S.Res. 406 Text - Reported to Senate - 116th Congress (2019-2020)

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.

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;

(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.

That the Senate—

(1) supports and affirms the full implementation of the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act (Public Law 115–409) with regard to elevating the United States relationship with ASEAN;

(2) stands with the nations of ASEAN as they respond to COVID–19 and supports greater cooperation in building capacity to prepare for and respond to pandemics and other public health challenges;

(3) expresses support for rescheduling the United States-ASEAN Special Summit at an appropriate time, and supports high-level United States participation in the annual ASEAN summit held each November;

(4) 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 (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 ASEAN’s poorest countries;

(5) 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;

(6) 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;

(7) supports ASEAN nations in addressing maritime and territorial disputes in a constructive manner and in pursuing claims through peaceful, diplomatic, and, as necessary, legitimate regional and international arbitration 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;

(8) 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, material, 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 (EEZ) 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;

(9) 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;

(10) 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;

(11) urges ASEAN member states to develop a common approach to reaffirm the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration's 2016 ruling in favor of the Republic of the Philippines in the case against the People’s Republic of China's excessive maritime claims;

(12) 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;

(13) supports the Lower Mekong Initiative, which has led to significant progress in promoting sustainable long-term economic development in mainland Southeast Asia and fostering integrated sub-regional cooperation and capacity building;

(14) 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;

(15) 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 ensure these stakeholders have a voice in constructing public policy;

(16) encourages the President of the United States 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, safeguarding freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of religion, and freedom of speech and expression;

(17) 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 (SEA–PAC);

(18) 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

(19) applauds the ASEAN governments that have fully upheld and implemented all United Nations Security Council resolutions and international agreements with respect to North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and encourages all other ASEAN governments to do the same.