US President Barack Obama's forthcoming trip to Indonesia and Australia is leading to speculation that he sees America's future as less linked to Europe than other regions.
The White House said on Monday that President Barack Obama has no plans to travel to Spain for a European Union summit in May, after a year of frenzied foreign travel in his first year in office.
Obama's decision, plus his announcement on Monday that he will go to Indonesia and Australia in the second half of March, has encouraged the speculation.
Mr Obama spent part of his childhood in the Indonesian capital Jakarta in the late 1960s, after his divorced mother married an Indonesian.
The childhood connection and his knowledge of a few words of the Indonesian language have made him hugely popular in the country of 234 million people, 90 per cent of whom are Muslim.
This year also marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between Australia and the United States.
But presidential aides pointed out that Obama travelled to Europe no fewer than six times last year, most recently to the Copenhagen climate summit, and has cultivated "robust" ties with Spain's leaders.
"The president is committed to a strong US-EU partnership, and with Europe in general," National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said.
"There were no plans for the president to travel to Spain for a summit this spring," Hammer said, adding that Obama still looked forward to close cooperation with Europe and Spain on Afghanistan, counter-terrorism, the global economy and climate change.
"We are still working through the president's travel schedule for the rest of the year and will make announcements on trips and summits when those are set," Hammer said.
There have been signs in Washington that Obama, who is facing a tough time implementing his sweeping reform agenda, will spend more time this year on home soil on domestic issues and politics.
With mid-term congressional polls looming in November, Obama will also likely undertake substantial travel for Democratic candidates who fear a Republican rebound in the elections.
One US official counseled against reading Obama's decision not to travel to Spain in May as a snub to the Europeans, saying he met EU leaders in both Prague and Washington last year.
"He also maintains strong relations with Spain," the official said, pointing out that the president met Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez twice in the past year.
Obama will also host Spanish King Juan Carlos in Washington on February 17.
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