II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5037 

To strengthen the role of the United States with respect to the Indian 

Ocean region, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 12, 2024 

Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. KAINE, Mr. RUBIO, and Mr. 

COONS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To strengthen the role of the United States with respect 

to the Indian Ocean region, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Indian Ocean Region 

5 Strategic Review Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT9 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com10 mittees’’ means— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•S 5037 IS

1 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

2 and the Committee on Armed Services of the 

3 Senate; and 

4 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

5 the Committee on Armed Services of the House 

6 of Representatives. 

7 (2) INDIAN OCEAN REGION.—The term ‘‘Indian 

8 Ocean region’’ means the Indian Ocean, including 

9 the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, and the lit10 toral areas surrounding the Indian Ocean, including 

11 the East Coast of Africa. 

12 (3) INDIAN OCEAN REGION COUNTRY.—The 

13 term ‘‘Indian Ocean region country’’ means any 

14 country located within or surrounding the Indian 

15 Ocean region. 

16 SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 

17 Congress finds the following: 

18 (1) The United States has vitally important po19 litical, economic, and security interests in the Indian 

20 Ocean region, and the United States is uniquely po21 sitioned to capitalize on opportunities that advance 

22 those interests. 

23 (2) The United States needs to engage and co24 operate with partners in the Indo-Pacific region, in25 cluding India, Japan, Australia, and island countries 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•S 5037 IS

1 located within the region, to bolster regional govern2 ance, to increase sustainable economic development, 

3 and to strengthen cooperation on security challenges, 

4 such as threats to freedom of navigation, and envi5 ronmental disasters. 

6 (3) The United States must work to better un7 derstand the political, security, economic, and envi8 ronmental issues faced by the governments of Indian 

9 Ocean region countries. 

10 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

11 It is the policy of the United States with respect to 

12 the Indian Ocean region, as part of the broader strategy 

13 of the United States for Indo-Pacific engagement, to 

14 strengthen engagement with Indian Ocean region coun15 tries (including with the governments, civil society, aca16 demia, and private sectors of those countries) and to en17 hance meaningful diplomatic, security, and economic rela18 tions with allies and partners of the United States in the 

19 Indian Ocean region by— 

20 (1) promoting cohesive political ties between the 

21 United States and Indian Ocean region countries 

22 through active participation in regional organiza23 tions and strengthening bilateral diplomatic relations 

24 with those allies and partners; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•S 5037 IS

1 (2) continuing to strengthen bilateral security 

2 relationships between the United States and part3 ners in the Indian Ocean region, including India, for 

4 the purpose of regularizing security cooperation, by 

5 building upon foundational agreements concerning 

6 intelligence sharing, military communication, and 

7 naval cooperation; 

8 (3) engaging with India to better understand 

9 and operationalize economic and political opportuni10 ties across the Indian Ocean region; 

11 (4) enhancing economic connectivity and com12 mercial exchange between the United States and In13 dian Ocean region countries; 

14 (5) maintaining the freedom of navigation of 

15 the international waters within the Indian Ocean re16 gion in a manner consistent with international law; 

17 (6) cooperating with the governments of Indian 

18 Ocean region countries on security challenges, in19 cluding issues relating to piracy and illegal fishing; 

20 (7) supporting the ability of such governments, 

21 and of nongovernmental organizations within the In22 dian Ocean region, to respond to environmental dis23 asters and work to mitigate potential future disas24 ters with resilient infrastructure; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•S 5037 IS

1 (8) facilitating cooperation between the United 

2 States and allies and partners of the United States 

3 in the Indian Ocean region to build capacity in mari4 time security and maritime domain awareness; 

5 (9) promoting cooperation with allies of the 

6 United States in the Indo-Pacific region (including 

7 Japan and Australia), major defense partners of the 

8 United States (including India), and North Atlantic 

9 Treaty Organization allies (including the United 

10 Kingdom and France) to support a rules-based order 

11 in the region; and 

12 (10) understanding resources and costs re13 quired for the United States to effectively engage 

14 diplomatically and economically in the Indian Ocean 

15 region. 

16 SEC. 5. STRATEGY AND IMPLEMENTATION PLAN RELATING 

17 TO INDIAN OCEAN REGION. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

19 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, 

20 in coordination with the Secretary of Defense and the Ad21 ministrator of the United States Agency for International 

22 Development, shall submit to the appropriate congres23 sional committees a multi-year strategy and implementa24 tion plan for United States engagements and posture to 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•S 5037 IS

1 support the interests of the United States with respect to 

2 the Indian Ocean region. 

3 (b) ELEMENTS OF STRATEGY.—The strategy re4 quired by subsection (a) shall include the following: 

5 (1) An identification of the political, economic, 

6 and security goals and opportunities of the United 

7 States in the Indian Ocean region. 

8 (2) An explanation of the political, economic, 

9 and security goals of Indian Ocean region countries 

10 and a detailed description of areas with respect to 

11 which those goals align with the goals of the United 

12 States. 

13 (3) A list that— 

14 (A) details the political, economic, and se15 curity efforts of the People’s Republic of China 

16 with respect to the Indian Ocean region, par17 ticularly with respect to the engagement by the 

18 People’s Republic of China with each Indian 

19 Ocean region country; and 

20 (B) includes an assessment of any efforts 

21 of the People’s Republic of China to expand its 

22 military presence in the Indian Ocean region, 

23 including through efforts to secure agreements 

24 to host People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) 

25 bases and acquire commercial port facilities. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
7 

•S 5037 IS

1 (4) A description and analysis of challenges, in2 cluding countries and specific projects, to engage3 ment by the United States with Indian Ocean region 

4 countries as a result of— 

5 (A) disparate policy goals across the de6 partments and agencies of the United States 

