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June 29, 2010: Scot Marciel, currently deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asia and US ambassador to ASEAN, is nominated to be ambassador to Indonesia. June 30, 2010: US Ambassador to Indonesia Cameron Hume dedicates $56 million in coastal and shipboard radars, helping Indonesia to create one of the world‟s largest integrated maritime surveillance systems. June 30, 2010: US Senate Foreign Relations Committee votes to extend sanctions on Burma for one more year because of the junta‟s civil rights abuses. The sanctions have been extended annually since the 2003 Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act came into force. July 1, 2010: US House of Representatives passes a resolution endorsing Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva‟s 5-point reconciliation roadmap. Thailand‟s Foreign Ministry welcomes the resolution. July 2, 2010: Vietnam and the US sign a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly prevent the illegal transport of nuclear and other radioactive materials. The US Department of Energy will provide Hanoi with container scanners for radioactive detection. July 5-19, 2010: The US and Singapore Navies and the US Coast Guard engage in a Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) exercise, emphasizing interoperability in anti-air, anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare. July 12, 2010: Vietnam and the US celebrate 15 years of diplomatic relations in ceremonies in both Hanoi and Washington DC. July 12-31, 2010: US Pacific Command and the Cambodian military co-host the 2010 Global Peace Operations Initiative to help train peacekeepers. More than 1,000 military personnel from 23 Asia-Pacific countries participate. July 13, 2010: Laotian Foreign Minister Thonglison Sisoulith visits Washington to meet Secretary of State Hillary Clinton – the first visit by a top Laotian official since the 1975 communist victory in that nation. July 13, 2010: In Houston, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong states that his country is a full participant in the global process that fights illicit money flows. July 14, 2010: US Navy Seals and Indonesian frogmen conduct a VIP protection exercise in Surabaya. US-Southeast Asia Relations 60 October 2010 July 17-18, 2010: US Undersecretary of State William Burns in Phnom Penh defends US military aid to Cambodia despite domestic abuses attributed to Cambodian military units. July 17-31, 2010: The US and Indonesian Air Forces hold a joint exercise in Indonesia involving 110 US and 155 Indonesian personnel that emphasizes logistics, intelligence, and parachuting. July 18-24, 2010: The US Embassy in Phnom Penh and the Cambodian government conduct a weeklong celebration of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations. July 20-21, 2010: Undersecretary Burns visits Manila, affirming support for the new government of President Benigno Aquino III and discusses human rights, combatting human trafficking, anti-corruption, and transparency. July 22, 2010: Secretary Clinton visits Vietnam to celebrate 15 years of diplomatic relations and criticizes the government for jailing democracy advocates, religious groups, and establishing curbs on networking websites. July 22, 2010: Secretary Clinton meets foreign ministers of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam to discuss a framework for the Lower Mekong River Initiative to which Washington has pledged $187 million for environmental, education, and health programs. July 23, 2010: Secretary Clinton at the ASEAN Regional Forum meeting in Hanoi proffers a US mediation role for the protracted Spratly and Paracel Islands disputes involving Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines, Taiwan, and China. July 24, 2010: An international war crimes court in Phnom Penh convicts the chief prison warden and torturer of the Khmer Rouge period, Kaing Guek Ear – known as Duch – of crimes against humanity and sentences him to 19 years in prison, taking 16 years from a 35-year sentence for time already served. July 28, 2010: The US Navy hospital ship Mercy anchors off Ambon, Indonesia, to provide medical services to the local population. July 28, 2010: Cambodia‟s first-ever multinational military exercise led by the US Defense and State Departments, Angkor Sentinel 10, ends. Its purpose was peacekeeper training. Aug. 4-7, 2010: The Pacific Fleet command ship, USS Blue Ridge, visits Manila for a four-day goodwill visit. Aug. 5, 2010: State Department spokesman Phillip Crowley states that the US and Vietnam are discussing the provision of civilian nuclear technology to Vietnam. Aug. 7, 2010: High-level Vietnamese civilian and military officials are flown to the US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS George Washington, steaming 200 miles off Vietnam‟s east coast – the first such visit. US-Southeast Asia Relations 61 October 2010 Aug. 10, 2010: The destroyer USS John McCain arrives in Danang for the first joint US-Vietnam naval exercise that focuses on search and rescue and damage control. Aug. 16, 2010: US Ambassador-designate Scot Marciel arrives in Jakarta. Aug. 17, 2010: The US and Vietnam hold their first-ever defense talks in Hanoi, described by Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Robert Sher as extremely productive and successful. Aug. 20, 2010: Thailand agrees to extradite Russian arms merchant Victor Bout to the US on arms trafficking charges. Sept. 4, 2010: USS George Washington arrives in Manila for a goodwill visit. Sept. 9, 2010: Indonesian President Yudhoyono urges President Obama to intervene personally to stop the proposed Koran burning threatened by a Florida pastor to commemorate the 9/11 anniversary. Malaysia also calls on the US to stop the pastor. Sept. 14, 2010: Paul W. Jones assumes his post as the US ambassador to Malaysia. Sept. 14, 2010: Vietnam‟s Ambassador to the US Le Cong Phung states that the two countries are in an excellent period of bilateral relations. Sept. 17, 2010: Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell asks Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya to seek a compromise with Cambodia over the Preah Vihear temple grounds dispute. Sept. 17, 2010: Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegowa and Secretary Clinton hold inaugural meeting in Washington of the two countries‟ Joint Commission – a follow on to the Comprehensive Partnership signed by Presidents Obama and Yudhoyono in 2009. Sept. 24, 2010: President Obama convenes a luncheon meeting for this year‟s ASEAN-US summit on the sidelines of the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly in New York. Topping the agenda are discussions of Burma‟s forthcoming “elections,” the South China Sea disputes, and a variety of social, political, and economic proposals.