President Obama -- Asian three-nation tour (Nov. 18 - 20) - East Asia summit conference at end

from CBS News REPORT (Posted early Sunday Nov. 18, 2012) -- www.cbsnews.com/

To kick off the four-day tour, he arrived in Bangkok, Thailand on Sunday afternoon, local time (a little after 3 a.m. ET Sunday morning), and one of his first stops was to visit ailing King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who turns 85 next month and is in the hospital. He was accompanied by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who greeted the king by saying, "Hello again. It's so good to see you again. And my husband sends you his very best regards."

Before exchanging gifts, the king and Mr. Obama spoke briefly, to which the president responded, "Elections in the United States are very long but it's very gratifying to know people still have confidence in me. I thought it was very important that my first trip after the elections was to Thailand, which is such a great ally."
The president later headed to the Government House there with Clinton. The president was greeted by Thai prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra and the two leaders walked down a red carpet, flanked by dozens of Thai soldiers dressed in various military uniforms representing the different branches of the Thai military. Clinton, the U.S. Ambassador to Thailand and about 20 dignitaries stood behind Mr. Obama and Shinawatra.
Mr. Obama and Shinawatra held a press conference before attending an official dinner.
The visit to Thailand will "underscore our strong alliance and shared priorities and regional issues," according to Clinton's office. Monday, the president and Clinton will then travel to Rangoon, Myanmar, for a meeting with the Burmese president, and will finish in Phnom Penh, Cambodia for the East Asia Summit.

Mr. Obama will become the first sitting U.S. president to visit Myanmar - the former pariah state also called Burma - as well as Cambodia. His visit to Myanmar is controversial; it has been criticized by human rights activists who have said that the country should prove it has truly moved on from its years of brutal military rule before it deserves a presidential visit.
The president said in his Bangkok press conference today that his visit to Myanmar "isn't an endorsement of the Burmese government" but simply "an acknowledgment there's a process underway" towards democracy that "nobody forsaw." Saturday, deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes, told reporters the president will initiate "dialogue with the Burmese government about the need to reduce their relationship with North Korea."
"We see that as an issue where they've been moving in a positive direction," Rhodes said. "We'd like to reinforce that action and, again, see Burma break its military ties with the North Koreans."

A visit to Asia - Mr. Obama's fourth during as many years in the White House - is personal for the Hawaii-born first "Pacific president." It also stands to send a message that the president's making good on his promise to turn U.S. attention to the region, something Rhodes noted earlier this week: "Continuing to fill in our pivot to Asia will be a critical part of this president's second term," he said, "and ultimately his foreign policy legacy."