By Collins Chong Yew Keat

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: In Kuala Lumpur this week, Malaysia and ASEAN have a historic opportunity to ensure that the U.S. remains intertwined with our security and economic needs. 

U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s visit and President Donald Trump’s renewed and historic Indo-Pacific pivot and assurance, give the most compelling and strongest messaging yet that U.S. remains an Indo-Pacific nation, more determined than ever to ensure a free and open region and one that is based on rule of law, in safeguarding the sanctity of the rules based order and the international law.

This strongest manoeuvre by Washington must now be seized upon by Malaysia and the region who have been at wits end trying to stand up to forces that have undermined the rules based order, and this opening presents the most urgent and systemic chance for the region to embrace the new gesture shown by Washington.

Hegseth has reiterated the U.S.’ enduring commitment to working with ASEAN, standing ready to work with any country willing to step up and preserve the global peace. Now the ball is in ASEAN’s court, we have to welcome this pledge and reinforce our collective defence through Trump’s "Peace through Strength". 

Only U.S. Provides Credible Security

No other power has both the legacy and historical trust, and most importantly, the needed military might and naval presence to ensure peace and stability here. 

China’s navy and missiles are growing rapidly with vast naval tonnage and nuclear forces being added, while international law at sea is violated, which threaten the rules-based order and peace in this region.

As Hegseth warned, “any unilateral attempt to change the status quo in the South China Sea by force or coercion is unacceptable”.  The only way to deter such aggression is credible and dependable American power on the spot. 

The U.S. alone provides a network of alliances, including the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue which includes Japan, U.S., Australia, India and other allies including the spillover impact of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) which provide stabilising assurances and counterweight. 

No European army and no unified Asian force, comes close. Europe lacks the hard power to be relevant or to match the needed deterrence in Asia. Only U.S. nuclear aircraft carriers, stealth fighters and Space Force rockets project a true global reach and this unrivalled might is elevated further by Trump.

He poured over US$1 trillion into the military (a 13 percent increase in defense spending) to build a “Golden Dome” of new carriers, destroyers, submarines and hypersonic weapons which constitute  the best military equipment in the world.

This unmatched firepower is precisely what keeps the peace, through the much revered "Peace Through Strength" mantra. 

Unlike Beijing, U.S. has no territorial ambitions in ASEAN waters, it seeks only partnership and stability and the joint commitment to keep peace and deter wars. 

The Cost of ASEAN’s Hedging Strategy

For years, Malaysia and ASEAN have stuck strictly to the strategy of hedging, neutrality and balancing.  This outdated approach is no longer sufficient, it is obsolete and risky. Now is the time to be realistic. China is already testing ASEAN’s resolve, and half-measures will not deter it.

As Hegseth bluntly put it, “there’s no reason to sugarcoat” the reality that China’s military buildup poses an imminent threat, which affects regional peace. Hedging only delays a reckoning: it neither deters aggression nor buys insurance when a crisis hits. 

Decades of hedging or neutrality have not resulted in the desired deterrence of aggressions or violations of the law, and have in fact worsened arms races in the region with a spiralling security dilemma.

It’s time to end “false balance” and recognise and accept the reality that credible deterrence comes from strength – and that only U.S. can supply that strength. 

ASEAN’s Military Gap: No Deterrent Power Without the U.S. 

By every measure, ASEAN’s defence remains a fraction of the needed power measure, compared to the task. Not a single Southeast Asian military ranks among the world’s top twenty by spending. 

Even combined, ASEAN’s budgets are paltry next to great powers. These stark numbers spell danger if no credible measures are taken to bolster defence and deterrent measures.  

In the potentiality of the fallout of the Taiwan crisis or flashpoint in the South China Sea, ASEAN would be sitting ducks, unless backed by U.S. power. No ASEAN “self-reliant” defence strategy exists yet.

Other powers tried to fill the gap by trying to replace the U.S. as the conventional power presence here in this region but failed, and will never succeed. Europe lacks the hard power in Asia and is more concerned on safeguarding its own security there from the onslaught of Russia. 

Japan and Korea have advanced troops but cannot project power far from home without the U.S., while defence overtures are mainly confined to non-lethal equipment and limited by constitutional limit.

India is increasingly courting the region with its Act East Policy but lacks the reach and might to project stable and sturdy deterrence. Thus only the U.S. can guarantee the rules-based order here.

U.S. Guarantees Maritime and Trade Security 

Beyond weapons, ASEAN’s future rests on secure trade and resources, where the export oriented model and the dependence on maritime security remains the centrepiece of the economic future of the region. This encapsulates yet another reason to align with the U.S. 

A whopping 60 percent of global seaborne trade flows through Asia, and roughly one-third of all world shipping traverses the South China Sea. Any disruption to these will see ASEAN economies suffer instantly.

The U.S. Seventh Fleet and U.S. partnerships keep these sea lanes open for commerce, where a stable Indo-Pacific under U.S. protection ensures Malaysia’s ports and exports remain safe.

Most importantly, they provide complete deterrence to attempts to violate international law, and protect Malaysia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. 

Trump’s Military Makeover of U.S.

Trump further widened the power gap of the U.S., already unmatched the world over. During his first term, he created the Space Force and modernised the fleet, while greatly refurbishing the nuclear arsenal and readiness. Now, over US$1 trillion is being spent next year, the first time ever. 

He has strategically crafted the creation of a Golden Dome, as a defence against missiles and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICMBs), and modernised a new whole warfare capacity  consisting of new carriers, destroyers and submarines.

Changing the nomenclature from "Department of Defense" to "Department of War" signifies this. He has pledged to build the New 6th-generation fighters (F-47) and stealth bombers (B-21) are on the way, alongside a flood of hypersonic missiles and unmanned systems. 

The Space Force is also delivering, where SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets now extend U.S. reach into orbit. 

The new “Golden Fleet” proposed by Trump for the future-naval-force initiative marks another milestone in ensuring the naval power dominance is still maintained. 

It envisions a new generation of warships, with large surface combatants, hypersonic-missile-capable vessels and unmanned/automated systems - designed to counter China.  

With Trump’s efforts, the U.S. has more Nuclear Weapons than any other country. 

All these however, do not mean that the U.S. favours wars or conflicts as the first resort. This is the main projection of "Peace through Strength", where deterrence is at its maximum to deter that, and this power is for peace.

This is reflected in Trump’s consistent image and efforts as a peacemaker, with deterring and solving eight conflicts this year, barely a year into his presidency. 

As Hegseth put it, the goal is to make war too costly and peace the only option, which is a smart and brilliant strategy where only the U.S. can fully enforce it.

This hard-power renaissance is exactly the shield ASEAN needs.

For Malaysian and ASEAN policymakers, the message couldn’t be clearer: the future of the Indo-Pacific security order lies on the strength of U.S. naval and military power. 

ASEAN must stop hedging and come in from the cold, and now is the time to embrace Trump’s offer of security and a fair relationship. 

Doing so will not only deter China, but further deepen the ties of trade and technology that form the future of the region. 

Hegseth’s visit and Trump’s historic visit should be a clarion call and welcomed with open arms – to reinforce the Malaysia-U.S. defense partnership and, by extension, the entire ASEAN-U.S. alliance.

In this age of great-power competition, only the United States provides the credible and capable guarantee that Malaysia and the region yearn for.

Let us seize this new opening, stand shoulder-to-shoulder with U.S., and together ensure a peaceful, rules-based Indo-Pacific for generations to come.

Welcome to Malaysia, Mr Secretary.

*Collins Chong Yew Keat is a foreign affairs and strategy analyst and author in University of Malaya.*