IIB 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1632 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 25, 2019 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

AN ACT 

To require a strategy for engagement with Southeast Asia 

and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Southeast Asia Strat3 egy Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Southeast Asia is the fulcrum of the Indo7 Pacific region, providing both a geographic and mar8 itime link between East and South Asia. 

9 (2) The Association of Southeast Asian Nations 

10 (ASEAN), a regional intergovernmental organiza11 tion, remains central to the Indo-Pacific region’s in12 stitutional architecture and to United States foreign 

13 policy toward the region. 

14 (3) The United States has reaffirmed that the 

15 security and sovereignty of its Southeast Asian allies 

16 and partners, including a strong, independent 

17 ASEAN, remain vital to the security, prosperity, and 

18 stability of the Indo-Pacific region. 

19 (4) The United States has committed to con20 tinuing to deepen longstanding alliances and part21 nerships with a range of Southeast Asian nations, 

22 including by promoting our shared values, democ23 racy, human rights, and civil society. 

24 (5) Since the end of the Second World War, 

25 United States investments in strengthening alliances 

26 and partnerships with Southeast Asian nations have 


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1 yielded tremendous returns for United States inter2 ests, as working with and through these alliances 

3 and partnerships have increased the region’s capac4 ity and capability to address common challenges. 

5 (6) ASEAN member states are critical United 

6 States security partners in preventing violent extre7 mism and protecting the freedom and openness of 

8 the maritime domain and in preventing the traf9 ficking of weapons of mass destruction. 

10 (7) ASEAN member states have contributed 

11 significantly to regional disaster monitoring and 

12 management and emergency response through initia13 tives such as the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for 

14 Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management, 

15 an inter-governmental organization that facilitates 

16 coordination and cooperation among ASEAN mem17 ber states and international organizations in times 

18 of emergency. 

19 (8) According to the 2018 ASEAN Business 

20 Outlook Survey, ASEAN member states are vital to 

21 the prosperity of the United States economy and ex22 ports to ASEAN economies support more than 

23 500,000 jobs in the United States. 

24 (9) The United States and ASEAN have re25 cently celebrated the 40th anniversary of their ties 


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1 and established a new strategic partnership that will 

2 enhance cooperation across the economic, political3 security, and people-to-people pillars of the relation4 ship. 

5 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

6 It is the policy of the United States to— 

7 (1) deepen cooperation with ASEAN and 

8 ASEAN member states in the interest of promoting 

9 peace, security, and stability in the Indo-Pacific re10 gion; 

11 (2) affirm the importance of ASEAN centrality 

12 and ASEAN-led mechanisms in the evolving institu13 tional architecture of the Indo-Pacific region; and 

14 (3) establish and communicate a comprehensive 

15 strategy toward the Indo-Pacific region that articu16 lates— 

17 (A) the role and importance of Southeast 

18 Asia to the United States; 

19 (B) the value of the United States-ASEAN 

20 relationship; 

21 (C) the mutual interests of all parties; 

22 (D) the concrete and material benefits all 

23 nations derive from strong United States en24 gagement and leadership in Southeast Asia; and 


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1 (E) efforts to forge and maintain ASEAN 

2 consensus, especially on key issues of political 

3 and security concern to the region, such as the 

4 South China Sea. 

5 SEC. 4. STRATEGY FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH SOUTHEAST 

6 ASIA AND ASEAN. 

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

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

9 in consultation with the heads of other Federal depart10 ments and agencies as appropriate, shall develop and sub11 mit to the appropriate congressional committees a com12 prehensive strategy for engagement with Southeast Asia 

13 and ASEAN. 

14 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The strategy re15 quired by subsection (a) shall include the following: 

16 (1) A statement of enduring United States in17 terests in Southeast Asia and a description of efforts 

18 to bolster the effectiveness of ASEAN. 

19 (2) A description of efforts to— 

20 (A) deepen and expand Southeast Asian al21 liances, partnerships, and multilateral engage22 ments, including efforts to expand broad based 

23 and inclusive economic growth, security ties, se24 curity cooperation and interoperability, eco25 nomic connectivity, and expand opportunities 


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1 for ASEAN to work with other like-minded 

2 partners in the region; and 

3 (B) encourage like-minded partners outside 

4 of the Indo-Pacific region to engage with 

5 ASEAN. 

6 (3) A summary of initiatives across the whole 

7 of the United States Government to strengthen the 

8 United States partnership with Southeast Asian na9 tions and ASEAN, including to promote broad based 

10 and inclusive economic growth, trade, investment, 

11 energy and efforts to combat climate change, public12 private partnerships, physical and digital infrastruc13 ture development, education, disaster management, 

14 public health and economic and political diplomacy 

15 in Southeast Asia. 

16 (4) A summary of initiatives across the whole 

17 of the United States Government to enhance the ca18 pacity of Southeast Asian nations with respect to en19 forcing international law and multilateral sanctions, 

20 and initiatives to cooperate with ASEAN as an insti21 tution in these areas. 

22 (5) A summary of initiatives across the whole 

23 of the United States Government to promote human 

24 rights and democracy, to strengthen the rule of law, 

25 civil society, and transparent governance, and to 


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1 protect the integrity of elections from outside influ2 ence. 

3 (6) A summary of initiatives to promote secu4 rity cooperation and security assistance within 

5 Southeast Asian nations, including— 

6 (A) maritime security and maritime do7 main awareness initiatives for protecting the 

8 maritime commons and supporting international 

9 law and freedom of navigation in the South 

10 China Sea; and 

11 (B) efforts to combat terrorism, human 

12 trafficking, piracy, and illegal fishing, and pro13 mote more open, reliable routes for sea lines of 

14 communication. 

15 (c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE16 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congres17 sional committees’’ means— 

18 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 

19 Committee on Armed Services of the House of Rep20 resentatives; and 


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1 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 

2 the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 24, 

2019. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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