KUALA LUMPUR — US President-Elect Donald Trump’s pick for defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, has thrown Asean into the spotlight with his lack of knowledge about the regional grouping.
During his confirmation hearing for his nomination before Democrat senators on Tuesday, Hegseth failed to answer basic questions on Asean’s member countries when asked by Illinois senator Tammy Duckworth.
Duckworth, picking up on Hegseth’s mention of the Indo-Pacific in his opening statement, asked him to name one Asean member and an agreement the US had with that country. She also asked him to state how many nations are in Asean.
“I couldn’t give u the exact number of nations but I know we have allies in South Korea, Japan and Australia…,” Hegseth replied in an attempt to pivot away from the Asean question.
“Mr Hegseth, none of those countries are in Asean,” Duckworth interjected.
“I suggest u do a little homework,” she added.
In remarks to CNN later, Duckworth said she was “flabbergasted” that the Secretary of Defence nominee was not able to answer her “simple question”.
For him to not know countries in Asean “speaks very loudly as to his lack of qualifications for the job”, she added to CNN.
Duckworth also took issue with Hegseth’s inability to state how how a secretary of defence would lead international negotiations with US allies.
“(These are) some very basic things anybody who wants to be secretary of defence should be able to answer,” she said.
The ex-US serviceman had also been asked by Duckworth to name high-level security arrangements the US was involved in, to which he said he could not do so “because I have not been in government, I’ve only served in the military”.
As Trump’s nominee, Hegesth needs to go through a senate hearing under a constitutional process for presidential nominees for high federal office.
Hegseth’s confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill yesterday reportedly lasted more than four hours during which he was grilled by senators.
Time Magazine online said among the toughest questions thrown at him were about his history of alleged sexual assault and excessive drinking, his objections against having women serve in the military, and his role in previous lobbying for the pardoning of US soldiers who committed war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Hegseth’s blunder on the Asean question has spawned headlines on Asean in US media, where the Southeast Asian bloc of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam would otherwise receive minimal coverage. Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea hold observer status within the group.
Malaysia holds chairmanship of the group for 2025. – January 15, 2025