Rubio makes first visit to Asia as Trump tariffs loom
Washington's top diplomat will meet foreign ministers of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations gathered in Kuala Lumpur, and also hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov who is in the Malaysian capital, according to the US State Department.
Rubio's trip is part of an effort to renew US focus on the Indo-Pacific and look beyond the conflicts in the Middle East and Europe that have consumed much of the Trump administration's attention, with Rubio balancing dual responsibilities as secretary of state and national security adviser.
However, Trump's global tariff strategy is likely to cast a shadow over the trip, after the president announced steep tariffs to take effect on August 1 on six ASEAN members, including Malaysia, as well as on close Northeast Asian allies Japan and South Korea.
Rubio will nevertheless seek to firm up US relationships with partners and allies, who have been 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, experts said.
"This is significant, and it's an effort to try to counter that Chinese diplomatic and economic offensive," said Victor Cha, president of the geopolitics and foreign policy department at Washington's Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Rubio will also meet with Lavrov later on Thursday, according to the US State Department schedule. It would be the second in-person meeting between Rubio and Lavrov, and comes at a time when Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with Russian President Vladimir Putin as the war in Ukraine drags on.
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi is also expected to join talks from Thursday, but it was unclear if Rubio would meet with him.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Cedar News
9 hours ago
- Cedar News
Transcript of Epstein Victim Goes Public — Trump Not Linked to Epstein
Transcript of Epstein Victim Goes Public — Trump Not Linked to Epstein A newly resurfaced transcript from a deposition by Virginia Giuffre, one of Jeffrey Epstein's most prominent accusers, confirms that Trump is not linked to Epstein's sex trafficking activities — directly contradicting years of speculation from some Democratic figures and media outlets. Giuffre: No Contact, No Visits, No Misconduct In the sworn testimony, Giuffre stated she never saw Trump and Epstein together, that Trump never flirted with her, never touched her, and never visited any of Epstein's homes, including the infamous private island in the Caribbean. Her words make it clear: Trump was not involved in Epstein's criminal network. Trump Not Linked to Epstein — Political Accusations Collapse The transcript emerges at a time when several Democratic leaders and left-leaning media have called for the release of Epstein's client list, implying Trump's possible involvement. But Giuffre's testimony directly contradicts those insinuations — confirming Trump not linked to Epstein or any criminal conduct with minors. Context: Trump's Past Social Ties with Epstein While Trump and Epstein were seen at social events decades ago, there has never been credible evidence of any wrongdoing. In fact, Trump banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago after a reported complaint, and Giuffre's own words now publicly clear Trump of any abuse or inappropriate conduct.
L'Orient-Le Jour
14 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Iran wants to navigate away from American GPS
After 12 days of war with Israel, during which, in the last chapter, the U.S. became directly militarily involved, Iran is looking to establish its technological independence from the Chitsaz, deputy minister of Telecommunications, told the national daily HamMihan in mid-July that Iran would eventually switch fully to the Chinese Beidou satellite navigation system, which it had partially adopted in 2015 to avoid dependence on the American Global Positioning System (GPS). The recent conflict with Tel Aviv in June has made the transition even more pressing for Tehran. By operating with Beidou, Iran hopes to secure easier access to the electronic chips used by this navigation system and to make it more complicated for hostile jamming efforts to disrupt any future jammingThe GPS jamming was intended to decrease the...
L'Orient-Le Jour
16 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
China hopes for 'reciprocity' at trade talks with US in Stockholm
Chinese and U.S. economic officials met for talks in Stockholm on Monday, with Beijing saying it wanted to see "reciprocity" in its trade with the United States. The Swedish prime minister's office confirmed the talks, which are expected to last two days, were under way. The talks came a day after U.S. President Donald Trump reached a deal that will see imports from the European Union taxed at 15 percent and the clock ticking down for many countries to reach deals or face high U.S. tariffs. Beijing said on Monday it hoped the two sides could hold talks in the spirit of "mutual respect and reciprocity". Foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said Beijing sought to "enhance consensus through dialogue and communication, reduce misunderstandings, strengthen cooperation and promote the stable, healthy and sustainable development of China-US relations". For dozens of trading partners, failing to strike an agreement in the coming days means they could face significant tariff hikes on exports to the United States come Friday, Aug. 1. The steeper rates, threatened against partners like Brazil and India, would raise the duties their products face from a "baseline" of 10 percent now to levels up to 50 percent. Tariffs imposed by the Trump administration have already effectively raised duties on U.S. imports to levels not seen since the 1930s, according to data from The Budget Lab research centre at Yale University. For now, all eyes are on discussions between Washington and Beijing as a delegation including US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent meets a Chinese team led by Vice Premier He Lifeng in Sweden. In Stockholm, Chinese and U.S. flags were raised in front of Rosenbad, the seat of the Swedish government. While both countries in April imposed tariffs on each other's products that reached triple-digit levels, U.S. duties this year have temporarily been lowered to 30 percent and China's countermeasures slashed to 10 percent. But the 90-day truce, instituted after talks in Geneva in May, is set to expire on Aug. 12. Since the Geneva meeting, the two sides have convened in London to iron out disagreements. China progress? "There seems to have been a fairly significant shift in [U.S.] administration thinking on China since particularly the London talks," said Emily Benson, head of strategy at Minerva Technology Futures. "The mood now is much more focused on what's possible to achieve, on warming relations where possible and restraining any factors that could increase tensions," she told AFP. Talks with China have not produced a deal but Benson said both countries have made progress, with certain rare earth and semiconductor flows restarting. "Secretary Bessent has also signalled that he thinks a concrete outcome will be to delay the 90-day tariff pause," she said. "That's also promising, because it indicates that something potentially more substantive is on the horizon." The South China Morning Post, citing sources on both sides, reported Sunday that Washington and Beijing are expected to extend their tariff pause by another 90 days. Trump has announced pacts so far with the European Union, Britain, Vietnam, Japan, Indonesia and the Philippines, although details have been sparse. An extension of the US-China deal to keep tariffs at reduced levels "would show that both sides see value in continuing talks", said Thibault Denamiel, a fellow at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. U.S.-China Business Council president Sean Stein said the market was not anticipating a detailed readout from Stockholm: "What's more important is the atmosphere coming out." "The business community is optimistic that the two presidents will meet later this year, hopefully in Beijing," he told AFP. "It's clear that on both sides, the final decision-maker is going to be the president." For others, the prospect of higher U.S. tariffs and few details from fresh trade deals mark "a far cry from the ideal scenario", said Denamiel. But they show some progress, particularly with partners Washington has signalled are on its priority list like the EU, Japan, the Philippines and South Korea. The EU unveiled a pact with Washington on Sunday while Seoul is rushing to strike an agreement, after Japan and the Philippines already reached the outlines of deals. Breakthroughs have been patchy since Washington promised a flurry of agreements after unveiling, and then swiftly postponing, tariff hikes targeting dozens of economies in April.
