Rubio visiting Manila for Asean foreign ministers’ meetings

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio will be in Manila this week for a series of meetings with foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and talks with senior Indo-Pacific officials, the US State Department said on Friday.

Rubio will attend the Asean Post-Ministerial Conference, the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and the Asean Regional Forum Foreign Ministers’ Meeting during his July 19-23 visit, according to a statement by State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott.

The top US diplomat attended last year’s gathering in Kuala Lumpur.

The State Department did not identify the Indo-Pacific officials Rubio was also scheduled to hold talks with or provide details of the bilateral meetings.

It said that the trip would highlight the outcomes of US-Asean cooperation and seek to deepen Washington’s comprehensive partnership with the Philippines.

It added that the visit underscored the commitment of the United States to a “free and open Indo-Pacific.” For Washington, that means seeking to counter China’s growing influence.

Rubio’s first visit to Manila as secretary of state comes as the Philippines hosts a weeklong series of Asean ministerial meetings, one of the country’s biggest diplomatic engagements as this year’s Asean chair.

Foreign ministers from Asean’s dialogue partners—including the United States, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Canada, Russia, the European Union and the United Kingdom—are expected to join the meetings to discuss regional security, geopolitical developments and economic cooperation.

Gala dinner with Marcos

According to the Department of Foreign Affairs, the ministerial meetings will begin with senior officials’ meetings on July 19 before the foreign ministers convene for the 59th Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on July 21.

Post-ministerial conferences with Asean’s dialogue partners are scheduled for July 22, followed by the Asean Plus Three Foreign Ministers’ Meeting (with China, Japan and South Korea), the Asean Regional Forum and the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on July 23.

Last year, Rubio met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Asean gathering. The two top diplomats spoke recently by telephone following US President Donald Trump’s visit to China last spring.

The weeklong meetings will conclude on July 24 with activities marking the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia, including a signing ceremony for countries acceding to the treaty, the inaugural high-level conference of its high contracting parties and a gala dinner to be hosted by President Marcos.

Rubio makes his visit to Manila as the United States resumes its war with Iran that placed traditional American allies under economic strain.

Middle East on agenda

The trip comes as the pace of strikes in the Middle East shows no signs of slowing, and just days after Trump launched a sweeping attack on China on Thursday—alleging that Beijing carried out substantial meddling in US elections.

Iran will be on the agenda, with Asian countries—particularly those that do not produce oil—being hit hard by the conflict and its repercussions for traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

About 80 percent of the hydrocarbons passing through the waterway are bound for Asian countries, according to the International Energy Agency.

At a Cebu summit in May, the leaders of the 11-member regional bloc discussed creating a shared fuel reserve, according to Mr. Marcos.

Asean is composed of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste and Vietnam.

Rubio is expected to meet Mr. Marcos as part of a strengthened partnership between Manila and Washington, with the contentious issue of the South China Sea certain to come up.

The waterway is disputed by several members of the bloc and China, which claims nearly the entire area despite an arbitral ruling that its position has no legal basis.

Myanmar situation

The situation in Myanmar is also expected to be discussed.

Asean foreign ministers recently called on their Myanmar counterpart to make “concrete” progress on a peace plan aimed at ending the country’s civil war.

Myanmar has been largely sidelined within Asean since a 2021 military coup.

China is Myanmar’s main ally and one of the few countries to have backed the junta since the overthrow of Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government.

In Tokyo, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said he will also travel to the Philippines for a series of meetings involving Asean and its regional partners, underscoring that the 11-member grouping is “central” to realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific and that Japan hopes to further strengthen its cooperation with the bloc.

The three-day visit, beginning Tuesday, comes as Japan-China relations remain strained after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi angered Beijing last November by suggesting Japan’s potential involvement in a Taiwan contingency. China views Taiwan as a renegade province to be reunified with the mainland by force if necessary.

Much attention is being placed on whether Motegi and Rubio will hold separate one-on-one talks with China’s Wang, who is also expected to fly to Manila. —WITH REPORTS FROM AFP AND KYODO