[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 772 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 772
To promote peaceful and collaborative resolution of the South China Sea
dispute.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 15, 2013
Mr. Faleomavaega (for himself, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen, and Mr. Chabot)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services,
for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case
for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of
the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To promote peaceful and collaborative resolution of the South China Sea
dispute.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The South China Sea contains vital commercial shipping
lanes and points of access between the Indian Ocean and Pacific
Ocean, providing a maritime lifeline to India, Singapore,
Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Taiwan,
Japan, and the Korean peninsula.
(2) China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, and
Brunei have disputed territorial claims over the Spratly
Islands, and China, Taiwan, and Vietnam have disputed
territorial claims over the Paracel Islands.
(3) In 2009, the Government of the People's Republic of
China submitted to the United Nations a map with the 9-dotted
line (also known as the Cow Tongue line) which raised questions
about whether China officially claims most of the 1,423,000
square miles of the South China Sea, more than any other nation
involved in these territorial disputes.
(4) In November 2012, China began to include a map of its
territorial claims inside its passports, despite the protests
of its neighbors, including Vietnam and the Philippines.
(5) Although not a party to these disputes, the United
States has a national economic and security interest in
maintaining peace, stability, and prosperity in East Asia and
Southeast Asia, and ensuring that no party threatens or uses
force or coercion unilaterally to assert maritime territorial
claims in East Asia and Southeast Asia, including in the South
China Sea, the East China Sea, or the Yellow Sea.
(6) The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has
promoted multilateral talks in disputed areas without settling
the issue of sovereignty.
(7) In 2002, ASEAN and China signed a Declaration on the
Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea.
(8) That declaration committed all parties to those
territorial disputes to ``reaffirm their respect for and
commitment to the freedom of navigation in and over flight
above the South China Sea as provided for by the universally
recognized principles of international law'', and to ``resolve
their territorial and jurisdictional disputes by peaceful
means, without resorting to the threat or use of force''.
(9) In July and November of 2010, the United States and our
Republic of Korea allies conducted joint naval exercises in the
Yellow Sea in international waters, as well as Republic of
Korea territorial waters, in the vicinity of the site of the
March 2010 North Korean attack on the South Korean military
vessel Cheonan, these exercises drew objections from Beijing
over foreign operations in the Yellow Sea.
(10) In September 2010, tensions were raised in the East
China Sea near the Senkaku (Diaoyutai) Islands, a territory
under the legal administration of Japan, when a Chinese fishing
vessel deliberately rammed Japanese Coast Guard patrol boats.
(11) On February 25, 2011, a frigate from China's navy
fired shots at 3 fishing boats from the Philippines.
(12) On March 2, 2011, the Government of the Philippines
reported that two patrol boats from China attempted to ram one
of its surveillance ships.
(13) On May 26, 2011, a maritime security vessel from China
cut the cables of an exploration ship from Vietnam, the Binh
Minh, in the South China Sea in waters near Cam Ranh Bay in the
exclusive economic zone of Vietnam.
(14) On May 31, 2011, three Chinese military vessels used
guns to threaten the crews of four Vietnamese fishing boats
while they were fishing in the waters of the Truong Sa
(Spratly) archipelago.
(15) On June 3, 2011, Vietnam's Foreign Ministry released a
statement that ``Vietnam is resolutely opposed to these acts by
China that seriously violated the sovereign and jurisdiction
rights of Viet Nam to its continental shelf and Exclusive
Economic Zone (EEZ)''.
(16) On June 9, 2011, three vessels from China, including
one fishing vessel and two maritime security vessels, ran into
and disabled the cables of another exploration ship from
Vietnam, the Viking 2, in the exclusive economic zone of
Vietnam.
(17) The actions of the Government of the People's Republic
of China in the South China Sea have also affected United
States military and maritime vessels and aircraft transiting
through international air space and waters, including the
collision of a Chinese fighter plane with a United States
surveillance plane in 2001, the harassment of the USNS
Victorious and 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.
