III 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 406 

Recognizing that for 50 years, the Association of South East Asian Nations 

(ASEAN) and its ten members, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, 

Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, 

have worked with the United States toward stability, prosperity, and 

peace in Southeast Asia, and expressing the sense of the Senate that 

the United States will continue to remain a strong, reliable, and active 

partner in the ASEAN region. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 5, 2019 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. RISCH, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. GARDNER, and 

Mr. MERKLEY) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 

the Committee on Foreign Relations 

JUNE 3, 2020 

Reported by Mr. RISCH, with an amendment and an amendment to the 

preamble 

JANUARY 1, 2021 

Considered, amended, and agreed to with an amended preamble 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing that for 50 years, the Association of South 

East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its ten members, 

Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, 

the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, have 

worked with the United States toward stability, prosperity, and peace in Southeast Asia, and expressing the 

sense of the Senate that the United States will continue 


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SRES 406 ATS 

to remain a strong, reliable, and active partner in the 

ASEAN region. 

Whereas the 10 members of the Association of South East 

Asian Nations (ASEAN) represent a variety of different 

cultures and beliefs; 

Whereas an estimated 7,000,000 United States citizens identify with an ethnicity represented in ASEAN; 

Whereas the United States and ASEAN have been cooperating to advance our mutual interests for 40 years, having first established dialogue relations on September 10, 

1977, through the 1977 Joint Communique of the First 

ASEAN-United States Dialogue and the United States’ 

accession to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in 

Southeast Asia (TAC) at the ASEAN Post Ministerial 

Conference Session in Thailand on July 22, 2009; 

Whereas the United States was the first non-ASEAN country 

to appoint an ambassador to ASEAN on April 29, 2008, 

and the first non-member to establish a permanent mission to ASEAN in 2010; 

Whereas cooperation between the United States Government 

and the governments and people of the ASEAN nations 

can help realize our common goals of a free, open, peaceful, and prosperous Indo-Pacific rooted in a rule-based 

order that promotes security, opportunity, and dignity to 

all peoples; 

Whereas the member states of ASEAN are all vibrant economies that have given rise to a flourishing middle class 

and collectively are predicted to become the world’s 

fourth-largest economy by 2050; 

Whereas, in 2019, ASEAN’s 10 members represented the 

sixth largest economy in the world and constitute the 


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United States fourth-largest export market, with total 

United States exports to ASEAN countries reaching 

$116,200,000,000; 

Whereas ASEAN is the number one destination for United 

States investment in the Indo-Pacific, with 

$329,000,000,000 in cumulative foreign direct investment; 

Whereas ASEAN nations surround critical global sea lanes, 

with $5,300,000,000,000 of global trade and more than 

half of the world’s total shipped tonnage transiting 

through ASEAN waters each year; 

Whereas the ultimate goal of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) is to create one of the world’s largest single 

market economies and facilitate the free movement of 

goods, services, and professionals; 

Whereas the United States-ASEAN Single Window custom 

facilitation system expedites intra-ASEAN trade and enhances the ability of United States businesses to operate 

in the region; 

Whereas the United States-ASEAN Business Alliance for 

Competitive Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises 

(SMEs) has trained more than 4,600 small-to-medium 

size enterprises, with nearly half of the participants being 

women entrepreneurs; 

Whereas the Lower Mekong Initiative, established on July 

23, 2009, promotes sustainable long-term economic development throughout mainland Southeast Asia and fosters 

regional cooperation, integration, and capacity building; 

Whereas the newly announced Japan-United States Mekong 

Power Partnership aims to ‘‘promote a more sustainable 

energy sector and quality energy infrastructure developVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 Jan 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR406.ATS SR406

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ment’’ and demonstrates the shared commitment of the 

United States and other Indo-Pacific nations to strengthen ties with Mekong countries; 

Whereas, in 2018 and 2019, the United States announced 

several additional initiatives to enhance cooperation with 

ASEAN, including the United States-ASEAN Smart Cities Partnership, the ASEAN Policy Implementation 

Project, and the United States-ASEAN Innovation Circle; 

Whereas the United States is cooperating with ASEAN member states and providing emergency health assistance to 

enhance their resilience in the face of the COVID–19 

pandemic, including through the recently announced 

United States-ASEAN Health Futures program that 

builds on the over $3,500,000,000 the United States has 

invested in global health collaboration with ASEAN nations over the last 20 years; 

