Hegseth proposes a new US-ASEAN defence cooperation framework at talks in Cebu

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Wednesday, 28 October, proposed that the United States and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations draw up a new framework for defence cooperation. He put the idea to the bloc's defence ministers at an informal US-ASEAN meeting in Cebu, in the central Philippines, according to AFP and Reuters reports.

AFP reported that Hegseth called the plan ambitious but offered no details of what it would contain. He described it as a practical framework to guide cooperation over the next several years, a period he said would be critically important. He added that Washington was ready to begin the work as Singapore takes over the chair of the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting-Plus in the coming year.

Reuters reported that Hegseth told the ministers the United States and its Southeast Asian partners were working on the framework, and that Washington was ready to cooperate with ASEAN countries on the basis of each country's own circumstances and priorities. He said the US stood ready to support its partners in the region where their shared interests overlapped and were clear.

Maritime awareness and naval training

Hegseth also called for stronger maritime domain awareness and more advanced cooperation among the region's navies, AFP reported. He argued that training, learning and planning together were concrete steps that build the confidence and competence needed to prevent conflict, rather than symbolic gestures. He acknowledged that the US and ASEAN members would not agree on everything and said they did not need to, and he praised what he described as the region's pragmatism and proud nationalism.

The proposal comes as the Philippines, a US treaty ally, faces continuing confrontations with China in disputed parts of the South China Sea. AFP noted that Manila said this month that the presence of Chinese military and coast guard vessels in contested areas nearly doubled in September. Earlier on the sidelines of the Cebu meetings, Hegseth met Japan's defence minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, and the two discussed denial defence along the First Island Chain and munitions production, the agency said.

A host pressing for unity

Philippine Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro opened the 20th ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting in Lapu-Lapu City on Wednesday morning with a call for stronger ASEAN unity, peaceful settlement of disputes and deeper practical defence cooperation, the Daily Tribune reported. He said differences in the South China Sea should be resolved by peaceful and legal means, and he pointed to progress on maritime security and on protecting critical undersea infrastructure while saying more work was needed.

Teodoro also urged ministers to speak frankly in their bilateral meetings and side engagements, observing that public statements are shaped by national policies and diplomatic considerations, according to the same report.

The 20th ADMM and the 13th ADMM-Plus, which adds eight dialogue partners including the United States, China, Japan and Australia, are being held in Lapu-Lapu City on 28 and 29 October, according to the Philippine News Agency. The ADMM-Plus was launched in 2010 to widen defence dialogue between ASEAN members and those partners.