Singapore will facilitate U.S. engagement with ASEAN during its 2027 chairmanship of the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM) and support a proposed defense cooperation framework, linking Washington’s defense outreach to the bloc’s forum.
Singapore’s Ministry of Defence said the country would support U.S. development of the framework. U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth called for the United States and ASEAN to develop it at an informal meeting in Cebu on Oct. 28, according to the ministry. Singapore received the ADMM chairmanship from the Philippines at a ceremony on Oct. 29. EconoTimes previously covered Hegseth’s call for a U.S.-ASEAN defense framework.
ASEAN-U.S. dialogue relations began in 1977, making 2027 their 50th anniversary, according to the ASEAN Secretariat. The ADMM-Plus platform includes ASEAN’s 11 member states and eight partner countries, among them the United States and China. Singapore’s ministry has described the platform as open and inclusive.
The ministry’s Oct. 28 and Oct. 29 releases described the framework as still in development. They did not include a public draft or specify membership, funding, agreed commitments or an implementation schedule.
At the handover, Singapore Defense Minister Chan Chun Sing said the region needs a way to connect varied bilateral and plurilateral relationships, calling for an “overlapping network of bilateral and plurilateral ties” to advance shared interests.
Malaysia’s Defense Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin welcomed stronger U.S. engagement. Bernama, citing speech text made available to it, reported that Nordin said, “Our approach has never been about choosing sides.” He added that Malaysia’s approach aimed to preserve the peace and stability that had allowed the region to prosper.
Philstar.com reported that Hegseth highlighted maritime domain awareness, interoperability and closer naval cooperation as priorities. Singapore’s 2027 chairmanship is the next stated stage for work on the framework, according to the ministry.
