Start of a Beautiful Friendship (AUSTRALIA)

The economic news out of Japan is catastrophic. Our biggest export market saw its gross domestic product decline at an annual rate of more than 12 per cent in the December quarter.

But the good news is that new US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has just visited Japan and signalled the US's deep commitment to Asia, and to the Pacific alliance system, of which Japan is the key.

Apart from the fact that she is not coming to Australia, Clinton's visit to Asia is everything Canberra could possibly want. There was a fear in Asia that Barack Obama - the "first post-Cold War president", in Kim Beazley's telling phrase - would not understand the importance of the US's Asian alliances and would be focused on the Middle East and Europe at Asia's expense.

Clinton's trip, and her speech to the Asia Society, are designed to answer that concern. She declared: "The US is committed to maintaining our historic security alliances in Asia and building on those relationships to counter the complex global threats we face."

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