[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 58 (Thursday, March 30, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Page S1097]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE RESOLUTION 141--SUPPORTING ASEAN CENTRALITY IN THE INDO-PACIFIC 
                                 REGION

  Mr. MERKLEY (for himself and Mr. Van Hollen) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                              S. Res. 141

       Whereas, with more than 686,000,000 people, the ten members 
     of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) 
     collectively boast the third largest population in the world 
     and a gross domestic product of $3,300,000,000,000, and 
     serves to promote economic growth and regional stability 
     among its members, as well as a rules-based international 
     order;
       Whereas ASEAN is situated in a critical geographic 
     position, straddling the sea lanes between the Indian Ocean 
     to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east;
       Whereas, at the 10th annual U.S.-ASEAN Summit in Phnom 
     Penh, Cambodia, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. and the ASEAN 
     leaders elevated United States-ASEAN relations to a 
     Comprehensive Strategic Partnership;
       Whereas, under this framework, there has been an 
     unprecedented expansion in United States-ASEAN relations, 
     including the launch of five new high-level dialogues on 
     health, transportation, gender equality and women's 
     empowerment, environment and climate, and energy, as well as 
     elevated engagement on foreign affairs, economics, and 
     defense;
       Whereas, in October 2022, the Office of the Special 
     Presidential Envoy for Climate joined a senior officials' 
     dialogue on the environment and climate with ASEAN, during 
     which the two sides decided to establish a cooperation work 
     plan and to hold a special U.S.-ASEAN Ministerial Dialogue on 
     the Environment and Climate in 2023;
       Whereas President Biden has reaffirmed the strong support 
     of the United States for ASEAN centrality and the ASEAN 
     Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, building on the historic success 
     of the first-ever U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit in Washington, 
     D.C. in May 2022;
       Whereas the United States is committed to supporting the 
     implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific's 
     Maritime Pillar, and the United States Government has 
     announced $60,000,000 in new regional maritime initiatives;
       Whereas, in 2022, the United States provided over 
     $860,000,000 in assistance through the Department of State 
     and the United States Agency for International Development 
     (USAID) to ASEAN partners to support the environment, access 
     to education, strengthened health systems, security 
     modernization efforts, rule of law, and human rights;
       Whereas the Department of Agriculture and the United States 
     International Development Finance Corporation plan to invest 
     $57,000,000 in new programs across Southeast Asia to promote 
     food security and ensure access to safe water, including a 
     new ``Food for School Feeding'' program;
       Whereas the United States supports the ASEAN Center for 
     Pandemic Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases (ACPHEED), 
     including through USAID assistance and through the Centers 
     for Disease Control and Prevention;
       Whereas the United States International Development Finance 
     Corporation will invest $215,000,000 in loans to Southeast 
     Asian financial institutions, in order to help low-income 
     women access capital and contribute to economic growth;
       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 strength of U.S.-ASEAN relations is anchored in 
     the friendship shared by our combined 1,000,000,000 people, 
     and each year the United States provides more than 
     $70,000,000 to support educational and cultural exchanges 
     that foster greater understanding;
       Whereas more than 650 students, teachers, and scholars 
     participate in Fulbright exchanges between the United States 
     and ASEAN, and participants from all 10 ASEAN member states 
     take part in the program;
       Whereas 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the Young 
     Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI), which offers 
     exchanges, regional workshops, small grant funding, and other 
     programs to develop ties between the United States and ASEAN;
       Whereas, at the September 2020 ASEAN-U.S. Foreign 
     Ministers' Meeting, the United States announced the new 
     YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University in Vietnam to expand 
     YSEALI's people-to-people engagement between the United 
     States and ASEAN;
       Whereas seven ASEAN member states link to 23 States and the 
     District of Columbia through 81 sister city, nine sister 
     state, and 20 sister county connections; and
       Whereas the Peace Corps has programs in five ASEAN member 
     states (Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, and 
     Vietnam), including the inaugural program in Vietnam launched 
     in 2022 with 10 Peace Corps Trainees to promote English 
     language learning and literacy in Vietnam's secondary 
     schools: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) promotes deepening cooperation with ASEAN member states 
     and the ASEAN Secretariat under our Comprehensive Strategic 
     Partnership to promote peace, security, and stability in the 
     Indo-Pacific region;
       (2) reaffirms the importance of ASEAN centrality, the ASEAN 
     Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, and ASEAN-led mechanisms in the 
     institutional architecture of the Indo-Pacific region;
       (3) commemorates the 10th anniversary of YSEALI on December 
     3, 2023, and supports its expanding programs;
       (4) commends the work and mission of the Peace Corps in the 
     region, including the historic arrival of the first Peace 
     Corps Volunteers to Vietnam, at the invitation of the 
     Government of Vietnam;
       (5) celebrates the 10th anniversary of our comprehensive 
     partnership with Vietnam and supports elevating our 
     relationship to a strategic partnership;
       (6) congratulates Indonesia for its successful leadership 
     as Chair of the G20 and United States-ASEAN country 
     coordinator in 2022, and extends United States support and 
     best wishes as it assumes the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2023, 
     under the theme ``ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth'';
       (7) applauds the steadfast U.S.-Indonesia Strategic 
     Partnership, Indonesia's leadership on the issue of women and 
     girls' education in Afghanistan, and Indonesia's dedication 
     to renewable energy and a transition away from fossil fuels, 
     as committed to in the Just Energy Transition Partnership 
     agreement;
       (8) reaffirms the importance of the Mekong-U.S. Partnership 
     and the value of transboundary cooperation across the Mekong 
     sub-region, and supports a whole-of-government approach in 
     providing coordinated assistance, including programmatic 
     support from USAID and the Department of State;
       (9) encourages ASEAN, including through the ASEAN Chair and 
     Office of the Special Envoy, to play an active role beyond 
     the Five Point Consensus to bring about an end to all forms 
     of violence in Burma, the release of all those arbitrarily 
     detained, and unhindered humanitarian access throughout the 
     country; and
       (10) supports the people of Burma in their quest for 
     democracy, sustainable peace, and genuine ethnic and 
     religious reconciliation.

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