III 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 122 

Reaffirming the importance of United States alliances and partnerships. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 18, 2021 

Mr. RISCH (for himself and Mr. MENENDEZ) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

MARCH 24, 2021 

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

preamble 

MAY 11, 2022 

Considered, amended, and agreed to with an amended preamble 

RESOLUTION 

Reaffirming the importance of United States alliances and 

partnerships. 

Whereas, from the American Revolution, through two World 

Wars, the Cold War, and the fight against international 

terrorist organizations, the United States has successfully 

relied on alliances and partnerships with like-minded 

countries to further our vital security, political, and economic interests, starting with the Treaty of Alliance with 

France in 1778 and continuing to the present day; 

Whereas these treaty alliances provide a unique strategic advantage to the United States and are among the Nation’s 


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most precious assets, enabling the United States to advance its vital national interests, defend its territory, expand its economy through international trade and commerce, establish enduring cooperation among like-minded 

countries, prevent the domination of Europe or the IndoPacific and its surrounding maritime and air lanes by a 

hostile power or powers, and deter potential aggressors; 

Whereas United States treaty alliances advance critical 

shared interests, including upholding regional stability 

and security, deterring adversaries, maintaining maritime 

freedom of navigation, promoting global economic prosperity, combating the proliferation of weapons of mass 

destruction, supporting international institutions and architecture, advancing democracy, human rights, and the 

rule of law, upholding international law, and promoting 

shared values and norms; 

Whereas the combined strength conferred by treaty alliances 

enables the United States and its allies to leverage a multinational response to important challenges and advance 

joint initiatives that tackle global problems with a unity 

of purpose; 

Whereas, after the end of the Second World War, the United 

States Government strategically invested in building a 

global network of alliances and partnerships, including 

through the Marshall Plan in Europe and with our postwar partners in Asia, which helped these countries grow 

into democratic, prosperous, peaceful nations with whom 

the United States could effectively partner; 

Whereas the United States-Japan, United States-Republic of 

Korea, United States-Australia, United States-Philippines, and United States-Thailand alliances are the 

foundation of regional stability in the Indo-Pacific; 


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Whereas the United States greatly values other partnerships 

in the Indo-Pacific region, including with India, Singapore, Indonesia, Taiwan, New Zealand, and Vietnam; 

Whereas the United States maintains an unwavering commitment to the defense of Japan under Article 5 of the 

United States-Japan security treaty, which includes the 

Senkaku Islands, as recently reaffirmed by President Joseph R. Biden; 

Whereas the United States-Japan alliance is one of the most 

important political, economic, and military alliances in 

the world, the cornerstone of peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, and is crucial to maintaining a favorable balance of power in the Indo-Pacific 

region and advancing a free and open region characterized by a commitment to democratic governance, the free 

flow of commerce, and shared rules and norms; 

Whereas the United States-Republic of Korea alliance is the 

linchpin of peace, security, and prosperity on the Korean 

Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific region and is critical 

to closely coordinating to face the challenges posed by the 

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and addressing 

future security challenges; 

Whereas the United States-Australia alliance remains an anchor of stability in the Indo-Pacific and the world, while 

Australia’s 2020 Defense Strategic Update and 2020 

Force Structure Plan recognize and respond to Australia’s evolving strategic threat environment, including 

by committing to boost its defense spending by 40 percent over the next decade and to bolster its high-end military capabilities, which provides further opportunities for 

the United States and Australia to boost cooperation on 

defense and strategic and emerging technologies; 


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Whereas a strong United States-Philippine alliance is vital to 

a free and open Indo-Pacific region, the Mutual Defense 

Treaty (MDT) is important for the security of both nations, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken has reaffirmed former Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo’s 

March 2019 statement regarding the clear application of 

the MDT to armed attacks against Philippine armed 

forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the Pacific, which includes the South China Sea; 

Whereas the Philippines is of unique geostrategic importance, 

is a crucial partner in the areas of counterterrorism and 

maritime security, and plays an important role in upholding regional security in the South and West Pacific, including the First and Second Island Chains, and a strong 

relationship between the United States military and the 

Armed Forces of the Philippines, solidified through 

agreements such as the Enhanced Defense Cooperation 

Agreement and the Visiting Forces Agreement, is in the 

national interests of both the Philippines and the United 

States; 

Whereas the United States and Thailand are increasing their 

defense cooperation to advance shared interests in the 

Indo-Pacific; 

Whereas the United States has an opportunity to strengthen 

its relationships, including defense relationships, with 

treaty allies and other partners in Southeast Asia, especially through cooperation that enables these partners to 

better contend with infringements on their sovereignty, 

including by encouraging allies to make specific investments to enhance their area denial and mobile defensein-depth capabilities; 


