US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Malaysia this week to attend meetings of Southeast Asian Nations in his first trip to Asia as America's top diplomat, the State Department said on Monday.
The department announced the July 8-12 trip, billed as a move to reaffirm Washington's commitment to the Indo-Pacific, just hours before President Donald Trump said he would impose 25% tariffs on imports from Japan and South Korea, the key US allies in the region and vital partners in countering China's growing might, as well as on Malaysia.
Trump also announced 40% tariffs on Laos and Myanmar, which along with Malaysia are members of ASEAN.
Rubio will take part in meetings with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, whose ministers are gathering in Kuala Lumpur and will also meet with senior Malaysian government officials, the State Department said.
Rubio will seek to firm up US relationships with partners and allies unnerved by Trump's global tariff strategy and the president's announcements look certain to dampen the mood.
The trip has been seen as part of a renewed US focus on the Indo-Pacific and an effort to look beyond conflicts in the Middle East and Europe that have consumed much of the Trump administration's attention.
"Top topics that he's going to want to hit, obviously, are to reaffirm our commitment to East Asia, to ASEAN, to the Indo-Pacific, and not just ... for its own sake," a senior State Department official told reporters.
"I think a key message that the secretary likes to deliver is that we're committed, and we prioritize it because it is in America's interests, right? It promotes American prosperity and it promotes American security."
The official said Rubio would be prepared to discuss trade, including reiterating that the need to rebalance US trade relationships is significant and echoing messages from the White House and US Trade Representative.
ASEAN countries have been nervous about Trump's tariffs and questioned the willingness of his "America First" administration to fully engage diplomatically and economically with the region.
"There is a hunger to be reassured that the US actually views the Indo-Pacific as the primary theater of US interests, key to US national security," said Greg Poling, director of the Southeast Asia Program at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The White House said twelve other countries after Japan and South Korea will receive trade letters informing them of new tariffs to take effect from August 1.
Trump said on Sunday the US was close to finalizing several trade pacts and would notify other countries by July 9 of higher tariff rates. He also sent a message to BRICS group of developing nations as its leaders met in Brazil, threatening an additional 10% tariff on any aligning themselves with "anti-American" policies.
The BRICS includes ASEAN member Indonesia, as well as China and India.
Trump announced last week he had reached a trade agreement with important Southeast Asian partner and ASEAN member Vietnam and could reach one with India, but cast doubt on a possible deal with Japan, which is not only Washington's main Asian ally, but a major investor in the United States.
Rubio has yet to visit Japan, or South Korea, the other main US ally in Northeast Asia, since taking office in January, even though Washington sees the Indo-Pacific as its main strategic priority given the perceived threat from China.
South Korea's presidential security adviser Wi Sung-lac headed to Washington on Sunday for trade and defense talks, with Seoul seeking to head off US tariffs. He aims to meet with Rubio and discuss a possible summit between Trump and President Lee Jae Myung, who took office last month.
