Barack Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to visit Myanmar on Monday, praising the courage of fellow Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi while also providing a symbolic nod to initial reforms in a nation once notorious for political repression. Later, Obama traveled to Cambodia for a summit of regional leaders and held what an aide called a "tense"meeting with the host country's prime minister that emphasized the need for improving human rights there. The president's trip, his first overseas since winning re-election this month, foreshadowed the focus his administration will place on Asia in a second term as part of a strategy to blunt Chinese influence in the region. Cambodia is an ally of China.
@highlight
President Obama has a "tense" meeting with Cambodia's leader
@highlight
The president is in Cambodia for a summit of Southeast Asian nations
@highlight
Obama meets with pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and Myanmar's president
@highlight
Obama is the first sitting U.S. president to visit Myanmar, also known as Burma
Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia
He described the meeting as "tense," in keeping with past U.S. efforts to raise human rights issues with @placeholder.
Barack Obama
Obama
Obama
Obama
Obama
At the dinner Monday night, @placeholder and the other regional leaders wore shirts of batik, the colorful cloth that express Southeast Asia's tropical culture.