A senator told Hegseth: "I suggest you do a little homework before you prepare for these types of negotiations."

SEOUL: South Korea pledged on Monday (Jan 20) a record amount of financing support for exporters to mitigate any negative impact from changes in US trade policies as Donald Trump was poised to be sworn in for his second presidency.

Most Asian markets rose Monday (Jan 20) following a rally on Wall Street and record-breaking day in Europe, with sentiment boosted by positive talks between Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping that soothed worries about the incoming US leader's second term.

Pete Hegseth, the former Fox News host and military veteran who is President-elect Donald Trump ... previous claims by Mr Trump’s first administration that ASEAN is the “geographical centre ...

PETE Hegseth - Donald Trump’s choice for defence secretary - was left red-faced at a Senate confirmation hearing when he could not answer basic questions regarding Asean, the South-east Asian grouping of 10 nations.

Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth, born in Bangkok to a Thai mother and an American father, posed the question to Pete Hegseth.

Can Anwar Ibrahim's diplomatic finesse help Malaysia steer Asean through the storm of rising trade tensions and regional crises? Malaysia takes the helm of Asean at a time of see-sawing threats and opportunities,

Some of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks struggled to answer basic questions during their Senate confirmation hearings this week. There was litany of obfuscation and waffling across the board,

During his confirmation hearing, Trump’s Defense Secretary nominee couldn’t name a single member of the Southeast Asian bloc.

Asean will be dragged into the escalating trade war, and its members should respond collectively. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Only a few days later, Hegseth was nominated by Donald Trump to serve as defense secretary, and he has since tried to backtrack on that statement. Presumably, Trump did not have a problem with his views when he announced the nomination, having been a fan of Hegseth’s for many years.