“It’s possible, yes,” he said when asked by reporters here at the 58th Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and Related Meetings.

Rubio added that they are also working on a date for the US-Asean summit called for by Malaysia as the Asean chair in response to Trump’s tariffs.

In a Facebook post earlier today, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim extended an invitation to Trump to attend both the US-Asean summit and the East Asia summit, scheduled to be held in Kuala Lumpur this October.

Rubio today expressed optimism that once negotiations over tariffs are resolved, Southeast Asian nations could benefit from more favourable trade terms.

“When all is said and done, many countries in Southeast Asia could end up with tariff rates that are actually better than those in other parts of the world.

“The door remains open to adjustments if agreements can be reached, and we are actively engaged in conversations with several countries represented here to make further progress,” he said.

Rubio’s arrival in Malaysia today for the meeting of Asean foreign ministers comes after Trump ramped up his trade war this week.

US officials said ahead of the trip that Washington was “prioritising” its commitment to East Asia and Southeast Asia.

On Tuesday, it was reported that the US imposed a 25% tariff on Malaysia starting Aug 1, a rate which Trump described as “far less” than what is needed to eliminate the country’s trade deficit with Malaysia.

The rate is also higher than the 24% initially imposed on certain Malaysian exports to the US, later placed on a 90-day pause that ended on July 8.