Whereas the United States remains committed to working 

with ASEAN to improve the promotion and protection of 

human rights and fundamental dignity of the people of 

ASEAN countries, a key ingredient to maintaining stability, promoting economic growth, and advancing good 

governance; 

Whereas the United States opposes all actions and claims 

that infringe upon the freedom and lawful use of the sea, 

and has a national interest in ensuring freedom of navigation and overflight, open access to the Indo-Pacific region’s maritime commons, and respect for international 

law in the South China Sea; 

Whereas the United States is deeply concerned about recent 

assertive and unsafe behavior by the People’s Republic of 


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China in the South China Sea, and urges all claimants 

with competing territorial claims to seek peaceful resolution of disputes through collaborative diplomacy and, as 

necessary, international arbitration mechanisms consistent with international law; 

Whereas the United States supports the Philippines’ decision 

to use arbitration under the United Nations Convention 

on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), done at Montego Bay 

December 10, 1982, to peacefully and lawfully address 

competing claims; 

Whereas the United States supports development of a Code 

of Conduct (COC) that represents the interests of all parties and promotes peace and stability in the region, opposes efforts by any nation to use a COC as a vehicle to 

limit presence in or lawful use of the South China Sea, 

encourages claimants not to undertake new or unilateral 

attempts to change the status quo since the signing of 

the 2002 Declaration of Conduct, including reclamation 

activities or administrative measures or controls in disputed areas in the South China Sea, and encourages 

ASEAN countries to adopt a unified position in negotiating the COC; 

Whereas the ASEAN-United States Maritime Exercise 

(AUXM), which ran from September 2–6, 2019, and featured over 1,000 sailors from all 11 countries, built 

greater maritime security on the strength of ASEAN, 

strengthened navy-to-navy bonds, and exemplified our 

shared belief in a free and open Indo-Pacific; and 

Whereas natural disasters in the ASEAN region over the 

past four decades have resulted in major loss and damage, with a disproportionate impact on developing countries, and the United States will pursue initiatives that 


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are consistent with sustainable long-term economic development, including the achievement of food security and 

poverty alleviation; improvement of conservation and sustainable management of forests, fish stocks, and oceanic 

resources; resilience to extreme weather events that are 

increasing in frequency and severity; and provision of 

sustainable livelihoods for local communities throughout 

the ASEAN region: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) supports and affirms the full implementa3 tion of the Asia Reassurance Initiative Act (Public 

4 Law 115–409) with regard to elevating the United 

5 States relationship with ASEAN; 

6 (2) stands with the nations of ASEAN as they 

7 respond to COVID–19 and supports greater co8 operation in building capacity to prepare for and re9 spond to pandemics and other public health chal10 lenges; 

11 (3) expresses support for rescheduling the 

12 United States-ASEAN Special Summit at an appro13 priate time, and supports high-level United States 

14 participation in the annual ASEAN summit held 

15 each November; 

16 (4) reaffirms the importance of United States17 ASEAN economic engagement, including the elimi18 nation of barriers to cross-border commerce, and 

19 supports the ASEAN Economic Community’s (AEC) 


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1 goals, including strong, inclusive, and sustainable 

2 long-term economic growth and cooperation with the 

3 United States that focuses on innovation and capac4 ity-building efforts in technology, education, disaster 

5 management, food security, human rights, and trade 

6 facilitation, particularly for ASEAN’s poorest coun7 tries; 

8 (5) urges ASEAN to continue its efforts to fos9 ter greater integration and unity within the ASEAN 

10 community, as well as to foster greater integration 

11 and unity with non-ASEAN economic, political, and 

12 security partners, including Japan, the Republic of 

13 Korea, Australia, the European Union, Taiwan, and 

14 India; 

15 (6) recognizes the value of strategic economic 

16 initiatives like United States-ASEAN Connect, 

17 which demonstrates a commitment to ASEAN and 

18 the AEC and builds upon economic relationships in 

19 the region; 

20 (7) supports ASEAN nations in addressing 

21 maritime and territorial disputes in a constructive 

22 manner and in pursuing claims through peaceful, 

23 diplomatic, and, as necessary, legitimate regional 

24 and international arbitration mechanisms, consistent 

25 with international law, including through the adopVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:31 Jan 01, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR406.ATS SR406

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1 tion of a code of conduct in the South China Sea 

2 that represents the interests of all parties and pro3 motes peace and stability in the region; 

