I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1632 

To require a strategy for engagement with Southeast Asia and the Association 

of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 7, 2019 

Mrs. WAGNER (for herself, Mr. CASTRO of Texas, and Mr. YOHO) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Southeast Asia Strat5 egy Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Southeast Asia is the fulcrum of the Indo9 Pacific region and the Association of Southeast 

10 Asian Nations (ASEAN), a regional intergovernVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:50 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1632.IH H1632

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1 mental organization, remains the centerpiece of the 

2 Indo-Pacific region’s architecture. 

3 (2) The United States has reaffirmed that the 

4 security and sovereignty of its Southeast Asian allies 

5 and partners, including a strong, independent 

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

7 stability of the Indo-Pacific region. 

8 (3) The United States has committed to rein9 vigorating its longstanding security alliances with 

10 the Philippines and Thailand, as well as bolstering 

11 partnerships with a range of Southeast Asian na12 tions. 

13 (4) A central element of United States strategy 

14 for the Indo-Pacific region is strengthening United 

15 States alliances and partnerships and working with 

16 and through allies and partners to address common 

17 challenges and to enhance shared capabilities. 

18 (5) ASEAN member states are critical United 

19 States security partners in preventing violent extre20 mism, protecting the freedom and openness of the 

21 maritime domain, engaging in global peacekeeping 

22 operations, and preventing the trafficking of weap23 ons of mass destruction. 

24 (6) ASEAN member states are vital to the 

25 prosperity of the United States economy and exports 


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1 to ASEAN economies support more than 500,000 

2 jobs in the United States. 

3 (7) The United States and ASEAN have re4 cently celebrated the 40th anniversary of their ties 

5 and established a new strategic partnership that will 

6 enhance cooperation across the economic, political7 security, and people-to-people pillars of the relation8 ship. 

9 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

10 It is the policy of the United States to— 

11 (1) cooperate more closely with the ASEAN 

12 and ASEAN member states in the interest of pro13 moting peace, security, and stability in the Indo-Pa14 cific region; 

15 (2) establish and communicate a comprehensive 

16 and focused strategy that articulates the role and 

17 importance of Southeast Asia to the United States, 

18 the value of the United States-ASEAN relationship, 

19 the mutual interests of both parties, and the con20 crete and material benefits all nations derive from 

21 strong United States engagement and leadership in 

22 Southeast Asia; and 

23 (3) affirm the importance of ASEAN centrality 

24 and ASEAN-led mechanisms in the evolving regional 

25 architecture of the Indo-Pacific region. 


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1 SEC. 4. STRATEGY FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH SOUTHEAST 

2 ASIA AND ASEAN. 

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

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

5 in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce and the 

6 Secretary of Defense, shall develop and submit to the ap7 propriate congressional committees a comprehensive and 

8 focused multi-year strategy for engagement with South9 east Asia and ASEAN. 

10 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The strategy re11 quired by subsection (a) shall include the following: 

12 (1) An identification of enduring United States 

13 interests in Southeast Asia and efforts to bolster the 

14 effectiveness of ASEAN as an independent and uni15 fied regional leader. 

16 (2) An identification of— 

17 (A) the future of Southeast Asian alli18 ances, partnerships, and multilateral engage19 ments, including efforts to expand security 

20 interoperability and economic connectivity, and 

21 build networks of allies and partners with other 

22 United States partners in the Indo-Pacific re23 gion; and 

24 (B) partners outside ASEAN that support 

25 United States interests in Southeast Asia, such 

26 as an ASEAN-centered and rules-based order, 


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1 including multilateral efforts to coordinate en2 gagement with ASEAN. 

3 (3) A list of ongoing and planned initiatives and 

4 programs to strengthen the United States partner5 ship with Southeast Asian countries and ASEAN 

6 through trade, investment, energy, and economic 

7 and political diplomacy in Southeast Asia and 

8 through development and capacity building, includ9 ing efforts to improve the environment for private 

10 sector-led economic development, public-private part11 nerships, infrastructure development, development of 

12 the digital economy and technology, and other initia13 tives relating to education, disaster management, 

14 and public health. 

15 (4) An assessment of ongoing and planned ini16 tiatives to directly assist Southeast Asian countries 

17 and ASEAN in developing institutional capabilities, 

18 including with respect to enforcing international law 

19 and sanctions, and initiatives to cooperate with 

20 ASEAN as an institution in these areas. 

21 (5) An assessment of ongoing and planned ef22 forts to promote and engage with Southeast Asian 

23 countries on human rights and democracy, to 

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1 parent governance, and to protect the integrity of 

2 elections and personal data from cyber threats. 

3 (6) An assessment of ongoing and planned se4 curity cooperation, assistance, and training initia5 tives within Southeast Asian countries, including— 

6 (A) maritime security and political initia7 tives for protecting the maritime commons and 

8 supporting international law and freedom of 

9 navigation in the South China Sea; and 

10 (B) efforts to combat terrorism, human 

11 trafficking, piracy, and illegal fishing, and pro12 mote more open, reliable routes for trade. 

13 (7) An assessment of ongoing and planned 

14 funding for relevant United States Government de15 partments and agencies on the implementation of 

16 initiatives highlighted in the strategy and an identi17 fication of additional strategic, management, proce18 dural, legal, personnel, and funding resources needed 

19 to fully implement the strategy. 

20 (c) UPDATES TO STRATEGY.—The Secretary of 

21 State, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce and 

22 the Secretary of Defense, shall submit to the appropriate 

23 congressional committees an updated strategy under sub24 section (a) for each of the four years following the year 


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1 in which the initial strategy is submitted under subsection 

2 (a). 

3 (d) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES

4 DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate con5 gressional committees’’ means— 

6 (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 

7 Committee on Armed Services of the House of Rep8 resentatives; and 

9 (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 

10 the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate. 

Æ 


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