[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 616 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. RES. 616
Expressing support for the Association of South East Asian Nations, its
10 member states, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar,
the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, and the United
States-ASEAN Special Summit in Washington, DC, and reaffirming the
commitment of the United States to continue to remain a strong,
reliable, and active partner in the ASEAN region.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 5, 2022
Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Risch, Mr. Markey, and Mr. Romney)
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee
on Foreign Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing support for the Association of South East Asian Nations, its
10 member states, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar,
the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, and the United
States-ASEAN Special Summit in Washington, DC, and reaffirming the
commitment of the United States to 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;
Whereas an estimated 7,000,000 United States citizens identify with an ethnicity
represented in ASEAN;
Whereas the United States and ASEAN have been cooperating to advance mutual
interests for approximately 45 years, having first established dialogue
on September 10, 1977, through the Joint Communique of the First ASEAN-
United States Dialogue and the United States acceded to the Treaty of
Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia at the ASEAN Post Ministerial
Conference Session 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 ASEAN member states can help realize the common goals of a
free, open, peaceful, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region rooted in a
rules-based order that promotes security, opportunity, and dignity to
all people;
Whereas ASEAN member states have vibrant economies that have given rise to a
flourishing middle class and collectively are predicted to become the
fourth-largest economy in the world by 2050;
Whereas, in 2020, the 10 ASEAN member states represented the fifth largest
economy in the world and constituted the fourth-largest export market of
the United States, with total exports from the United States to ASEAN
countries reaching $111,900,000,000;
Whereas ASEAN is the number one destination for United States investment in the
Indo-Pacific, with $328,500,000,000 in cumulative foreign direct
investment;
Whereas ASEAN member states surround critical global sea lanes, with
$5,300,000,000,000 of global trade and more than \1/2\ of the world's
total shipped tonnage transiting through the waters of such member
states each year;
Whereas the ultimate goal of the ASEAN Economic Community (referred to in this
preamble as ``AEC'') is to create one of the largest single market
economies in the world 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 has trained more than 20,000 small-to-medium
size enterprises, with nearly \1/2\ of the participants being women
entrepreneurs;
Whereas the Mekong-U.S. Partnership, established in 2020 to expand upon the
Lower Mekong Initiative, promotes sustainable long-term economic
development throughout mainland Southeast Asia and fosters regional
cooperation, integration, and capacity building;
Whereas the Japan-U.S.-Mekong Power Partnership aims to ``promote a more
sustainable energy sector and quality energy infrastructure
development'' and demonstrates the shared commitment of the United
States and other Indo-Pacific nations to strengthen ties with Mekong
countries;
Whereas, in 2021, the United States announced several additional initiatives to
enhance cooperation with ASEAN, including the United States-ASEAN Health
Futures, the United States-ASEAN Climate Futures, the United States-
ASEAN Economic Futures, and the Billions Futures;
Whereas the United States is cooperating with ASEAN member states and providing
emergency health assistance to enhance the resilience of such member
states in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, including through the
recently announced United States-ASEAN Health Futures program that
builds on the more than $3,500,000,000 the United States has invested in
global health collaboration with ASEAN member states over the last 20
years;
Whereas the United States remains committed to working with ASEAN to improve the
promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental dignity of the
people of ASEAN member states, a key ingredient to maintaining
stability, promoting economic growth, and advancing good governance and
rule of law;
Whereas the Burmese armed forces conducted an illegitimate coup in 2021, usurped
the democratic government of Myanmar, killed hundreds of civilians, and
displaced more than 300,000 people;
Whereas the Burmese junta has failed to make meaningful progress on ASEAN's
Five-Point Consensus or receive official recognition from ASEAN;
Whereas the United States remains concerned about democratic backsliding and the
erosion of protections of fundamental human rights in Southeast Asia;
Whereas the United States opposes all actions and claims that infringe upon the
freedom and lawful use of the sea and has a national interest in
ensuring freedom of navigation and overflight, open access to the
maritime commons of the Indo-Pacific region, and respect for
international law in the South China Sea;
Whereas the United States is deeply concerned about recent assertive and unsafe
behavior by the People's Republic of China in the South China Sea and
urges all countries with competing territorial claims to seek peaceful
resolution of disputes through collaborative diplomacy and, as
necessary, international dispute resolution mechanisms consistent with
international law;
Whereas the United States supports the decision of the Government of the
Philippines to use arbitration under the United Nations Convention on
the Law of the Sea, done at Montego Bay December 10, 1982, to peacefully
and lawfully address competing claims;
Whereas the United States supports development of a code of conduct that
represents the interests of all parties and promotes peace and stability
in the region surrounding the South China Sea, opposes efforts by any
nation to use a code of conduct 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 code of conduct;
Whereas the 20th Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training naval exercises
featured more than 400 sailors from 21 countries, built greater maritime
security on the strength of ASEAN, strengthened navy-to-navy bonds, and
exemplified the shared belief in a free and open Indo-Pacific region;
Whereas the Indo-Pacific Strategy of the United States declares that ``the
United States also welcomes a strong and independent ASEAN that leads in
Southeast Asia'' and ``endorse[s] ASEAN centrality and support[s] ASEAN
in its efforts to deliver sustainable solutions to the region's most
pressing challenges'';
Whereas natural disasters in the ASEAN region over the past 4 decades have
resulted in major loss and damage, with a disproportionate impact on
developing countries;
Whereas the United States will pursue initiatives that are consistent with
sustainable long-term economic development, including--
