Sec. 235. Indo-Pacific maritime security initiative
719 words·~3 min read·
/bill/116/s/4629/is/section-235·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, is authorized to provide assistance, for the purpose of increasing maritime security and domain awareness for countries in the Indo-Pacific region— to provide assistance to national military or other security forces of such countries that have maritime security missions among their functional responsibilities; to provide training to ministry, agency, and headquarters level organizations for such forces; and to provide assistance to and training to other relevant foreign affairs, maritime, or security-related ministries, agencies, departments or offices that manage and oversee maritime activities and policy that the Secretary of State may so designate.
Assistance provided by the Secretary of State under this section shall be known as the Indo-Pacific Maritime Security Initiative (in this section referred to as the Initiative ). There is authorized to be appropriated to the Department of State $25,000,000 in fiscal year 2021 and $50,000,000 in each of fiscal year 2022, fiscal year 2023, fiscal year 2024, and fiscal year 2025 to be used for purposes of training and assistance under this Initiative. In selecting countries in the Indo-Pacific region to which assistance is to be provided under the Initiative, the Secretary of State shall prioritize the provision of assistance to countries that will contribute to the achievement of the following objectives:
Retaining 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 and achieving United States national security objectives. Improving maritime domain awareness in the Indo-Pacific region. Countering piracy in the Indo-Pacific region. Disrupting illicit maritime trafficking activities and other forms of maritime trafficking activity in the Indo-Pacific that directly benefit organizations that have been determined to be a security threat to the United States.
Enhancing the maritime capabilities of a country or regional organization to respond to emerging threats to maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region. In carrying out the purpose of the Initiative— priority shall be placed on assistance to enhance the maritime security capabilities of the military or security forces of countries in the Indo-Pacific region that have maritime missions and the government agencies responsible for such forces; and assistance may be provided to a country in the Indo-Pacific region to enhance the capabilities of that country, or of a regional organization that includes that country, to conduct— maritime intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; littoral and port security;
Coast Guard operations; command and control; and management and oversight of maritime activities. Assistance provided under subsection (a)(1)(A) may include the provision of equipment, training, and small-scale military construction. Assistance and training provided under subsection
(a)shall include elements that promote— the observance of and respect for human rights; and respect for legitimate civilian authority within the country to which the assistance is provided. The Department of Defense shall establish a joint, interagency task force to assess, respond to, and coordinate with allies and partners in response to the use of grey zone tactics by state and non-state actors in the Indo-Pacific maritime domain, including— conducting domain awareness operations, intelligence fusion, and multi-sensor correlation to detect, monitor, and hand off suspected grey zone activities; promoting security, cooperation, and capacity building; and coordinating country team and partner nation initiatives in order to counter the use of grey zone tactics by adversaries. The Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense shall jointly submit to the appropriate committees of Congress each year a report on the status of the provision of equipment, training, supplies, or other services provided pursuant to the Initiative during the preceding 12 months. Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, if the Secretary of State determines that the payment of incremental expenses in connection with training described in subsection (a)(1)(B) will facilitate the participation in such training of organization personnel of foreign countries under subsection (a)(1)(C), the Secretary may use amounts available under subsection
(b)for assistance and training under subsection
(a)for the payment of such incremental expenses. The foreign countries specified in this paragraph are the following: Brunei. Singapore. Taiwan. Not later than 15 days before exercising the authority under subsection
(a)or
(g)with respect to a recipient foreign country, the Secretary of State shall submit a notification in writing to the appropriate committees of Congress.