If Mr Hegseth had only been unable to answer the second question, that might have been a more forgivable lapse of knowledge. The US is a partner to several international groupings, including ASEAN, the European Union, and the South American MERCOSUR. It would be beneficial, but not mandatory, for a defence secretary to keep up to date on their concerns and membership.
The more serious flub was Mr Hegseth’s inability to name a single ASEAN country, even countries with whom the US has a defence alliance that commits it to offer military assistance in a conflict, such as the Philippines and Thailand. Taken together, these two unanswered questions undermine previous claims by Mr Trump’s first administration that ASEAN is the “geographical centre of the Indo-Pacific” for the US.
Was this a gaffe on Mr Hegseth’s part? He was not chosen for the defence secretary position due to his knowledge of global affairs.
By Mr Hegseth’s own admission, his aim is to restore “warrior culture” at the Defence Department as a veteran with “dust on his boots”. During his opening statement, he did not mention China or the Indo-Pacific once, devoting his time to outlining his vision for a more “lethal” military. During his responses, he also said little about how Mr Trump could end the Russia-Ukraine war and manage security issues in the Middle East.
