[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 837 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 837

  Reaffirming the ties between the United States and the Philippines.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 1, 2023

   Mr. Moylan (for himself and Mr. Scott of Virginia) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                                Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Reaffirming the ties between the United States and the Philippines.

Whereas the United States established diplomatic relations with the Philippines 
        on July 4, 1946, and the two countries have since enjoyed expanded and 
        positive relations;
Whereas there are over 4,000,000 United States citizens of Philippine ancestry 
        in the United States;
Whereas the United States and the Philippines have a strong and mutually 
        beneficial trade relationship, with more than $18,900,000,000 in goods 
        and services traded during 2020;
Whereas the People's Republic of China continues to use its Coast Guard and its 
        Merchant Marine to violate the Philippines sovereignty, including in the 
        Scarborough Shoal,
Whereas Chinese Communist Party propaganda now assert claims based on a so-
        called ``ten-dash line'', after a United Nations Convention on the Law 
        of the Sea arbitral tribunal ruled that China's nine-dashed line had 
        ``no legal basis'';
Whereas in 1994, the People's Republic of China unlawfully seized Mischief Reef 
        and have since constructed 20 artificial islands that extends the 
        operational capabilities of the People's Liberation Army with the aim of 
        expanding its presence and reinforcing their illegitimate claims to the 
        South China Sea;
Whereas the People's Republic of China is asserting its sweeping claims over the 
        South China Sea by disrupting the regular resupply of the BRP Sierra 
        Madre, a Philippine Navy transport ship, based in the Second Thomas 
        Shoal, by shooting water cannons at Philippine Coast Guard vessels and 
        using military-grade lasers to blind its crew;
Whereas, on April 3, 2023, the Biden administration announced plans today to 
        expand the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Arrangement to include four new 
        sites to strengthen interoperability and allow the United States and the 
        Philippines to better address shared challenges in the Indo-Pacific 
        region;
Whereas, on August 5, 2023, the United States Department of State reaffirmed 
        that ``an armed attack on Philippine public vessels, aircraft, and armed 
        forces--including those of its Coast Guard in the South China Sea--would 
        invoke U.S. mutual defense commitments under Article IV of the 1951 U.S. 
        Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty''; and
Whereas, on October 22, 2023, the Chinese Coast Guard rammed a Philippines Coast 
        Guard cutter escorting supplies to the Second Thomas Shoal within the 
        Philippines exclusive economic zone: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) reaffirms the United States unwavering commitment to 
        invoke its Mutual Defense Treaty with the Philippines if an 
        armed attack against the Philippines assets, including those of 
        the Philippine Coast Guard, is committed in the South China 
        Sea;
            (2) calls on the United States and Philippines to begin 
        joint patrols in the South China Sea;
            (3) firmly objects to the People's Republic of China's 
        false sovereignty claims to the South China Sea; and
            (4) welcomes swift implementation of the Enhanced Defense 
        Cooperation Agreement to ensure we adhere to our commitments to 
        the Philippine people, and to foster a free and open Indo-
        Pacific for all.
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