During a heated Senate confirmation hearing, Senator Tammy Duckworth questioned Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for defense secretary, about his familiarity with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). Hegseth's inability to answer basic questions about Asean highlighted the importance of the regional bloc in US foreign policy.
BANGKOK -- Senator Tammy Duckworth, grilling President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for defense secretary over whether he had the “breadth and depth of knowledge” needed to lead international negotiations, asked Pete Hegseth if he could name one member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations , describe what type of agreement the US had with the countries, and how many nations were in the bloc.
”President Joe Biden said Asean was “at the heart of my administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy” and hosted a meeting of Asean leaders in Washington in 2022.Asean also holds top-level meetings annually, this year in Malaysia, which holds the rotating chair of the group.Its defense meetings are typically attended by the US defense secretary, and its foreign minister meetings by the US secretary of state.
ASEAN US Politics Defense Secretary Senate Confirmation Indo-Pacific
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