IT’S not exactly the best start, but there is still time for Pete Hegseth, President Donald Trump’s choice for Defence Secretary, to learn and catch up.
The United States army veteran and popular conservative television personality found himself unable to state the number of Asean member countries.
He was grilled by Senator Tammy Duckworth during a recent Senate confirmation hearing regarding his appointment.
Duckworth put Hegseth on the hot seat, questioning whether he had the “breadth and depth of knowledge” needed to lead international negotiations.
Hegseth was asked if he could name one member of Asean, describe what type of agreement the US had with the countries, and how many nations were in the bloc.
The fumbling Hegseth reportedly said he couldn’t tell Duckworth the exact number of Asean nations but added, “I know we have allies in South Korea and Japan in AUKUS (a pact between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the US) with Australia.”
”None of those three countries are in Asean. I suggest you do a little homework,” responded Duckworth, a Democrat from Illinois, as reported by AP.
It is no surprise that a top member of the Trump administration, like Hegseth, faces concerns, as there have been worries that the boss himself may not be keen on Southeast Asia.
Asean is made up of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. An 11th country, East Timor, is set to join soon.
Malaysia is the new chairman of Asean from Jan 1 and over 300 meetings, at various levels, have been scheduled.
Set up in 1967, Asean’s goal is to promote regional economic and security cooperation, leveraging a combined population of more than 670 million people with a gross domestic product of more than USD3tril.
According to news reports, Duckworth’s question came after Hegseth noted the strategic importance of the Indo-Pacific, a region where China’s influence has been rapidly growing.
The multiple maritime claims over the South China Sea, an important waterway, have also been in the spotlight.
However, despite these territorial disputes, most Asean members maintain close relations with China, which remains a key trading partner. It helps that China is geographically closer to Asean than the US.
China shares the same time zone with Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei, for example, fostering strong people-to-people ties.
Top Chinese officials are also expected to attend the upcoming Asean meetings.
Attention will also be on the Asean, Council of Gulf Countries and China – the first such trilateral meeting.
For the US, it has treaty pacts with Thailand and the Philippines, with Washington being sought to harness Asean’s regional influence and its emphasis on ensuring the region remains a zone of neutrality.
Certainly, given the complexities of geopolitics and superpower rivalries, Asean does not want any one major power dominating the region.
Hegseth will be required to attend meetings of Asean defence ministers, while Marco Rubio, as Secretary of State, will meet the Asean foreign ministers.
The annual Asean summit has been attended by both Biden and Trump previously. Asean also conducts separate meetings with the leaders of China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, India, and New Zealand, as well as the East Asia Summit, which includes these six plus Russia and the US.
Many analysts share the perception that Asean may not be Trump’s priority.
Hoang Thi Ha and William Choong wrote that during Trump’s first term, his attendance “appeared driven more by specific circumstances than dedicated interest in the region itself, as seen under Obama, or the strategic focus on Southeast Asia’s role in US-China competition under Biden.”
”Trump 2.0 will be preoccupied with the challenge of delivering his campaign promises to swiftly end the Russia-Ukraine war and the conflict in the Middle East.
”Given Trump’s personal disinterest in the region as well as his scepticism towards multilateralism, the region may face another four years of Trump’s absence at Asean summits and minimal direct engagement with Southeast Asian leaders.”
During his first term, Trump attended only the 2017 Asean summit meetings, failed to send a cabinet-level official to subsequent summits in 2019 and 2020, and failed to appoint US ambassadors to Asean and Singapore.
But Trump is a businessman and strategist, too. He would surely see that Asean is a region of over 670 million people with a GDP of over USD3tril.
Asean’s economy is projected to grow by over 5% per year to become the world’s fourth-largest economy by 2030, as well as the US’ fourth-largest export market in the world.
The bloc contains some of the fastest-growing economies in the world, with Asean playing an integral role in East Asian regionalism.
That should be enough reason for Trump and his officials to pay more attention to Asean.
