Foreign minister Mohamad Hasan held separate meetings yesterday with China’s Wang Yi and US secretary of state Marco Rubio, on the sidelines of the 58th Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and Related Meetings here.
The visits came just months after Chinese president Xi Jinping made Malaysia one of his first Southeast Asian stops this year, and marked Rubio’s maiden trip to the region since taking office.
In talks with Wang, both countries pledged to deepen their cooperation in strategic areas such as artificial intelligence, security, TVET, and the digital economy. They also reviewed follow-up actions from Xi’s visit in April, including joint R&D initiatives.
Malaysia, the current Asean chair and country coordinator for Asean-China dialogue relations, also thanked China for backing its leadership of the bloc.
Mohamad’s meeting with Rubio, meanwhile, focused on strengthening cooperation in trade, security, defence, and other areas of mutual interest.
Wisma Putra described the US-Malaysia relationship as “longstanding… built over decades on a foundation of mutual respect, trust, and shared interests”.
Neutral, not passive
Analysts noted that China’s economic presence in Southeast Asia has continued to expand, although tensions in the South China Sea remain a persistent challenge.
Joanne Lin, senior fellow at Singapore’s ISEAS Yusof-Ishak Institute, said US engagement over the past decade had been inconsistent, security-heavy and lacking sustained economic focus.
“Trump 2.0 seems to be following a similar path, with priority shifting towards the Middle East and the immigration policy at home,” she told FMT.
Apart from treaty ally the Philippines, most Asean countries have not received major commitments from Washington ahead of Rubio’s visit.
Philippine foreign secretary Maria-Theresa Lazaro said Manila would work to improve Asean-US ties when it chairs the 10-member bloc in 2026.
“In our case, we will not only be concentrating on the Asean-US relationship but also our other dialogue countries, as well as even the developmental partners,” she said.
Despite ongoing disagreements over tariffs and other matters, Lin said Asean still wanted the US involved in areas like defence, cybersecurity and maritime, albeit in a more practical way.
“But I think the strategy now is more measured, and it is really about working with the US where it can add value, such as the US’s role in the Asean Defence Ministers Meeting Plus or freedom of navigation,” she said, adding that the region valued constructive and consistent engagement.