Pete Hegseth, US President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for defense secretary, couldn’t name a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) when asked by Democrat Sen. Tammy Duckworth to identify a member of the regional grouping that has an agreement with the United States, during a Jan. 14 hearing. Hegseth mentioned South Korea, Japan and Australia.
This needs context
STATEMENT
In his opening statement, Hegseth vowed that if confirmed as defense secretary, he will work with U.S. allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific to deter China’s aggression in the region.
Duckworth, an Iraq war veteran who sits as member of the Armed Services Committee, asked Hegseth to mention at least one ASEAN member, an agreement that it has with the U.S., and the number of ASEAN members. Hegseth replied:
“I couldn’t tell you the exact amount of nations in that but I know we have allies in South Korea and Japan and in AUKUS (Australia-United Kingdom-U.S.) with Australia, trying to work with submarines with them…”
Source: Forbes Breaking News, ‘How Many Nations Are In ASEAN?’: Tammy Duckworth Stumps Pete Hegseth During Confirmation Hearing, Jan. 15, 2025, watch from 1:41 to 1:51
The senator then pointed out that none of those countries are among the 10 members of ASEAN and recommended that the nominee “do a little homework” on the matter. Earlier in the hearing, Duckworth said that a U.S. defense secretary has to have a “breadth and depth of knowledge” and expressed her concern that Hegseth has “neither.”
FACT
Indeed, South Korea, Japan and Australia are U.S. allies in the Asia-Pacific region, with South Korea being home to the U.S.’ largest army base installation. However, none of these countries are members of ASEAN. ASEAN has 10 member-states, namely: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Timor-Leste was granted observer status in ASEAN in 2022. Its full membership as the 11th member-state is pending, depending on its fulfillment of the roadmap for its full membership to the regional grouping.
ASEAN is an intergovernmental alliance for cooperation in the “economic, social, cultural, technical, educational and other fields” and for the promotion of peace and stability in the region.
BACKSTORY
Hegseth is a combat veteran previously deployed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2014, he joined as a contributor of FOX News and became a co-host of “FOX & Friends Weekend” in 2017. Issues were raised against Hegseth in the past months, such as financial mismanagement and sexual misconduct. The Trump-nominee had paid off a woman who had accused him of sexual assault, according to a report by The Washington Post in November 2024.
