Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim warned Wednesday that global trade is being weaponized as Southeast Asia’s foreign ministers opened an annual meeting while facing the looming threat of U.S. trade tariffs.

Southeast Asian nations will express “concern” over “counterproductive” US tariffs, according to a draft statement shared with AFP on Tuesday, after Donald Trump threatened more than a dozen countries with higher levies.

When US President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday to extend a pause on "reciprocal" tariffs until August 1, it offered little comfort to China. Instead, Beijing's policymakers may feel increasingly cornered,