Rubio will travel from July 8th to 12th to attend meetings in Kuala Lumpur and meet with the Association of Southeast Asian Countries.
This trip represents our newest efforts to focus on the Indo-Pacific, and topped the Trump administration’s efforts to attract attention beyond the Middle East and European conflicts.
Last week, Rubio hosted its counterparts in Australia, India and Japan, and announced a joint initiative to secure the supply of critical minerals, a key sector of high-tech applications dominated by Washington’s major strategic rival China.
Trump also announced that he could reach a trade deal with key Southeast Asian partners and ASEAN members Vietnam and reach one with India, but he would question the deal with Japan, Washington’s leading Indo-Pacific ally and a major US importer and investor.
Since taking office in January, Rubio has yet to visit Japan, another major US ally in Northeast Asia, or neighboring South Korea.
MA/PR