President Obama is heading to his birthplace of Hawaii today for the gathering of Asia-Pacific leaders at the APEC summit. Activists with the group Occupy Honolulu are planning a march on the summit to protest neoliberal trade deals under APEC as well as what they call draconian security measures around this weekend’s gathering. At a speech ahead of the summit, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for greater U.S.-Pacific ties.

Secretary Of State Hillary Clinton: “The 21st century will be America’s Pacific century, a period of unprecedented outreach and partnership in this dynamic, complex and consequential region. American businesses are eager for more opportunities to trade and invest in Asian markets. And we share with most nations the goal of broad-based, sustainable growth that expands opportunity, protects workers and the environment, respects intellectual property, and fosters innovation. But to accomplish these goals, we have to create a rules-based order, one that is open, free, transparent and fair.”