4 (8) urges all parties involved in the maritime 

5 and territorial disputes in the Indo-Pacific region, 

6 including the Government of the People’s Republic 

7 of China— 

8 (A) to cease any current activities, and 

9 avoid undertaking any actions in the future, 

10 that undermine stability, or complicate or esca11 late disputes through the use of coercion, in12 timidation, or military force; 

13 (B) to demilitarize islands, reefs, shoals, 

14 and other features, and refrain from new ef15 forts to militarize, including the construction of 

16 new garrisons and facilities and the relocation 

17 of additional military personnel, material, or 

18 equipment; 

19 (C) to oppose actions by any country that 

20 prevent other countries from exercising their 

21 sovereign rights to the resources in their exclu22 sive economic zones (EEZ) and continental 

23 shelves by enforcing claims to those areas in the 

24 South China Sea that lack support in inter25 national law; and 


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1 (D) to oppose unilateral declarations of ad2 ministrative and military districts in contested 

3 areas in the South China Sea; 

4 (9) urges parties to refrain from unilateral ac5 tions that cause permanent physical damage to the 

6 marine environment, and supports the efforts of the 

7 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

8 and ASEAN to implement guidelines to address the 

9 illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in the 

10 region; 

11 (10) supports efforts by United States partners 

12 and allies in ASEAN— 

13 (A) to enhance maritime capability and 

14 maritime domain awareness; 

15 (B) to protect unhindered access to and 

16 use of international waterways in the Indo-Pa17 cific region that are critical to ensuring the se18 curity and free flow of commerce; 

19 (C) to counter piracy; 

20 (D) to disrupt illicit maritime trafficking 

21 activities such as the trafficking of persons, 

22 goods, and drugs; and 

23 (E) to enhance the maritime capabilities of 

24 countries or regional organizations to respond 


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1 to emerging threats to maritime security in the 

2 Indo-Pacific region; 

3 (11) urges ASEAN member states to develop a 

4 common approach to reaffirm the decision of the 

5 Permanent Court of Arbitration’s 2016 ruling in 

6 favor of the Republic of the Philippines in the case 

7 against the People’s Republic of China’s excessive 

8 maritime claims; 

9 (12) reaffirms the commitment of the United 

10 States to continue joint efforts with ASEAN to halt 

11 human smuggling and trafficking in persons, and 

12 urges ASEAN to create and strengthen regional 

13 mechanisms to provide assistance and support to 

14 refugees and migrants; 

15 (13) supports the Lower Mekong Initiative, 

16 which has led to significant progress in promoting 

17 sustainable long-term economic development in 

18 mainland Southeast Asia and fostering integrated 

19 sub-regional cooperation and capacity building; 

20 (14) urges ASEAN to build capacity for the 

21 promotion and protection of human rights by 

22 ASEAN member states, and the implementation of 

23 related priorities, programs, and activities; 

24 (15) urges ASEAN governments to engage di25 rectly with leaders of civil society and human rights, 


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1 including advocates of religious freedom, victims of 

2 human rights abuses, and environmental groups, 

3 and to ensure these stakeholders have a voice in con4 structing public policy; 

5 (16) encourages the President of the United 

6 States to communicate to ASEAN leaders the im7 portance of promoting the rule of law and open and 

8 transparent government, strengthening civil society, 

9 and protecting human rights, including releasing po10 litical prisoners, ceasing politically motivated pros11 ecutions and arbitrary killings, safeguarding freedom 

12 of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of reli13 gion, and freedom of speech and expression; 

14 (17) supports efforts by organizations in 

15 ASEAN that address corruption in the public and 

16 private sectors, enhance anti-bribery compliance, en17 force bribery criminalization in the private sector, 

18 and build beneficial ownership transparency through 

19 the ASEAN–USAID PROSPECT project partnered 

20 with the South East Asia Parties Against Corrup21 tion (SEA–PAC); 

22 (18) supports the Young Southeast Asian Lead23 ers Initiative as an example of a people-to-people 

24 partnership that provides skills, networks, and lead25 ership training to a new generation who will create 


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1 and fill jobs, foster cross-border cooperation and 

2 partnerships, and rise to solve the regional and glob3 al challenges of the future; and 

4 (19) applauds the ASEAN governments that 

5 have fully upheld and implemented all United Na6 tions Security Council resolutions and international 

7 agreements with respect to North Korea’s nuclear 

8 and ballistic missile programs, and encourages all 

9 other ASEAN governments to do the same. 

Æ 


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