Sec. 6509. STRATEGY FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH SOUTHEAST ASIA AND ASEAN

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## SEC. 6509 STRATEGY FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH SOUTHEAST ASIA AND ASEAN ###

(a)In General Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, in consultation with the heads of other Federal departments and agencies as appropriate, shall develop and submit to the appropriate congressional committees a comprehensive strategy for engagement with Southeast Asia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). ###

(b)Matters To Be Included The strategy required by subsection

(a)shall include the following: ####

(1)A statement of enduring United States interests in Southeast Asia and a description of efforts to bolster the effectiveness of ASEAN. ####

(2)A description of efforts to— #####

(A)deepen and expand Southeast Asian alliances, partnerships, and multilateral engagements, including efforts to expand broad based and inclusive economic growth, security ties, security cooperation and interoperability, economic connectivity, and expand opportunities for ASEAN to work with other like-minded partners in the region; and #####

(B)encourage like-minded partners outside of the Indo-Pacific region to engage with ASEAN. ####

(3)A summary of initiatives across the whole of the United States Government to strengthen the United States partnership with Southeast Asian nations and ASEAN, including to promote broad based and inclusive economic growth, trade, investment, energy innovation and sustainability, public-private partnerships, physical and digital infrastructure development, education, disaster management, public health and global health security, and economic, political, and public diplomacy in Southeast Asia. ####

(4)A summary of initiatives across the whole of the United States Government to enhance the capacity of Southeast Asian nations with respect to enforcing international law and multilateral sanctions, and initiatives to cooperate with ASEAN as an institution in these areas. ####

(5)A summary of initiatives across the whole of the United States Government to promote human rights and democracy, to strengthen the rule of law, civil society, and transparent governance, to combat disinformation and to protect the integrity of elections from outside influence. ####

(6)A summary of initiatives to promote security cooperation and security assistance within Southeast Asian nations, including— #####

(A)maritime security and maritime domain awareness initiatives for protecting the maritime commons and supporting international law and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea; and #####

(B)efforts to combat terrorism, human trafficking, piracy, and illegal fishing, and promote more open, reliable routes for sea lines of communication. ###

(c)Distribution of Strategy For the purposes of assuring allies and partners in Southeast Asia and deepening United States engagement with ASEAN, the Secretary of State shall direct each United States chief of mission to ASEAN and its member states to distribute the strategy required by subsection

(a)to host governments. ###

(d)Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined In this section, the term “appropriate congressional committees” means— ####

(1)the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives; and ####

(2)the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate.