US secretary of state to visit Southeast Asia

By Umar Farooq

WASHINGTON (AA) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will be traveling to three Southeast Asian nations in early August to discuss bilateral ties and regional security issues, the State Department said Monday.

Pompeo will visit Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia from Aug. 1-5. In Singapore, he will also participate in ministerial meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

“[Pompeo] will engage his fellow foreign ministers on the region's most pressing security challenges, promote the rules-based order, reinforce our commitment to partnerships in the lower Mekong region and reaffirm U.S. dedication to ASEAN and our friends and allies in the region,” spokesperson Heather Nauert said in a press statement.

He will be traveling to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from Aug. 2-3, followed by visits to Singapore from Aug. 3-4 and Jakarta, Indonesia from Aug. 4-5.

Among his topics of discussion with leaders of the region will be “the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea, upholding the rule‎s-based order in the South China Sea and countering terrorism,” said Nauert.