7 Government; and 

8 (B) disparate definitions of the term ‘‘In9 dian Ocean region’’ across the Department of 

10 State, the Department of Defense, and the 

11 United States Agency for International Devel12 opment. 

13 (5) A list that details efforts to improve co14 operation between the United States and other mem15 bers of the Quadrilateral Dialogue (commonly re16 ferred to as the ‘‘Quad’’), namely, Australia, India, 

17 and Japan, through coordination among those coun18 tries with respect to diplomacy and development pri19 orities, joint military exercises and operations, and 

20 other activities that promote and balance the polit21 ical, economic, and security interests of the United 

22 States with respect to Indian Ocean region coun23 tries. 

24 (6) An overview— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
8 

•S 5037 IS

1 (A) of efforts to support the economic 

2 connectivity and development of island coun3 tries located within the Indian Ocean region, in4 cluding through the United States-India-Japan 

5 Trilateral Infrastructure Working Group and 

6 the Asia-Africa Growth Corridor, and other ef7 forts to expand and enhance connectivity across 

8 the Indo-Pacific region (including with the 

9 countries of Southeast Asia), that maintain 

10 high standards of investment and support for 

11 civil society and people-to-people connectivity; 

12 and 

13 (B) that shall include a description of any 

14 resources or policy tools required to enhance the 

15 ability of the United States to support high16 quality infrastructure resiliency projects in 

17 those countries. 

18 (7) A description of how the United States may 

19 engage with regional intergovernmental organiza20 tions and multilateral organizations, including the 

21 Indian Ocean Rim Association, to promote the polit22 ical, economic, and security goals of the United 

23 States in the Indian Ocean region. 

24 (8) A description of how the United States may 

25 facilitate cooperation between Indian Ocean region 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
9 

•S 5037 IS

1 countries (including with the governments, civil soci2 ety, academia, and private sectors of those coun3 tries) and Taiwan through Taiwan’s New South4 bound Policy. 

5 (9) A review of the diplomatic posture of the 

6 United States in the Indian Ocean region, including 

7 the following: 

8 (A) An assessment of the diplomatic en9 gagement by the United States with Indian 

10 Ocean region countries without a permanent 

11 United States embassy or diplomatic mission. 

12 (B) An assessment of means to improve 

13 cooperation by the United States with the 

14 Maldives, Seychelles, and Comoros. 

15 (C) An assessment of the sufficiency of 

16 United States diplomatic personnel and facili17 ties available in the Indian Ocean region to 

18 carry out the policy described in section 4. 

19 (D) A description of any resources re20 quired to fill identified gaps with respect to 

21 such diplomatic posture. 

22 (E) A description of the bilateral and mul23 tilateral diplomatic goals of the Department of 

24 State that the Secretary of State considers necVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Sep 17, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5037.IS S5037

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
10 

•S 5037 IS

1 essary to carry out the policy described in sec2 tion 4. 

3 (F) A description of the diplomatic strat4 egy to deter the efforts described in paragraph 

5 (3)(B). 

6 (10) A review of the agreements entered into 

7 between the United States and Indian Ocean region 

8 countries for the purpose of facilitating the military 

9 operations of the United States pursuant to bilateral 

10 and multilateral agreements and a description of any 

11 efforts to expand naval and coast guard cooperation 

12 between the United States and India and other In13 dian Ocean region countries through the negotiation 

14 of additional agreements. 

15 (11) A strategy for strengthening security co16 operation between the United States and partners in 

17 the Indian Ocean region, including through the pro18 vision of security assistance, which shall include the 

19 following: 

20 (A) A summary of the security priorities, 

21 objectives, and actions of each prospective re22 cipient country. 

23 (B) A description of the means by which 

24 the United States may support those security 

25 priorities, objectives, and actions while proVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Sep 17, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5037.IS S5037

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
11 

•S 5037 IS

1 moting the political, economic, and security 

2 goals of the United States in the Indian Ocean 

3 region. 

4 (C) An assessment of the capabilities, 

5 training, and resources needed for Indian 

6 Ocean region countries to address shared chal7 lenges in the region. 

8 (c) INCLUSION IN ANOTHER STRATEGY.—The strat9 egy required by subsection (a) may be submitted to the 

10 appropriate congressional committees as a part of any 

11 other strategy relating to the Indo-Pacific region. 

12 (d) REPORTS ON IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 

13 1 year after the date on which the Secretary of State sub14 mits the strategy required by subsection (a), and 1 year 

15 thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit to the ap16 propriate congressional committees a report on progress 

17 made toward implementing the strategy. 

18 SEC. 6. REPORTS BY UNITED STATES-CHINA ECONOMIC 

19 AND SECURITY REVIEW COMMISSION. 

20 (a) MODIFICATION.—Section 1238(c)(2)(E) of the 

21 Floyd D. Spence National Defense Authorization Act for 

22 Fiscal Year 2001 (22 U.S.C. 7002(c)(2)(E)) is amend23 ed— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
12 

•S 5037 IS

1 (1) by inserting ‘‘, including in the Indian 

2 Ocean region’’ after ‘‘deployments of the People’s 

3 Republic of China military’’; and 

4 (2) by adding at the end the following new sen5 tence: ‘‘In this subparagraph, the term ‘Indian 

6 Ocean region’ means the Indian Ocean, including 

7 the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, and the lit8 toral areas surrounding the Indian Ocean, including 

9 the East Coast of Africa.’’. 

10 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The amendments made by sub11 section (a) shall apply with respect to each report under 

12 section 1238(c) of the Floyd D. Spence National Defense 

13 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2001 (22 U.S.C. 

14 7002(c)) required to be submitted on or after the date 

15 of the enactment of this Act. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB