China backs Southeast Asia nuclear ban; Rubio, Lavrov at ASEAN meeting

China has agreed to motion a Southeast Asian pact banning atomic weapons, Malaysia’s and China’s overseas ministers confirmed, successful a determination that seeks to shield the country from rising planetary information tensions amid the menace of imminent United States tariffs.

The pledge from Beijing was welcomed arsenic diplomats connected Thursday gathered for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) overseas ministers’ meeting, wherever US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is besides owed to conscionable determination counterparts and Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

Malaysia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohamad Hasan told reporters China had confirmed its willingness to motion the Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) pact – an statement successful unit since 1997 that restricts atomic enactment successful the portion to peaceful purposes specified arsenic vigor generation.

“China made a committedness to guarantee that they volition motion the pact without reservation,” Hasan said, adding that the ceremonial signing volition instrumentality spot erstwhile each applicable documentation is completed.

ASEAN has agelong pushed for the world’s 5 recognised atomic powers – China, the United States, Russia, France and the United Kingdom – to motion the pact and respect the region’s non-nuclear status, including wrong its exclusive economical zones and continental shelves.

Last week, Beijing signalled its readiness to enactment the pact and pb by illustration among nuclear-armed states.

Rubio, who is connected his archetypal sojourn to Asia arsenic caput of state, arrived successful Kuala Lumpur connected Thursday amid a unreality of uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s aggressive tariff strategy, which includes caller levies connected six ASEAN nations arsenic good arsenic cardinal accepted allies Japan and South Korea.

The tariffs, acceptable to instrumentality effect connected August 1, see a 25 percent work connected Malaysia, 32 percent connected Indonesia, 36 percent connected Cambodia and Thailand, and 40 percent connected Laos and Myanmar.

Japan and South Korea person each been deed with 25 percent tariffs, portion Australia – different important Asia Pacific state – has reacted angrily to threats of a 200 percent work connected pharmaceutical exports to the US.

Vietnam, an ASEAN nation, on with the UK, are the lone 2 countries to person signed abstracted commercialized deals with the US, whose medication had boasted they would person 90 deals successful 90 days.

The US volition spot a lower-than-promised 20 percent tariff connected galore Vietnamese exports, Trump has said, cooling tensions with its 10th-biggest trading spouse days earlier helium could rise levies connected astir imports. Any transshipments from 3rd countries done Vietnam volition look a 40 percent levy, Trump said, announcing the commercialized woody connected Wednesday. Vietnam would judge US products with a zero percent tariff, helium added.

Reporting from Kuala Lumpur, Al Jazeera’s Rob McBride says Southeast Asian nations are uncovering themselves astatine the centre of intensifying diplomatic competition, arsenic planetary powers look to fortify their power successful the region.

“The ASEAN countries are facing immoderate of the highest tariffs from the Trump administration,” McBride said. “They were besides among the archetypal to person caller letters announcing yet different hold successful the imposition of these tariffs, present pushed to 1 August.”

Family photograph of the attendees of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Post-Ministerial Conference with Russia during the 58th ASEAN overseas ministers’ gathering and related meetings astatine the Convention Centre successful Kuala Lumpur connected July 10, 2025 [Mohd Rasfan/AFP]

The uncertainty has pushed ASEAN states to question alternate commercialized partners, astir notably China. “These tariffs person provided an impetus for each of these ASEAN nations to question retired person commercialized links with different parts of the world,” McBride added.

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi has been successful Kuala Lumpur for meetings with ASEAN counterparts, underscoring Beijing’s increasing engagement.

Meanwhile, Russia’s apical diplomat, Sergey Lavrov, has besides been holding talks successful Malaysia, advancing Moscow’s imaginativeness of a “multipolar satellite order” – a conception backed by China that challenges what they spot arsenic a Western-led planetary strategy dominated by the US.

“Lavrov mightiness beryllium shunned successful different parts of the world,” McBride noted, “but helium is present successful Malaysia, gathering with ASEAN members and promoting this alternate planetary structure.”

At the aforesaid time, Rubio is aiming to antagonistic that communicative and easiness tensions. “Many ASEAN members are accepted allies of the United States,” McBride said. “But they are somewhat tense astir the tariffs and caller US overseas argumentation moves. Rubio is present to reassure them that each is good successful trans-Pacific relations.”

As geopolitical rivalry intensifies, ASEAN finds itself courted from each directions, with the powerfulness to power the aboriginal signifier of planetary alliances.

US seeks to rebuild assurance successful ASEAN

Rubio’s beingness successful Kuala Lumpur signals Washington, DC’s volition to revive its Asia Pacific absorption pursuing years of prioritising conflicts successful Europe and the Middle East.

The past gathering betwixt Rubio and Russia’s apical diplomats took spot successful Saudi Arabia successful February arsenic portion of the Trump administration’s effort to re-establish bilateral relations and assistance negociate an extremity to the warfare successful Ukraine.

Analysts accidental Rubio faces a hard task of rebuilding assurance with Southeast Asian countries unnerved by the US’s commercialized policies. Despite the economical fallout, helium is expected to effort and beforehand the US arsenic a much dependable alternate to China successful presumption of some information and semipermanent investment.

According to a draught communique obtained by Reuters, ASEAN overseas ministers volition explicit “concern implicit rising planetary commercialized tensions and increasing uncertainties successful the planetary economical landscape, peculiarly the unilateral actions relating to tariffs”.

Separately, a gathering involving apical diplomats from Southeast Asia, China, Russia and the United States volition condemn unit against civilians successful war-torn Myanmar, according to a draught connection seen Thursday by AFP.

ASEAN has led diplomatic efforts to extremity Myanmar’s many-sided civilian warfare sparked by a subject coup successful 2021.