SINGAPORE, 31 May – United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has reaffirmed Washington’s enduring commitment to defence cooperation with Southeast Asian nations through the ASEAN platform, following a high-level meeting with regional defence ministers.
The gathering brought together defence leaders from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Timor-Leste. Discussions focused on strengthening defence partnerships and enhancing regional security capabilities in the face of evolving threats.
In an official statement released by the US Department of Defense, Hegseth voiced strong support for ASEAN’s central role in regional security and praised the progress made in both bilateral and multilateral defence engagements between the United States and Southeast Asian partners. He also highlighted the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM)-Plus as a crucial forum for promoting multilateral cooperation to address shared security concerns.
“The United States stands firmly with ASEAN in pursuing peace through strength and in fostering practical, common-sense cooperation,” Hegseth said.
He underscored President Donald Trump’s long-standing vision for a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific”, first introduced in 2017, and stressed its continued relevance in responding to today’s strategic challenges.
As part of ongoing defence cooperation, Hegseth announced that the United States will co-chair the upcoming ASEAN–US Maritime Exercise and the ADMM-Plus Experts’ Working Group on Military Medicine with Indonesia later this year.
The meeting, which took place on 30 May in Singapore, also served as a platform for Hegseth to express serious concerns over coercive actions by China against South China Sea claimant states. He called on Southeast Asian countries to take greater responsibility in safeguarding peace and regional stability.
“As the United States re-establishes deterrence in the Indo-Pacific, we stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies and partners in defending their sovereign rights against any form of threat,” he added.
The gathering reaffirmed growing momentum in US–Southeast Asia defence relations, at a time when regional security dynamics continue to shift in complexity and scale.
– airtimes.my
