US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio had met counterparts in Southeast Asia during his first visit to the region since taking office.
The US top Diplomat on Thursday, July 10, 2025, joined Foreign Ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Kuala Lumpur at a meeting that includes Australia, China, the European Union, Japan, Russia, South Korea and Russia, and others.
Rubio’s presence in Kuala Lumpur signals his country’s intention to revive its Asia Pacific focus following years of prioritising conflicts in Europe and the Middle East.
He reassured his ASEAN counterparts that their region is a priority for Washington, despite President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Rubio told the gathering of ASEAN Ministers, “It is our view, our strong view, and the reality that this century and the next, the story of the next 50 years, will largely be written here in this region, in this part of the world.”
“When I hear … that perhaps the United States or the world might be distracted by events in other parts of the planet, I would say distraction is impossible.”
Marco Rubio
Rubio stressed to ASEAN that the Indo-Pacific was a “focal point of US foreign policy.”
However, Trump’s global tariff strategy is likely to cast a shadow over the trip after he unveiled steep tariffs on seven ASEAN members, including Malaysia, as well as on close Northeast Asian allies Japan and South Korea.
Trump will impose a tariff of 25% on Japan and South Korea and has taken aim at ASEAN nations, with a levy of 25% on Malaysia, 32% on Indonesia, 36% on Cambodia and Thailand, as well as 40% on Laos and Myanmar.
He has also stepped up to 20% from 17% the tariff on US defence treaty ally, the Philippines.
Export-reliant ASEAN is collectively the world’s fifth-biggest economy, with some members benefiting from supply chain realignments from China.
Only Vietnam has secured a deal with Trump to lower its levy to 20% from an initial 46%.
Trump has also upset another key Indo-Pacific ally, Australia, which said yesterday that it was “urgently seeking more detail” on his threat of 200% tariffs on pharmaceutical imports.
In addition to their tariff unease, many have doubts about the willingness of Trump’s “America First” administration to fully engage diplomatically and economically with the region.
According to experts, Rubio will nevertheless seek to firm US ties with partners and allies unnerved by the tariffs, and is likely to press the case that the United States remains a better partner than China, Washington’s main strategic rival.
Victor Cha, President of the geopolitics and foreign policy department at Washington’s Center for Strategic and International Studies, opined, “This is significant, and it’s an effort to try to counter that Chinese diplomatic and economic offensive.”
“It’s kind of late, because we’re seven months into the administration. Usually, these happen much sooner. But then again, it is extraordinary circumstances… But I guess better late than never.”
Victor Cha
China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi and Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov are also attending the ASEAN meeting.
Rubio To Meet Russian Counterpart
Rubio is set for talks with Lavrov later on Thursday that will be their second in-person meeting.
The meeting comes at a time when President Donald Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with Russian President Vladimir Putin as the war in Ukraine drags on.
Trump on Tuesday accused his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of talking “bullshit” about Ukraine, saying that the United States would send Kyiv more weapons to defend itself.
Trump’s expletive reflected his growing frustration with the Kremlin leader over the grinding war that Moscow launched in early 2022.
The last meeting between Rubio and Russia’s top diplomats took place in Saudi Arabia in February as part of the Trump administration’s effort to re-establish bilateral relations and help negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.
Also, Rubio will attend a post-ministerial conference and a meeting by East Asian Foreign Ministers — which will also see Japan, South Korea and China participating.
He will also meet with Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim and hold trilateral talks with the Philippines and Japan.
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