The United States seeks to foster economic ties with Southeast Asia and form alliances that would counter the growing influence of China in the world. So one would take for granted that American officials would ensure that major details, like displaying the proper flag of allied nations, are addressed.

One would think that. One would be wrong.

MANILA, Philippines – The U.S. government said Sunday it made an “honest mistake” when it displayed an inverted Philippine flag — which wrongfully signified that the Southeast Asian nation was in a state of war — in a meeting hosted by President Barack Obama.

The Philippine flag was displayed upside down behind President Benigno Aquino III when leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations met Obama in New York on Friday.

“This was an honest mistake,” U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Rebecca Thompson said in a statement, adding, “the U.S. treasures its close relationship and close partnership with the Philippines.”

The American embassy will find out how the “unfortunate” incident happened, she said.

This is hardly the first foreign policy faux pas for an administration supposedly inhabited by the brightest intellectuals of their day.

Previous examples include the White House presenting Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the United Kingdom, one of America’s staunchest allies, with a box set of DVDs as a gift during his visit. Or presenting Queen Elizabeth II with an iPod containing Barack Obama’s speeches.

Or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton presenting a “reset” button to her Russian counterpart that mistranslated the word “reset”. Or when the White House made the Dalai Lama exit through the backdoor, walking past quite visible trash bags.

You get the point.

For a supposedly intellectual regime concentrated on exerting “smart power”, the Obama Administration sure makes a disturbing number of dumb mistakes.