January 21, 2025

Duckworth Receives Commitment from UN Ambassador Nominee Stefanik to Strengthen Relations with ASEAN, Indo-Pacific Partners

 

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, combat Veteran and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC)—received a commitment from U.S. Representative Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21), President Trump’s nominee to serve as United States Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), to use her role in the UN to strengthen relations between the United States and Thailand as well as other allies in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in order to help address the crisis in Myanmar, which has continued to escalate and has led to the displacement of millions. This comes after Secretary of Defense nominee Pete Hegseth could not correctly name a single nation that is a part of ASEAN when Duckworth questioned him at his confirmation hearing, demonstrating that Mr. Hegseth significantly lacks the experience or knowledge that a serious Secretary of Defense nominee should have. Duckworth’s full remarks can be found on the Senator’s YouTube.

“The U.S. must be present and engaged in all parts of the United Nations—because when we are absent, our adversaries like the PRC are all too willing to fill in the gaps in an effort to undermine our country,” said Senator Duckworth. “I appreciated Congresswoman Stefanik’s commitment to use her role to strengthen U.S. relationships with Thailand and other longstanding ASEAN allies as we work to address the crisis in Myanmar that has continued to escalate and led to the displacement of millions. I’m encouraged that Congresswoman Stefanik and I can find common ground on this issue, supporting disability rights around the globe and more.”

Duckworth is a proven leader when it comes to strengthening our relations with Indo-Pacific nations and improving security in the region—which she has done while successfully securing significant international investments in Illinois. Last year, Duckworth made an official visit to Laos and Vietnam to reinforce America’s commitment to our partners in ASEAN, strengthening U.S.-ASEAN economic ties and building on the foundations of the U.S.-Laos relationship. She also led a bipartisan U.S. Senate delegation to Taiwan to underscore and reaffirm our nation’s strong bipartisan support for the people of Taiwan. In 2023, Duckworth visited the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia to meet with government and business leaders and discuss opportunities that would increase cooperation in areas of mutual interest, such as economic investments, regional stability and national security. Additionally, Duckworth led an official visit to Japan and Indonesia as part of her continuing efforts to strengthen ties and reinforce support between allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region and the United States.

In the FY2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Duckworth secured several provisions to enhance strategic partnerships and advance U.S. priorities in the Indo-Pacific, including a provision to improve medical readiness for our servicemembers in the Indo-Pacific. This provision is a modified version of Duckworth’s Access to Care for Overseas Troops Act, which would help enhance our medical capabilities overseas by enabling our military personnel to access accredited foreign military medical facilities and create a medical readiness strategy in the Indo-Pacific. Additionally, a Duckworth-led provision in this year’s NDAA would reinforce the U.S.-Vietnam Relationship by extending the duration of the Vietnam Wartime Accounting Initiative and clarifying the purpose of the cooperative program to expand its activities.

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