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What has Hillary Clinton been doing in Asia in the last few days? First, she strengthened ties with the world's most populous democracy, visiting Mumbai and New Delhi and inking important agreements. Then she headed to Thailand where, among other things, she attended the Asean summit and signed its Treaty of Amity and Cooperation. Her predecessor, Condoleezza Rice, repeatedly slighted the grouping of 10 Southeast Asian nations, and Clinton traveled to Phuket, Thailand, to show the U.S.'s renewed interest in the region. By all accounts, her charm, wit and personal diplomacy won friends for Washington across South Asia.

But what was the Secretary of State really doing? She...