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Whereas, in 1949, the United States joined with several European countries to conclude the North Atlantic Treaty, 

which formed a basis for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), in order ‘‘to safeguard the freedom, 

common heritage and civilisation of their peoples, founded on the principles of democracy, individual liberty and 

the rule of law’’ and to ‘‘promote stability and well-being 

in the North Atlantic area’’; 

Whereas 30 European and North American nations are members of NATO, and all signatories to the North Atlantic 

Treaty have ‘‘resolved to unite their efforts for collective 

defence and for the preservation of peace and security’’; 

Whereas, following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 

2001, the NATO alliance invoked Article 5 of the North 

Atlantic Treaty for the first and only time, reaffirming 

that an armed attack against one member of the alliance 

shall be considered an attack against all; 

Whereas NATO serves as a force multiplier, reducing the 

burden borne by the United States, has command structures, training institutions, and multilateral exercises 

that have generated unprecedented contributions to 

United States national security priorities and enabled 

NATO soldiers to serve alongside members of the United 

States Armed Forces, including through NATO’s ongoing 

support of Operation Resolute Support in Afghanistan, 

NATO’s Kosovo Force, Operation Sea Guardian in the 

Mediterranean Sea, the capacity-building NATO Mission 

Iraq, support for African Union missions, and air policing missions in member and nonmember nations of Eastern Europe, and has taken a strong stand against Russian aggression in Eastern Europe; 


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Whereas, in his February 19, 2021, speech to the Munich Security Conference, President Biden reaffirmed, ‘‘The 

transatlantic alliance is . . . the strong foundation on 

which our collective security and our shared prosperity 

are built. The partnership between Europe and the 

United States, in my view, is and must remain the cornerstone of all that we hope to accomplish in the 21st 

century, just as we did in the 20th century. . . . The 

United States is fully committed to our NATO Alliance, 

and I welcome Europe’s growing investment in the military capabilities that enable our shared defense.’’; 

Whereas previous Democratic and Republican Administrations alike have recognized that strong, healthy, and politically sustainable alliances require equitable, fair, reasonable, and mutually beneficial burden-sharing arrangements, and that the key to alliance success is a diplomatic and security posture characterized by the effective 

marshaling of resources and acquisition and deployment 

of complementary capabilities, such as the increase in defense spending by all NATO nations since the Wales Declaration of 2014, with 11 members now spending 2 percent of their GDP on defense and several more on track 

to meet that benchmark by 2024; 

Whereas the United States extended nuclear deterrence commitments to NATO and Indo-Pacific allies are 

foundational to the health, strength, and effectiveness of 

these alliances and to continued international security 

and stability; 

Whereas maintaining robust United States diplomatic, economic, and defense budgets are critical to advancing cooperation with allies and partners on shared challenges, 

and deep and precipitous cuts in United States diploVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 May 12, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR122.ATS SR122

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matic, economic, and defense budgets would damage the 

health, robustness, and effectiveness of United States alliances; 

Whereas, in a sign of our shared security objectives and cooperation, our allies and partners have hosted United 

States military installations and welcomed members of 

the United States Armed Forces; 

Whereas citizens of our allies and partners have sacrificed 

their lives in support of efforts to combat terrorism and 

promote security in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere, 

and have contributed significant forces to our military 

endeavors, placing more combat power on the battlefield, 

while reducing the burden borne by the United States; 

Whereas the United States has worked with our allies and 

partners to mitigate conflict and humanitarian crises 

around the world, and United States allies have made 

significant contributions to address humanitarian, food 

security, health, climate-related, and other pressing challenges around the world; 

Whereas the United States and its allies face an increasingly 

challenging security environment in the 21st century, 

characterized by strategic competition with revisionist 

powers such as the People’s Republic of China and the 

Russian Federation, which seek to destabilize the international system; 

Whereas this security environment demands United States 

and allied commitment to strengthening and advancing 

our alliances so that they are postured to meet these 

challenges, and will require sustained political will, concrete partnerships, economic, commercial, and technological cooperation, consistent and tangible commitments, 


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high-level and extensive consultations on matters of mutual interest, mutual and shared cooperation in the acquisition of key capabilities important to allied defenses, and 

unified mutual support in the face of political, economic, 

or military coercion; 

Whereas, on February 4, 2021, President Joseph R. Biden 

stated that United States diplomacy, including with allies 

and partners, will be ‘‘rooted in America’s most cherished 

democratic values: defending freedom, championing opportunity, upholding universal rights, respecting the rule 

of law, and treating every person with dignity,’’ and that 

United States foreign policy will ‘‘better unite our democratic values with our diplomatic leadership’’; and 

