Top military chiefs have met to discuss a number of existential threats facing Asia and the West, as US President Donald Trump piles pressure on his allies. Welcome to our live coverage of US politics. Donald Trump has chosen an eccentric former Sydney councillor to represent the United States as its ambassador to Malaysia.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, a senior U.S. State Department official said.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio plans to meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Thursday, just days after President Donald Trump expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin for not engaging in peace talks with Ukraine,

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart will meet Thursday in Malaysia for what could be a testy conversation as tensions

Rubio's first visit to Asia as secretary of state also comes as US President Donald Trump ramps up his trade war, threatening more than 20 countries with punitive tariffs.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Russian counterpart will meet Thursday in Malaysia for what could be a testy conversation as tensions

The meeting is set to take place shortly after the U.S. resumed some shipments of defensive weapons to Kyiv following a pause that was cheered in Moscow.

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the main focus of the meeting will be on sanctions policy and the adoption of the next package of US sanctions shortly.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio began a meeting with his Chinese counterpart at a summit in Malaysia on Friday, the first in-person session between the two and a possible prelude to a presidential summit.