[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 406 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 406

  Recognizing that for 50 years, the Association of South East Asian 
Nations (ASEAN) and its ten members, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, 
 Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, 
 have worked with the United States toward stability, prosperity, and 
 peace in Southeast Asia, and expressing the sense of the Senate that 
   the United States will continue to remain a strong, reliable, and 
                  active partner in the ASEAN region.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            November 5, 2019

  Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Risch, Mr. Markey, and Mr. Gardner) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                          on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Recognizing that for 50 years, the Association of South East Asian 
Nations (ASEAN) and its ten members, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, 
 Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, 
 have worked with the United States toward stability, prosperity, and 
 peace in Southeast Asia, and expressing the sense of the Senate that 
   the United States will continue to remain a strong, reliable, and 
                  active partner in the ASEAN region.

Whereas the 10 members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) 
        represent a variety of different cultures and beliefs as well as vibrant 
        economies giving rise to a flourishing middle class;
Whereas an estimated 70,000,000 United States citizens identify with an 
        ethnicity represented in ASEAN, including 4,000,000 Filipinos and 
        1,900,000 Vietnamese;
Whereas the United States and ASEAN have been cooperating to advance our mutual 
        interests for 40 years, having first established dialogue relations on 
        September 10, 1977, with the issuing of the 1977 Joint Communique of the 
        First ASEAN-United States Dialogue and the United States acceding to the 
        Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) at the ASEAN 
        Post Ministerial Conference Session with the United States in Thailand 
        on July 22, 2009;
Whereas the United States was the first non-ASEAN country to appoint an 
        ambassador to ASEAN on April 29, 2008, and the first non-member to 
        establish a permanent mission to ASEAN in 2010;
Whereas cooperation between the United States Government and the governments and 
        people of the ASEAN nations can help realize their common goals of a 
        peaceful, prosperous, and open Indo-Pacific rooted in a rule-based order 
        that promotes security, opportunity, and dignity to all peoples;
Whereas, in 2019, ASEAN's 10 members represent the sixth largest economy in the 
        world and constitute the United States fourth-largest export market, 
        with total exports to ASEAN countries reaching $116,200,000,000, 
        representing the number one destination for United States investment in 
        the Indo-Pacific with $329,000,000,000 in cumulative foreign direct 
        investment;
Whereas ASEAN nations host critical global sea lanes located at the heart of the 
        world's most dynamic economic regions, with $5,300,000,000,000 of global 
        trade and more than half of the world's total shipped tonnage transiting 
        through ASEAN waters each year;
Whereas the ultimate goal of the ASEAN Economic Community is to create one of 
        the world's largest single market economies and facilitate the free 
        movement of goods, services, and professionals;
Whereas the United States-ASEAN Single Window custom facilitation system 
        expedites intra-ASEAN trade and enhances the ability of United States 
        businesses to operate in the region;
Whereas the United States-ASEAN Business Alliance for Competitive, Small, and 
        Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) has trained more than 4,600 small-to-
        medium size enterprises, with nearly half of the participants being 
        women entrepreneurs;
Whereas the Lower Mekong Initiative, established on July 23, 2009, promotes 
        sustainable economic development in mainland Southeast Asia and fosters 
        regional cooperation, integration, and capacity building;
Whereas the United States remains committed to working with ASEAN to improve the 
        protection of human rights and fundamental dignity of the people of 
        ASEAN countries, a key ingredient to maintaining stability, promoting 
        economic growth, and advancing good governance;
Whereas the United States opposes all claims in the maritime domain that 
        infringe on the rights, freedoms, and lawful use of the sea that belongs 
        to all nations, and has a national interest in freedom of navigation and 
        overflight, open access to Asia's maritime commons, and respect for 
        international law in the South China Sea;
Whereas the United States does not take sides on the competing territorial 
        disputes, but nevertheless believes claimants should pursue territorial 
        claims without resort to coercion, and through collaborative diplomacy, 
        including international arbitration, and in accordance with 
        international law and institutions;
Whereas the United States supports the Philippines' decision to use arbitration 
        under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), done 
        at Montego Bay December 10, 1982, to peacefully and lawfully address 
        competing territorial claims;
Whereas the United States supports efforts by ASEAN and the People's Republic of 
        China to develop an effective Code of Conduct (COC), opposes efforts by 
        any nation to use the COC as a vehicle to limit presence in or lawful 
        use of the South China Sea, encourages claimants not to undertake new or 
        unilateral attempts to change the status quo since the signing of the 
        2002 Declaration of Conduct, including reclamation activities or 
        administrative measures or controls in disputed areas in the South China 
        Sea, and encourages ASEAN countries to adopt a unified position in 
        negotiating the COC;
Whereas the ASEAN-United States Maritime Exercise (AUXM), which ran from 
        September 2, 2019, until September 6, 2019, built greater maritime 
        security on the strength of ASEAN, the strength of our navy-to-navy 
        bonds, and the strength of our shared belief in a free and open Indo-
        Pacific; and
Whereas changes in climatic conditions in the ASEAN region over the past four 
        decades have resulted in major loss and damage, with a disproportionate 
        impact on developing countries, and the United States will pursue 
        initiatives that are consistent with sustainable development, including 
        the achievement of food security and poverty alleviation, improvement of 
        conservation and sustainable management of forests, fish stocks, and 
        oceanic resources, resilience to extreme weather events and climate-
        driven disasters, and provision of sustainable livelihood for local 
        communities throughout the ASEAN region: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) supports and affirms the full implementation of 
