President Obama has issued a new defense strategy of limiting the country’s armed forces at a time of tight budgets, but also promised to maintain US as the most powerful military force- ready for the full range of contingencies and threats. He said strong presence will be maintained in Asia Pacific and budget cuts will not harm the security of the country.

US is shifting its focus from Europe to Asia-Pacific and for this a strategic alliance has been announced with Australia. For the counter insurgency strategy in Afghanistan, US plans to rely more on unmanned drones for surveillance and attacks, as done in Iraq.

President Obama states that they will continue to invest in critical alliances and partnership, and especially remain vigilant in Middle East. He vowed to get rid of “outdated Cold War-era systems” and instead aims to strengthen intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, as well as counterterrorism. He said defense spending will grow at a slower pace, compared to after September 11. Obama has already earmarked defense budget cuts of $489bn over 10 years.

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British Foreign Secretary William Hague visited Myanmar to encourage the “government to continue on its path of reform, and to gauge what more Britain can do to support that process”. He followed in the footstep of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who completed a similar trip in November 2011.

Hague was greeted by Thein Sein, Myanmar’s President and later also met opposition leader and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Britain has not promised any immediate change in European Union sanctions on arms sales, asset freezes and travel bans, or change in a policy that discourages UK businesses from trade with Myanmar. However, it has pledged $289 billion over three years to fund health and education projects through non-governmental groups.

Western nations have cautiously supported reforms that eventually led to the collapse of military junta and put in place a nominally civilian government.

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