KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio met counterparts in Southeast Asia on Thursday ... steep tariffs from August 1 on seven ASEAN members, including Malaysia, as well as on close Northeast Asian allies Japan and South Korea.

The U.S. Secretary of State wants to bolster defense ties in the Indo-Pacific, while distrust of Trump’s commitments to the region, particularly on economic issues, runs deep.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met Thursday in Malaysia for what could be a testy conversation as tensions between the countries rise over Moscow’s increasing attacks on Ukraine and questions about whether Russia's leader is serious about a peace deal.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio met counterparts in Southeast Asia during his first visit to the region since taking office.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday responded to news that an individual used an artificially generated voice to impersonate him by saying that he communicates with counterparts around the world through official channels to avoid such risks.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur on Thursday to attend the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting, local media reported. This marks Rubio's first visit to the region since he assumed office earlier this year, the state-run Bernama news agency reported.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is attending an Asean summit – his first official visit to the region since Donald Trump’s return.