Rubio to make first visit to Indo-Pacific region for Asean meeting

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubios visit marks a renewed US focus on the Indo-Pacific.

PHOTO: REUTERS

WASHINGTON – US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Malaysia later this week to attend a meeting of South-east Asian nations in in his first trip to Asia as America’s top diplomat, the State Department said on July 7.

Mr Rubio will travel from July 8 to 12 and will take part in meetings in Kuala Lumpur with the 10-member Asean, whose ministers are gathering there, the State Department said in a statement.

He will seek to firm up US relationships with partners and allies in the region, which have been unnerved by US President Donald Trumps global tariff offensive.

The trip is part of a renewed US focus on the Indo-Pacific and represents an effort by the Trump administration to look beyond the conflicts in the Middle East and Europe that have so far consumed much of its 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 prioritise it because it is in America’s interests, right? It promotes American prosperity and it promotes American security.”