Whereas successive generations of leaders of the United 

States and its allies have successfully managed the challenges and constraints inherent in alliances, thus ensuring that the benefits of alliances outweigh the costs: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) reaffirms the enduring commitment of the 

3 United States to our treaty allies in the Indo-Pacific 

4 region and NATO, as well as to other partners, in5 cluding our treaty obligations for mutual defense; 

6 (2) emphasizes the primary importance of the 

7 United States relationships, alliances, and partner8 ships to global peace and prosperity; 

9 (3) recognizes the many contributions that alli10 ances and partnerships have made to advance the inVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:22 May 12, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR122.ATS SR122

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1 terests of the United States and to promote shared 

2 interests; 

3 (4) underscores that alliances have enhanced 

4 mutual security by jointly sharing in common de5 fense, including the defense of the United States, 

6 and that strong alliances and partnerships generate 

7 decisive and sustained United States military advan8 tages; 

9 (5) encourages dealing constructively with sig10 nificant tensions in the United States alliance rela11 tionships to ensure they do not create fissures that 

12 adversaries can exploit; 

13 (6) welcomes and seeks to advance the contin14 ued collaboration of the United States and our allies 

15 and partners to respect and defend the rules-based 

16 international order and the values of democracy, 

17 human rights, and the rule of law that undergird 

18 our common security and prosperity; 

19 (7) reaffirms bipartisan support for equitable 

20 and mutually beneficial burden-sharing arrange21 ments, including fair and additional substantive con22 tributions by United States allies, and acknowledges 

23 the special measures agreements (SMA) reached by 

24 the Biden Administration with Japan and the Re25 public of Korea, and urges ongoing consultations to 


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1 consider additional allied contributions beyond the 

2 traditional SMA categories and to use these con3 sultations as an opportunity to strengthen our alli4 ances with these two partners; 

5 (8) reaffirms the commitment of the United 

6 States to strengthening and boosting our alliances 

7 and partnerships in the Indo-Pacific, including to 

8 contend with China’s growing power projection capa9 bilities and use of coercive and grey-zone tactics, and 

10 to jointly develop, regulate, and monitor the produc11 tion, use, and protection of strategic and emerging 

12 technologies; 

13 (9) encourages the Biden Administration to 

14 focus significantly on growing defense cooperation 

15 with Australia, especially in light of the country’s 

16 2020 Defense Strategic Update, and to build on 

17 United States-Japan initiatives that advance alliance 

18 defense cooperation that contributes to a free and 

19 open Indo-Pacific, and to further boost cooperation 

20 with both allies on the research, development, and 

21 regulation of strategic and emerging technologies, 

22 including defense technologies; 

23 (10) reaffirms the commitment of the United 

24 States to the NATO alliance and to NATO efforts 

25 to counter Kremlin aggression, including military 


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1 aggression and attempts to erode democratic institu2 tions in the United States and other NATO member 

3 states; 

4 (11) urges the Biden Administration to work 

5 with its NATO partners to advance the efforts cur6 rently underway within NATO to better prepare the 

7 alliance to confront future and emerging challenges, 

8 and to continue to encourage NATO nations to con9 tribute more to the alliance and improve their capa10 bilities; 

11 (12) calls upon Indo-Pacific and NATO allies to 

12 collaborate with the United States in developing the 

13 next generation of defense technologies, including 

14 disruptive and emerging technologies, while working 

15 together to improve multilateral export controls, 

16 common standards for technology security, and 

17 norms and standards for new and emerging tech18 nologies; 

19 (13) asks all members of NATO, including the 

20 United States, to devote significant energy to the de21 velopment of a new, forward-looking strategy to re22 place the 2010 Strategic Concept and focus on the 

23 many emerging challenges that face the alliance, in24 cluding China, Russia, and instability on Europe’s 

25 southern border; 


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1 (14) calls on the Biden Administration to en2 sure United States policy and posture reflects the 

3 requirements of extended deterrence to preserve non4 proliferation benefits, assure allies, and to deter, and 

5 if necessary, respond, across the spectrum of nuclear 

6 and nonnuclear scenarios in defense of allies and 

7 partners; 

8 (15) supports maintaining robust diplomatic, 

9 economic, and defense budgets as critical to advanc10 ing cooperation with allies and partners on shared 

11 challenges; and 

12 (16) reaffirms United States commitment to 

13 the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights, 

14 adopted at Paris on December 10, 1948, and the 

15 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 

16 adopted by the United States on December 16, 

17 1966, and ratified by the United States on June 8, 

18 1992, and welcomes similar commitments from its 

19 allies and partners. 

Æ 


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