(1) achievement of food security and poverty alleviation;
(2) improvement of conservation and sustainable management of forests,
fish stocks, and oceanic resources;
(3) resilience to extreme weather events that are increasing in
frequency and severity; and
(4) provision of sustainable livelihoods for local communities
throughout the ASEAN region; and
Whereas, in the invitation for the United States-ASEAN Leaders Summit, President
Joseph R. Biden, Jr., stated that ``the United States is committed to
ASEAN centrality and remains steadfast in its support for an ASEAN-
centered regional architecture at the heart of the Indo-Pacific'': Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate--
(1) welcomes official representatives from the Governments
of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam to attend the
first United States-ASEAN Special Summit in Washington, DC;
(2) supports the decision of the Association of South East
Asian Nations (referred to in this resolution as ``ASEAN'') to
invite non-political representatives from Myanmar to high-level
ASEAN events and, furthermore, welcomes such non-political
representatives to vocalize concerns on behalf of the Burmese
people at the United States-ASEAN Special Summit, and refutes
any political representation for the Burmese junta;
(3) supports and affirms the full implementation of the
Asia Reassurance Initiative Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-409;
132 Stat. 5387 et seq.) with regard to elevating the
relationship between the United States and ASEAN, including
more than $2,000,000,000 in annual appropriations for foreign
assistance and diplomatic operations in the Indo-Pacific
region;
(4) urges the United States-ASEAN Special Summit, scheduled
for May 12 and 13, 2022, to prioritize--
(A) democracy, good governance, rule of law, and
human rights and address the trend of democratic
backsliding in Southeast Asia, including the 2021 coup
in Myanmar; and
(B) the pursuit of a robust economic agenda;
(5) reaffirms the importance of United States-ASEAN
economic engagement, including the elimination of barriers to
cross-border commerce, and supports the goals of the ASEAN
Economic Community (referred to in this resolution as the
``AEC'') goals, including strong, inclusive, and sustainable
long-term economic 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, particularly for the
poorest ASEAN member states;
(6) 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;
(7) calls on ASEAN to reaffirm its commitment, consistent
with the fundamental principle in the ASEAN Charter and Treaty
of Amity and Cooperation, to the sovereignty, independence,
unity, and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its
internationally recognized borders and call for an immediate
ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian forces from Ukraine;
(8) recognizes the value of strategic economic initiatives
like United States-ASEAN Connect, which demonstrates a
commitment to ASEAN and the AEC and builds upon economic
relationships in the region;
(9) supports ASEAN member states in addressing maritime and
territorial disputes in a constructive manner and in pursuing
claims through peaceful, diplomatic, and, as necessary,
legitimate regional and international dispute resolution
mechanisms, consistent with international law, including
through the adoption of a code of conduct in the South China
Sea that represents the interests of all parties and promotes
peace and stability in the region;
(10) urges all parties involved in the maritime and
territorial disputes in the Indo-Pacific region, including the
Government of the People's Republic of China--
(A) to cease any current activities, and avoid
undertaking any actions in the future that undermine
stability or complicate or escalate disputes through
the use of coercion, intimidation, or military force;
(B) to demilitarize islands, reefs, shoals, and
other features, and refrain from new efforts to
militarize, including the construction of new garrisons
and facilities and the relocation of additional
military personnel, materiel, or equipment;
(C) to oppose actions by any country that prevent
other countries from exercising their sovereign rights
to the resources in their exclusive economic zones and
continental shelves by enforcing claims to those areas
in the South China Sea that lack support in
international law; and
(D) to oppose unilateral declarations of
administrative and military districts in contested
areas in the South China Sea;
(11) 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;
(12) 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 Indo-Pacific region that
are critical to ensuring the security and free flow of
commerce;
(C) to counter piracy;
(D) to disrupt illicit maritime trafficking
activities, 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 Indo-
Pacific region;
(13) urges ASEAN member states to develop a common approach
to reaffirm the 2016 decision of the Permanent Court of
Arbitration in favor of the Philippines in the case against the
People's Republic of China for excessive maritime claims;
(14) 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 create and
strengthen regional mechanisms to provide assistance and
support to refugees and migrants;
(15) supports the Mekong-U.S. Partnership, which promotes
the stability, peace, prosperity, and sustainable development
of the Mekong sub-region through cooperation between countries
in the Mekong region and the United States in addressing
transboundary challenges;
(16) 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;
(17) urges the governments of such member states to engage
directly with leaders of civil society and human rights
organizations, including advocates of religious freedom,
victims of human rights abuses, and environmental groups, to
ensure these stakeholders have a voice in constructing public
policy;
(18) encourages the President to communicate to ASEAN
leaders the importance of promoting the rule of law and open
and transparent government, strengthening civil society, and
protecting human rights, including releasing political
prisoners, ceasing politically motivated prosecutions and
arbitrary killings, and safeguarding freedom of the press,
freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, and freedom of speech
and expression;
(19) supports efforts by organizations in ASEAN that
address corruption in the public and private sectors, enhance
anti-bribery compliance, enforce bribery criminalization in the
private sector, and build beneficial ownership transparency
through the ASEAN-USAID PROSPECT project partnered with the
South East Asia Parties Against Corruption;
(20) supports the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative
as an example of a people-to-people partnership that provides
skills, networks, and leadership training to a new generation
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
(21) applauds the governments of ASEAN member states that
have fully upheld and implemented all United Nations Security
Council resolutions and international agreements with respect
to nuclear and ballistic missile programs in North Korea, and
encourages all other governments of such member states to do
the same.
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