Sec. 1251. Sense of Congress and Initiative for the Indo-Asia-Pacific region
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It is the sense of Congress that— the security, stability, and prosperity of the Indo-Asia-Pacific region are vital to the national interests of the United States; the United States should maintain a military capability in the region that is able to project power, deter acts of aggression, and respond, if necessary, to regional threats; the defense of the United States and its allies against North Korean or any other aggression remains a top priority; continuing efforts by the Department of Defense to realign forces, commit additional assets, and increase investments to the Indo-Asia-Pacific region are necessary to maintain a robust United States commitment to the region; the Secretary of Defense should— assess the current United States force posture in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region to ensure that the United States maintains an appropriate forward presence in the region; invest in critical munitions, undersea warfare capabilities, amphibious capabilities, resilient space architectures, missile defense, offensive and defensive cyber capabilities, and other capabilities conducive to operating effectively in contested environments; and enhance regional force readiness through joint training and exercises, considering contingencies ranging from grey zone to high-end near-peer conflict; the United States commitment to freedom of navigation, ensuring free access to sea lanes and overflights to the United States naval and air forces, remains a core security interest; and the United States should continue to engage in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region by strengthening alliances and partnerships, supporting regional institutions and bodies such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), building cooperative security arrangements, addressing shared challenges, and reinforcing the role of international law, including respect for human rights.
The Secretary of Defense may carry out a program of activities to enhance stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region that shall be known as the Indo-Asia-Pacific Stability Initiative (in this section referred to as the Initiative ). The activities under the Initiative shall include the following: Activities to increase the presence and capabilities and enhance the posture of the United States Armed Forces in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. Bilateral and multilateral military training and exercises with allies and partner nations in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.
Activities to improve military and defense infrastructure, logistics, and access in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region in order to enhance the responsiveness and capabilities of the United States Armed Forces in that region. Activities to enhance the storage and pre-positioning in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region of equipment of the United States Armed Forces. Activities to build the defense and security capacity— of the United States Armed Forces in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region; and of allies and partner nations in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, under— section 2282 of title 10, United States Code, or section 333 of such title, relating to the authority to build the capacity of foreign security forces; section 332 of title 10, United States Code, relating to defense institution capacity building for friendly foreign countries and international and regional organizations; section 1263 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016 ( 10 U.S.C. 2282 note), relating to the Southeast Asia Maritime Security Initiative; section 1206 of the Carl Levin and Howard P.
Buck McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 ( 10 U.S.C. 2282 note), relating to training of security forces and associated ministries of foreign countries to promote respect for the rule of law and human rights; or any other authority available to the Secretary of Defense. Funds may only be made available to carry out this section through the transfer authority provided under section 1001. Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a plan that includes the following:
A detailed description of each project or activity to be carried out under the Initiative, including any request of the Commander of the United States Pacific Command for support, urgent operational need, or emergent operational need. The amount planned to be obligated or expended on each such project or activity, and the timeline for such obligation or expenditure. The plan required under paragraph
(1)shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified annex. In this subtitle, the term “Indo-Asia-Pacific region” means the region that falls under the responsibility and jurisdiction of United States Pacific Command.
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Sec. 1251
Sense of Congress and Initiative for the Indo-Asia-Pacific region
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