Kuala lumpur: Despite the recent Trump-incited 'tariff wars' that affected the region, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio stressed on Thursday the importance of reinforcing the partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). This came in Rubio's speech during the US delegation's participation in the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting, which convened July 8th in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and is set to continue until July 11th.
According to Kuwait News Agency, Rubio stated that the US considers ASEAN an important bridge that allows the US to engage in the region, highlighting that two-thirds of global GDP will occur there. He affirmed that the US does not plan on sidelining this potential and is keen to strengthen ties and partnerships with ASEAN and its member states.
On his part, Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn remarked that the meeting takes place amid global uncertainty, affirming that the ASEAN-US partnership is not only wanted but also needed. The Cambodian delegation served as the moderator for the meeting between ASEAN and the US.
He added that the partnership includes economic cooperation, innovation, combating transnational crime, maritime cooperation, health security, and people-to-people exchanges, reflecting the shared confidence in the future of the strategic relationship between the two sides.
Despite the positive dialogue between the two sides, Trump's foreign policy overshadowed the meeting following new tariffs that will affect seven member states, as well as key allies like Japan and South Korea. These are set to be in effect on August 1st.
The new U.S. imposed tariffs are 25 percent on Japan, South Korea, and Malaysia; 32 percent on Indonesia; 36 percent on Cambodia and Thailand; 40 percent on Laos and Myanmar; and raised tariffs on the Philippines to 20 percent. Vietnam was the only country to secure a reduction, from 46 to 20 percent.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is set to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Kuala Lumpur later today, amid rising tensions over Russia's military escalation in Ukraine and growing doubts about President Putin's commitment to a peace deal.