Trump may attend 47th Asean Summit in Oct. 2025, says US Secretary of State Marco Rubio

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that U.S. President Donald Trump may attend the 47th Asean Summit in October, as his administration works on finalising a date for his potential participation.

“It’s possible, yes. We’re working on getting a date for that, absolutely,” Rubio told reporters on Jul. 10, on the sidelines of the 58th Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and related events in Kuala Lumpur.

The 47th Asean Summit

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has said that the 47th Asean Summit is poised to be the largest ever, The Star reported.

He added that the summit, slated to be held in Kuala Lumpur from Oct. 26 to 28, will see many leaders from outside Asean in attendance, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Brazilian President Luis da Silva.

In May, Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan stated that as the Asean Chair, Malaysia has written to the U.S. requesting confirmation of the date for the next Asean-U.S. Summit, which will coincide with the upcoming Asean Summit.

"We are waiting for a response from the U.S., and hopefully we will receive good news," he said.

Worst hit by U.S. tariffs

Rubio's latest visit to Kuala Lumpur comes days after Trump began sending letters warning trading partners of tariffs the U.S. will impose if no trade deal is reached by Aug. 1

Southeast Asian nations were among the worst hit. According to The Guardian, Thailand, Malaysia, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, the Philippines and Indonesia were notified of additional tariffs ranging from 20 to 40 per cent, on top of a 10 per cent baseline tariff.

Singapore has supposedly yet to receive a letter from the White House.

“The President’s been very clear… about his feeling that the state of global trade is unfair to the United States, that for far too long we allowed these imbalances to develop,” said Rubio at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.

He added, “This is a globalised effort to reset U.S. trade in a way that’s beneficial to the United States.”

Reassurance

He also sought to reassure Asean nations that the Indo-Pacific remains a focal point of U.S. foreign policy.

“I would say that when all is said and done, many of the countries in Southeast Asia are going to have tariff rates that are actually better than countries in other parts of the world.”

Underlying dynamics

As observed by analysts speaking to Reuters, Rubio appears to make the case that the U.S. remains a better partner than China, its main rival.

However, the 10-member bloc may not be so easily swayed.

At the same meeting, China and Asean, its largest trading partner, concluded negotiations for their free trade area to include additional industries. Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi also indirectly criticised Trump’s tariffs, calling it “unilateral protectionism and the abuse of tariffs by a certain major country”.

In light of the U.S.’ openness to review tariffs and continue engagement with Asean, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim described the meeting as “beneficial”, as quoted by New Straits Times.

The Guardian reported that he has previously denounced the tariffs, saying that the trade war is not a “passing storm” but rather “the new weather of our time”.

Tools once used to generate growth were now being “wielded to pressure, isolate and contain”, he said.

Top image via President Donald J. Trump/Instagram