Clinton in show of support for flood-hit Thailand

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton flew in to Thailand on Wednesday to offer assistance in fighting massive floods, hoping to avoid a further crisis in a US ally torn by political infighting.

Clinton headed straight to evening talks with Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who is facing intense pressure after only three months in office as she confronts the kingdom's worst flooding in decades which has killed at least 562 people.

Officials said that Clinton would unveil "significant" US help to Thailand and then on Thursday visit a shelter for Thais displaced by the flooding, part of her trademark emphasis on public diplomacy.

Clinton arrived from the Philippines -- along with Thailand the only treaty-bound US allies in Southeast Asia -- and later this week will join President Barack Obama in emerging partner Indonesia for the East Asia Summit.

The Obama administration has vowed a new focus on fast-growing Asia as it winds down the costly decade of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Obama is touring Australia this week in another effort to reach out to longtime allies.

But while the United States has been eager about growing cooperation with allies such as Australia, the Philippines and South Korea, it has been increasingly concerned about political instability in Thailand.

Yingluck is the sister of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a deeply divisive figure in Thailand who was ousted in a 2006 military coup. Thai authorities last year violently put down protests by pro-Thaksin "Red Shirts."

A State Department official who requested anonymity said that Clinton would say firmly in Thailand that "it is in the national security and political interest of the United States to have this government succeed."

The question of US military assistance during the floods has been a sensitive issue amid questions about how the Thai government has handled the crisis.

A Washington defence offici! al said in October that the US navy had withdrawn several ships, including an aircraft carrier, sent to help with relief efforts in Thailand after receiving "mixed" messages from the Bangkok government.

But a spokesman from the US embassy in Bangkok said one ship from the US group had docked in Thailand on October 20 and its helicopters had since been on missions coordinated with the Thai army and other US agencies.

The United States was also concerned that Thailand's floods could spur instability around the region as the kingdom is a major supplier of rice, a food staple in Asia, the State Department official said.

Clinton hastily added on the visit to Thailand after Yingluck cancelled a visit to Hawaii for a weekend summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum so she could focus on the crisis at home.

Clinton earlier Wednesday visited the Philippines to mark the 60th anniversary of a security alliance between the two countries, a trip that came amid high tension between Manila and Beijing over a territorial dispute.

In a symbolic show of solidarity, Clinton boarded a visiting US destroyer, the USS Fitzgerald, and signed a joint statement with the Philippines in which the two countries pledged to defend "freedom of navigation."

The Philippines and Vietnam have accused China of increasingly aggressive actions in the potentially resource-rich South China Sea, including intimidation of fishermen and oil exploration teams.

Clinton said that the United States did not take a position on the territorial disputes but she used her hosts' preferred term, the West Philippine Sea, and pledged help to develop military capabilities.

The Philippines has one of the weakest militaries in the region, with no fighter aircraft and a navy composed of refitted World War II-era warships.