III 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 141 

Supporting ASEAN Centrality in the Indo-Pacific Region. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 30, 2023 

Mr. MERKLEY (for himself and Mr. VAN HOLLEN) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting ASEAN Centrality in the Indo-Pacific Region. 

Whereas, with more than 686,000,000 people, the ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations 

(ASEAN) collectively boast the third largest population 

in the world and a gross domestic product of 

$3,300,000,000,000, and serves to promote economic 

growth and regional stability among its members, as well 

as a rules-based international order; 

Whereas ASEAN is situated in a critical geographic position, 

straddling the sea lanes between the Indian Ocean to the 

west and the Pacific Ocean to the east; 

Whereas, at the 10th annual U.S.-ASEAN Summit in Phnom 

Penh, Cambodia, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., and the 

ASEAN leaders elevated United States-ASEAN relations 

to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership; 


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Whereas, under this framework, there has been an unprecedented expansion in United States-ASEAN relations, including the launch of five new high-level dialogues on 

health, transportation, gender equality and women’s empowerment, environment and climate, and energy, as well 

as elevated engagement on foreign affairs, economics, and 

defense; 

Whereas, in October 2022, the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate joined a senior officials’ dialogue on the environment and climate with ASEAN, during which the two sides decided to establish a cooperation 

work plan and to hold a special U.S.-ASEAN Ministerial 

Dialogue on the Environment and Climate in 2023; 

Whereas President Biden has reaffirmed the strong support 

of the United States for ASEAN centrality and the 

ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, building on the historic success of the first-ever U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit in Washington, DC in May 2022; 

Whereas the United States is committed to supporting the 

implementation of the ASEAN Outlook on the IndoPacific’s Maritime Pillar, and the United States Government has announced $60,000,000 in new regional maritime initiatives; 

Whereas, in 2022, the United States provided over 

$860,000,000 in assistance through the Department of 

State and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to ASEAN partners to support the 

environment, access to education, strengthened health 

systems, security modernization efforts, rule of law, and 

human rights; 


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Whereas the Department of Agriculture and the United 

States International Development Finance Corporation 

plan to invest $57,000,000 in new programs across 

Southeast Asia to promote food security and ensure access to safe water, including a new ‘‘Food for School 

Feeding’’ program; 

Whereas the United States supports the ASEAN Center for 

Pandemic Health Emergencies and Emerging Diseases 

(ACPHEED), including through USAID assistance and 

through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 

Whereas the United States International Development Finance Corporation will invest $215,000,000 in loans to 

Southeast Asian financial institutions, in order to help 

low-income women access capital and contribute to economic growth; 

Whereas the Mekong-U.S. Partnership, established in 2020 

to expand upon the Lower Mekong Initiative, promotes 

sustainable long-term economic development throughout 

mainland Southeast Asia and fosters regional cooperation, integration, and capacity building; 

Whereas the strength of U.S.-ASEAN relations is anchored 

in the friendship shared by our combined 1,000,000,000 

people, and each year the United States provides more 

than $70,000,000 to support educational and cultural exchanges that foster greater understanding; 

Whereas more than 650 students, teachers, and scholars participate in Fulbright exchanges between the United 

States and ASEAN, and participants from all 10 

ASEAN member states take part in the program; 

Whereas 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the Young 

Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative (YSEALI), which ofVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:51 Mar 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR141.IS SR141

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fers exchanges, regional workshops, small grant funding, 

and other programs to develop ties between the United 

States and ASEAN; 

Whereas, at the September 2020 ASEAN-U.S. Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, the United States announced the new 

YSEALI Academy at Fulbright University in Vietnam to 

expand YSEALI’s people-to-people engagement between 

the United States and ASEAN; 

Whereas seven ASEAN member States link to 23 States and 

the District of Columbia through 81 sister city, nine sister state, and 20 sister county connections; and 

Whereas the Peace Corps has programs in five ASEAN member States (Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, 

and Vietnam), including the inaugural program in Vietnam launched in 2022 with 10 Peace Corps Trainees to 

promote English language learning and literacy in Vietnam’s secondary schools: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) promotes deepening cooperation with 

3 ASEAN member states and the ASEAN Secretariat 

4 under our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to 

5 promote peace, security, and stability in the Indo6 Pacific region; 

7 (2) reaffirms the importance of ASEAN cen8 trality, the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, and 

9 ASEAN-led mechanisms in the institutional archi10 tecture of the Indo-Pacific region; 


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1 (3) commemorates the 10th anniversary of 

2 YSEALI on December 3, 2023, and supports its ex3 panding programs; 

4 (4) commends the work and mission of the 

5 Peace Corps in the region, including the historic ar6 rival of the first Peace Corps Volunteers to Vietnam, 

7 at the invitation of the Government of Vietnam; 

8 (5) celebrates the 10th anniversary of our com9 prehensive partnership with Vietnam and supports 

10 elevating our relationship to a strategic partnership; 

11 (6) congratulates Indonesia for its successful 

12 leadership as Chair of the G20 and United States13 ASEAN country coordinator in 2022, and extends 

14 United States support and best wishes as it assumes 

15 the ASEAN Chairmanship in 2023, under the theme 

16 ‘‘ASEAN Matters: Epicentrum of Growth’’; 

17 (7) applauds the steadfast U.S.-Indonesia Stra18 tegic Partnership, Indonesia’s leadership on the 

19 issue of women and girls’ education in Afghanistan, 

20 and Indonesia’s dedication to renewable energy and 

21 a transition away from fossil fuels, as committed to 

22 in the Just Energy Transition Partnership agree23 ment; 

24 (8) reaffirms the importance of the Mekong25 U.S. Partnership and the value of transboundary coVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:51 Mar 31, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR141.IS SR141

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1 operation across the Mekong sub-region, and sup2 ports a whole-of-government approach in providing 

3 coordinated assistance, including programmatic sup4 port from USAID and the Department of State; 

5 (9) encourages ASEAN, including through the 

6 ASEAN Chair and Office of the Special Envoy, to 

7 play an active role beyond the Five Point Consensus 

8 to bring about an end to all forms of violence in 

9 Burma, the release of all those arbitrarily detained, 

10 and unhindered humanitarian access throughout the 

11 country; and 

12 (10) supports the people of Burma in their 

13 quest for democracy, sustainable peace, and genuine 

14 ethnic and religious reconciliation. 

Æ 


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