[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 217 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 217

    Calling for a peaceful and multilateral resolution to maritime 
                territorial disputes in Southeast Asia.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 27, 2011

   Mr. Webb (for himself, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Lieberman, and Mr. Inouye) 
 submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Calling for a peaceful and multilateral resolution to maritime 
                territorial disputes in Southeast Asia.

Whereas, on June 9, 2011, 3 vessels from China, including 1 fishing vessel and 2 
        maritime security vessels, ran into and disabled the cables of an 
        exploration ship from Vietnam, the VIKING 2;
Whereas that use of force occurred within 200 nautical miles of Vietnam, an area 
        recognized as its Exclusive Economic Zone;
Whereas, on May 26, 2011, a maritime security vessel from China cut the cables 
        of another exploration ship from Vietnam, the BINH MINH, in the South 
        China Sea in waters near Cam Ranh Bay;
Whereas, in March 2011, the Government of the Philippines reported that patrol 
        boats from China attempted to ram 1 of its surveillance ships;
Whereas those incidents occurred within disputed maritime territories of the 
        South China Sea, including the Spratly Islands, composed of 21 islands 
        and atolls, 50 submerged land atolls, and 28 partly submerged reefs over 
        an area of 340,000 square miles, and the Paracel Islands, a smaller 
        group of islands located south of China's Hainan Island;
Whereas China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Brunei have 
        disputed territorial claims over the Spratly Islands, and China and 
        Vietnam have a disputed claim over the Paracel Islands;
Whereas the Government of China claims most of the 648,000 square miles of the 
        South China Sea, more than any other nation involved in those 
        territorial disputes;
Whereas, in 2002, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China signed a 
        declaration on the code of conduct of parties in the South China Sea;
Whereas that declaration committed all parties to those territorial disputes to 
        ``reaffirm their respect for and commitment to the freedom of navigation 
        in and overflight above the South China Sea'' and to ``resolve their 
        territorial and jurisdictional disputes by peaceful means, without 
        resorting to the threat or use of force'';
Whereas the South China Sea contains vital commercial shipping lines and points 
        of access between the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean;
Whereas, although not a party to these disputes, the United States has a 
        national economic and a security interest in ensuring that no party uses 
        force unilaterally to assert maritime territorial claims in East Asia;
Whereas, in September 2010, the Government of China also deliberately provoked a 
        controversy within the waters of the Senkaku Islands, territory under 
        the legal administration of Japan in the East China Sea;
Whereas the actions of the Government of China in the South China Sea have also 
        affected United States military and maritime vessels transiting through 
        international air space and waters, including the collision of a fighter 
        plane of the Government of China with a United States surveillance plane 
        in 2001, the harassment of the USNS IMPECCABLE in March 2009, and the 
        collision of a Chinese submarine with the sonar cable of the USS JOHN 
        MCCAIN in June 2009;
Whereas, like every nation, the United States has a national interest in freedom 
        of navigation and open access to the maritime commons of Asia;
Whereas the Government of the United States expressed support for the 
        declaration by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and China in 
        2002 on the code of conduct of parties in the South China Sea, and 
        supports a collaborative diplomatic process by all claimants for 
        resolving the various territorial disputes without coercion;
Whereas the United States has a national interest in freedom of navigation and 
        in unimpeded economic development and commerce;
Whereas, on October 11, 2010, Secretary Gates maintained ``The United States has 
        always exercised our rights and supported the rights of others to 
        transit through, and operate in, international waters.'';
Whereas, on June 3, 2011, at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Secretary 
        Gates stated that ``[m]aritime security remains an issue of particular 
        importance for the region, with questions about territorial claims and 
        the appropriate use of the maritime domain presenting on-going 
        challenges to regional stability and prosperity'';
Whereas, on June 4, 2011, at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Liang Guanglie, the 
        Defense Minister from China, said, ``China is committed to maintaining 
        peace and stability in the South China Sea.'';
Whereas, on June 11, 2011, the Government of Vietnam held a live-fire military 
        exercise on the uninhabited island of Hon Ong, 25 miles off the coast of 
        Vietnam in the South China Sea; and
Whereas, on June 11, 2011, Hong Lei, the Foreign Ministry spokesman of China, 
        stated, ``[China] will not resort to force or the threat of force'' to 
        resolve the territorial dispute: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) reaffirms the strong support of the United States for 
        the peaceful resolution of maritime territorial disputes in the 
        South China Sea, and pledges continued efforts to facilitate a 
        multilateral, peaceful process to resolve these disputes;
            (2) deplores the use of force by naval and maritime 
        security vessels from China in the South China Sea;
            (3) calls on all parties to the territorial dispute to 
        refrain from threatening force or using force to assert 
        territorial claims; and
            (4) supports the continuation of operations by the United 
        States Armed Forces in support of freedom of navigation rights 
        in international waters and air space in the South China Sea.
                                 <all>