Overview
- Rubio opened his first Asia trip by joining ASEAN foreign ministers in Kuala Lumpur to reaffirm Washington’s Indo-Pacific engagement
- President Trump this week reinstated 25–40% tariffs on six ASEAN members, with only Vietnam securing a tentative reprieve
- Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim denounced the proposed levies and said he will raise them directly with Rubio
- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russia’s Sergei Lavrov attended the Kuala Lumpur meetings, underscoring great-power competition for ASEAN’s diplomacy
- ASEAN foreign ministers are drafting a joint communique expressing concern over unilateral levies and urging negotiations before the August 1 deadline