Hegseth meets with Asean counterparts, praises 'successful' defence summit

Asean 2025

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth met with his Asean counterparts in Malaysia on Friday (Oct 31), praising the regional defence summit as “very successful” and reaffirming Washington’s commitment to Southeast Asia’s security and stability.  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

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00:00U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth met with his ASEAN counterparts in Kuala Lumpur on Friday,

00:08describing the Regional Defense Summit as very successful

00:12and reaffirming Washington's commitment to Southeast Asia's security and stability.

00:17Thank you for your leadership. Congratulations on a very successful leaders' summit.

00:22President Trump was here. A lot was accomplished, and ASEAN on full display.

00:27And thank you for putting together the ADMN Plus, all the defense ministers,

00:32and the opportunity to talk about our shared interests as a Pacific nation ourselves,

00:37Southeast Asia, just the importance of freedom of navigation, mutual respect,

00:42and we think America plays an important role in that.

00:45So thank you for having us and for being such a gracious host.

00:49In a series of face-to-face meetings on the sidelines of the summit on Friday,

00:53Hegseth held meetings with defense ministers from Malaysia, Thailand, and Cambodia,

00:58as well as the ASEAN Secretary-General Cao Kim Howern.

01:02The discussions focused on strengthening regional security cooperation amid growing geopolitical competition,

01:09as Washington continues its efforts to reinforce its presence in Southeast Asia

01:14and counter China's expanding influence.

01:17At the ASEAN Leaders and Dialogue Partners Summit last Sunday,

01:21U.S. President Donald Trump told ASEAN leaders that the United States stood 100% with them

01:28and intended to remain a strong and enduring partner of the region.

01:33To deepen our friendship and goodwill, and to deepen our ties.

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