Tammy Duckworth asked the nominee for factual details about the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including its membership and the U.S.'s relationship with member countries. Hegseth responded that he was unable to name the exact members of ASEAN,

A senator told Hegseth: "I suggest you do a little homework before you prepare for these types of negotiations."

Both Biden and Donald Trump have participated. Despite some members’ territorial conflicts with China, many in the bloc have close relations with Beijing as well, and top-level Chinese officials also attend ASEAN meetings. The U.S. in 2022 was elevated ...

While Hegseth fumbled in responding to questions from Sen. Tammy Duckworth, who was born in Bangkok and injured in combat while serving in the U.S. military, regional leaders have expressed optimism about U.S. engagement under Trump’s leadership.

During his confirmation hearing, Trump’s Defense Secretary nominee couldn’t name a single member of the Southeast Asian bloc.

Last week's Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing for Senator Marco Rubio was very insightful, especially regarding comments related to US-Asean relations. Mr Rubio demonstrated knowledge about Asean and the need for flexibility in engaging with the countries in the region.

Only a few days later, Hegseth was nominated by Donald Trump to serve as defense secretary, and he has since tried to backtrack on that statement. Presumably, Trump did not have a problem with his views when he announced the nomination, having been a fan of Hegseth’s for many years.

DONALD Trump has been pretty busy since his inauguration as President of the United States for the second time. Read more at The Business Times.

Malaysia, this year's ASEAN chair, said Sunday ahead of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House t

Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary, was questioned about ASEAN during a heated Senate confirmation and struggled with his response.

Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth, born in Bangkok to a Thai mother and an American father, posed the question to Pete Hegseth.

Hegseth responded at the heated Senate confirmation hearing that he couldn’t tell Duckworth the exact number of ASEAN nations, but that “I know we have allies in South Korea and Japan in AUKUS (a pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and the U.S.) with Australia.”