        provisions of the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act (Public Law 
        115-409) with regard to elevating the United States 
        relationship with ASEAN;
            (2) reaffirms the importance of United States-ASEAN 
        economic engagement, including the elimination of barriers to 
        cross-border commerce, and supports the ASEAN Economic 
        Community's goals, including strong, inclusive, and sustainable 
        growth and cooperation with the United States that focuses on 
        innovation and capacity building efforts in technology, 
        education, disaster management, food security, human rights, 
        and trade facilitation, including for ASEAN's poorest 
        countries;
            (3) urges ASEAN to continue its efforts to foster greater 
        integration and unity within the ASEAN community, as well as to 
        foster greater integration and unity with non-ASEAN economic, 
        political, and security partners, including Japan, the Republic 
        of Korea, Australia, the European Union, Taiwan, and India;
            (4) recognizes the value of strategic economic initiatives 
        like the United States-ASEAN Connect, which demonstrates a 
        commitment to ASEAN and the AEC and builds upon economic 
        relationships in the region;
            (5) supports ASEAN nations in addressing maritime and 
        territorial disputes in a constructive manner and in pursuing 
        claims through peaceful, diplomatic, and legitimate regional 
        and international arbitration mechanisms, consistent with 
        international law, including through the adoption of a code of 
        conduct in the South China Sea to further promote peace and 
        stability in the region;
            (6) urges all parties to maritime and territorial disputes 
        in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Government of the 
        People's Republic of China--
                    (A) to exercise self-restraint in the conduct of 
                activities that would undermine stability or complicate 
                or escalate disputes through the use of coercion, 
                intimidation, or military force;
                    (B) to refrain from new efforts to militarize 
                uninhabited islands, reefs, shoals, and other features, 
                including the construction of new garrisons and 
                facilities and the relocation of additional military 
                personnel, material, or equipment;
                    (C) to oppose actions by any country to prevent any 
                other country from exercising its sovereign rights to 
                the resources of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and 
                continental shelf by seeking to enforce claims to those 
                areas in the South China Sea that have no support in 
                international law; and
                    (D) to oppose unilateral declarations of 
                administrative and military districts in contested 
                areas in the South China Sea;
            (7) urges parties to refrain from unilateral actions that 
        cause permanent physical damage to the marine environment, and 
        supports the efforts of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration and ASEAN to implement guidelines to address the 
        illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in the region;
            (8) supports efforts by United States partners and allies 
        in ASEAN--
                    (A) to enhance maritime capability and maritime 
                domain awareness;
                    (B) to protect unhindered access to and use of 
                international waterways in the Asia-Pacific region that 
                are critical to ensuring the security and free flow of 
                commerce;
                    (C) to counter piracy;
                    (D) to disrupt illicit maritime trafficking 
                activates such as the trafficking of persons, goods, 
                and drugs; and
                    (E) to enhance the maritime capabilities of 
                countries or regional organizations to respond to 
                emerging threats to maritime security in the Asia-
                Pacific region;
            (9) urges ASEAN member states to develop a common approach 
        to reaffirm the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration 
        in The Hague's ruling with respect to the case between the 
        Republic of the Philippines and the People's Republic of China;
            (10) reaffirms the commitment of the United States to 
        continue joint efforts with ASEAN to halt human smuggling and 
        trafficking in persons, and urges ASEAN to make increased 
        efforts to create and strengthen regional mechanisms to provide 
        assistance and support to refugees and migrants;
            (11) supports the Lower Mekong Initiative, which has made 
        significant progress in promoting sustainable economic 
        development in mainland Southeast Asia and fostering integrated 
        sub-regional cooperation and capacity building;
            (12) urges ASEAN to build capacity for the promotion and 
        protection of human rights by ASEAN member states, and the 
        implementation of related priorities, programs, and activities;
            (13) urges ASEAN governments to engage directly with 
        leaders of civil society and human rights, including advocates 
        of religious freedom, victims of human rights abuses, and 
        environmental groups, and to prioritize the construction of 
        forums that give these stakeholders a voice to instruct public 
        policy;
            (14) encourages the President of the United States to 
        communicate to ASEAN leaders the importance of protecting human 
        rights, including ending extrajudicial killings, releasing 
        political prisoners, ceasing politically motivated 
        prosecutions, strengthening civil society, safeguarding freedom 
        of the press, freedom of assembly, and the free flow of 
        information and ideas, and promoting the rule of law and open 
        and transparent government;
            (15) supports efforts by organizations in ASEAN addressing 
        corruption in the public and private sectors, enhancing anti-
        bribery compliance, enforcing bribery criminalization in the 
        private sector, and building beneficial ownership transparency 
        through the ASEAN-USAID PROSPECT project partnered with the 
        South East Asia Parties Against Corruption (SEA-PAC);
            (16) supports the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative 
        program as an example of people-to-people partnership building 
        that provides skills, networks, and leadership capabilities to 
        a new generation of people who will create and fill jobs, 
        foster cross-border cooperation and partnerships, and rise to 
        solve the regional and global challenges of the future; and
            (17) urges ASEAN governments to fully uphold and implement 
        all United Nations Security Council resolutions and 
        international agreements with respect to North Korea's nuclear 
        and ballistic missile programs.
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