Question on ASEAN stumped Hegseth at Senate hearing. What is it and why is it important?
apnews.com
In a heated Senate confirmation hearing for Pete Hegseth, Sen. Tammy Duckworth grilled the proposed defense secretary over the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, asking him if he could name one member and how many countries were in the bloc.
  • @[email protected]English
    6•17 hours ago

    Honestly if someone didn’t call this out and say “So you feel all positions should be a meritocracy… Do you think there may be candidates with more merit than you have in the aspects of geopolitics”.

  • @jordanlundM
    15•1 day ago

    Who they are:

    “ASEAN is made up of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. An 11th country, East Timor, is set to join soon.”

    Why the Secretary of Defense should know who they are:

    “ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei are locked in maritime disputes with China over its claims of sovereignty over virtually all of the South China Sea, one of the world’s most crucial waterways for shipping. Indonesia has also expressed concern about what it sees as Beijing’s encroachment on its exclusive economic zone.”