(18) On July 23, 2010, former Secretary of State Hillary
Rodham Clinton stated at the ASEAN Regional Forum that the
United States, like every nation, has a national interest in
freedom of navigation, open access to Asia's maritime commons,
respect for international law, and unimpeded commerce in the
South China Sea.
(19) On June 23, 2011, the United States stated that it was
ready to provide hardware to modernize the military of the
Philippines.
(20) The United States and the Philippines conducted
combined naval exercises in the Sulu Sea, near the South China
Sea, from June 28 to July 8, 2011.
(21) On July 22, 2011, an Indian naval vessel, sailing
about 45 nautical miles off the coast of Vietnam, was warned by
a Chinese naval vessel that it was allegedly violating Chinese
territorial waters.
(22) In June 2012, China's cabinet, the State Council,
approved the establishment of the city of Sansha to oversee the
areas claimed by China in the South China Sea.
(23) In July 2012, Chinese military authorities announced
that they had established a corresponding Sansha garrison in
the new prefecture.
(24) On June 23, 2012, the China National Offshore Oil
Corporation invited bids for oil exploration in areas within
200 nautical miles of the continental shelf and within the
exclusive economic zone of Vietnam.
(25) Since July 2012, Chinese patrol ships have been
spotted near the disputed Senkaku (Diaoyutai) Islands in the
East China Sea.
(26) At the July 2012 ASEAN Regional Forum, former
Secretary of State Clinton said, ``We believe the nations of
the region should work collaboratively and diplomatically to
resolve disputes without coercion, without intimidation,
without threats, and without the use of force''.
(27) In November 2012, a regulation was approved by the
Hainan People's Congress authorizing Chinese maritime police to
``board, search'' and even ``take over'' ships determined to be
``illegally entering'' South China Sea waters unilaterally
claimed by Beijing.
(28) At a meeting with the Japanese Foreign Minister on
January 18, 2013, former Secretary of State Clinton stated that
``although the United States does not take a position on the
ultimate sovereignty of the (Senkaku) islands, we acknowledge
they are under the administration of Japan'', adding that ``We
oppose any unilateral actions that would seek to undermine
Japanese administration, and we urge all parties to take steps
to prevent incidents and manage disagreements through peaceful
means''.
(29) On August 3, 2012, a Department of State spokesperson
expressed concern over ``China's upgrading of the
administrative level of Sansha City and the establishment of a
new military garrison there'', expressed encouragement for
ASEAN and China ``to make meaningful progress toward finalizing
a comprehensive Code of Conduct'', and called upon claimants to
``explore every diplomatic or other peaceful avenue for
resolution, including the use of arbitration or other
international legal mechanisms as needed''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
It is the sense of Congress that, in light of the congressional
finding described above, the Secretary of State should--
(1) reaffirm the strong support of the United States for
the peaceful resolution of maritime territorial disputes in the
South China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, the East China Sea, and the
Yellow Sea and pledge continued efforts to facilitate a
collaborative, peaceful process to resolve these disputes;
(2) condemn the use of threats or force by naval, maritime
security, and fishing vessels from China in the South China Sea
and the East China Sea as well as the use of force by North
Korea in the Yellow Sea that would escalate tensions or result
in miscalculations;
(3) note that overt threats and gun boat diplomacy are not
constructive means for settling these outstanding maritime
disputes;
(4) welcome the diplomatic efforts of Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United States allies
and partners in Japan, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, the
Philippines, and India to amiably and fairly resolve these
outstanding disputes; and
(5) support 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,
the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait, and the Yellow Sea.
SEC. 3. REPORT ON THE CODE OF CONDUCT FOR THE SOUTH CHINA SEA.
(a) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report on the Code of
Conduct and other peaceful measures for resolution of the territorial
disputes in the South China Sea.
(b) Form.--The report required under subsection (a) shall be
submitted in unclassified form, but may contain a classified annex if
necessary.
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