Sec. 1315. Strategy to strengthen multilateral deterrence in the Indo-Pacific
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The Secretary of Defense shall implement a strategy to strengthen multilateral deterrence against regional aggression in the Indo-Pacific region by expanding multilateral coordination with United States allies and partners in the region, with particular emphasis on Japan, the Philippines, and Australia, including through enhancing multilateral access and basing agreements, command and control structures, intelligence-sharing, and exercises and operations. The strategy required by subsection
(a)shall describe current activities and identify future actions to be taken over the next 5 years by the Department of Defense to— leverage reciprocal access agreements between the United States and its Indo-Pacific allies and partners, particularly Japan, the Philippines, and Australia, to expand regional access for these and other allied and partner militaries, including for purposes of enhancing interoperability at locations across the Indo-Pacific region, prepositioning munitions stockpiles, and jointly supporting and leveraging shared facilities, operational access, and infrastructure; improve command and control structures enabling enhanced multilateral coordination with Indo-Pacific allies and partners, including through the Combined Coordination Center in the Philippines, the joint force headquarters of the United States in Japan, and a potential combined coordination structure in Australia; expand intelligence-sharing and maritime domain awareness among the United States and Indo-Pacific allies and partners, including through the Bilateral Intelligence Analysis Cell in Japan and the Combined Coordination Center in the Philippines; and expand the scope and scale of multilateral military exercises and operations in the region, particularly among the United States, Japan, Australia, and the Philippines, including more frequent combined maritime operations through the Taiwan Strait and in the South China Sea. Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees the strategy required by subsection (a), including an identification of any changes to funding or policy required to strengthen multilateral deterrence among the United States and allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific against regional aggression. Not later than March 15, 2027, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees a report on the progress of the implementation of the strategy required by subsection (a), including any resource or authority gaps identified in the Department’s ability to execute the strategy.