[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.
                                 <all>