Secretary of State Marco Rubio wants to bolster ties with Asia to counter Beijing’s power, but President Trump’s tariff threats have nations asking why they should align with Washington.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is wrapping his up his time at a Southeast Asian security conference with a meeting with his Chinese counterpart as tensions grow over issues from trade to security and China’s support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.

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.

Rubio said the U.S. tariffs imposed on many Asian countries, including the heaviest levies on China, were a top complaint at the summit.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday after his first meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that their talks were "positive and constructive."

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefly spoke to his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov at the start of a meeting of East Asia foreign ministers in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.