US Defence Secretary Urges Ambitious Defence Cooperation with ASEAN
Istanbul (ANTARA) – US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday (28 October) called for the establishment of an “ambitious” defence cooperation framework with the 11-member ASEAN bloc.
Addressing ASEAN defence ministers, Hegseth described next year’s 50th anniversary of US–ASEAN relations as an “important milestone”.
“To recognise this milestone, we propose working together to develop a US–ASEAN defence cooperation framework, a practical framework that will guide our cooperation over the next few years,” Hegseth said.
He stressed what he called “a very critical few years ahead” while speaking at a joint meeting with ASEAN defence ministers in Cebu City, the Philippines, which currently holds the ASEAN chairmanship.
“Our approach can be described as strong, calm and clear. Strong enough to deter coercion and aggression, calm enough to avoid unnecessary escalation or public drama, and allowing our actions to speak for themselves,” Hegseth said.
Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun was absent from this year’s ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus). Beijing instead assigned the Chinese Embassy’s defence attaché in Manila to represent China at the meeting.
“We will not always agree on everything, nor do we need to,” Hegseth told his ASEAN counterparts.
“But agreement on basic principles is enough to support practical cooperation in areas where our shared interests overlap and are clear,” he added.
Hegseth said the United States would work with Singapore, which will hold the ASEAN chairmanship next year, to develop the defence cooperation framework.
“As we look to the future in this region, I hope we can be much more ambitious,” he added.
The meetings in Cebu City included the 20th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) and the 13th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus), attended by defence ministers from the United States, China, South Korea, Japan, Australia and India, although China did not send its defence minister this year.