Sec. 1262. Sense of Congress reaffirming the importance of implementing the rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region
492 words·~2 min read·
/bill/114/hr/1735/eas/section-1262·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress makes the following findings: The United States has a longstanding national interest in maintaining security in the Asia-Pacific region. The Asia-Pacific region is home to the world’s three largest economies, four most populous countries, and five largest militaries. The Asia-Pacific's rapid economic growth and mounting security tensions require a renewed focus from the United States on the region to maintain security, expand prosperity, and support common values. In 2011, President Barack Obama announced that the United States would rebalance to the Asia-Pacific.
Since then, there have been a number of actions taken to strengthen the United States posture and relationships in the region, including the negotiation of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement with the Philippines, the distributed laydown of the United States Marines Corps in the Pacific, the rotational stationing of the Littoral Combat Ship in Singapore, and a new comprehensive partnership with Vietnam on defense and security. Leaders in regional states remain concerned about a variety of regional military challenges.
These include China’s military modernization and its increasingly assertive actions in the East and South China Sea and North Korea’s continued belligerence and its pursuit of nuclear and ballistic missile technology. United States allies and partners are looking to the United States to demonstrate its willingness and ability to maintain regional peace and security by fully implementing the rebalance to the Asia-Pacific. In April 2015, the Commander of the United States Pacific Command Admiral Samuel Locklear warned, Our relative superiority I think has declined and continues to decline…we rely very heavily on power projection, which means we have to be able to get the forces forward… .
Admiral Locklear also noted, Any significant force structure moves out of my AOR in the middle of a rebalance would have to be understood and have to be explained because it would counterintuitive to a rebalance to move significant forces in another direction. It is the sense of Congress that— in order to maintain the credibility of the United States rebalance, it is vital that the United States continue to shift forces to the Asia-Pacific region to strengthen the ability of the United States Armed Forces to project power to shape the choices of regional states and to deter, and if necessary defend, against hostile military actions;
United States allies and partners in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as potential adversaries, would take note of any withdrawal of forces from the Asia-Pacific theater; any withdrawal of United States forces from Outside the Continental United States ( OCONUS ) Asia-Pacific region or from United States Pacific Command would therefore seriously undermine the rebalance; and in order to properly implement United States rebalance policy, United States forces under the operational control of the United States Pacific Command should be increased consistent with commitments already made by the Department of Defense and aligned with the requirement to maintain a balance of military power that favors the United States and United States allies in the Asia-Pacific region.