness of the media, freedom of movement, et cetera.

to the extent that we can help create more space for them, for the bloggers, for activists, for others to begin to raise these issues with their own governments, that's the key.

Burma is not Vietnam. Vietnam is not Burma.

It would be an enormous mistake for any administration to neglect this critical dimension of our foreign policy.

And this doesn't just to go into the China situation. It's to talk about, fundamentally, whether we have a consistent policy that people in all countries in Asia can understand.

There's an old saying in the Marine Corps, that a lot of times when you are up to your neck in alligators, you tend to forget that you came to drain the swamp.

I fundamentally, violently agree with your logic here.

I have seen some positive movement, in terms of how they are dealing with Aung San Suu Kyi.

Asia is really moving toward multilateral relationships. And it's positive.

For ASEAN to be effective, to be the dominant institution of Asia... it has to have a greater leveling effect.

if we are not consistent in how we deal with these incidents, such as locking up dissidents and these sorts of things, in a country like China, then the rest of the region does not believe we're serious about what our policies really are.

The nongovernmental impact of the United States is enormous in Asia.

It's an across-the-board concern that we have.

I think it is incumbent on the United States to raise those issues at the highest levels.