South China Sea, the East China Sea, or the Yellow 
Sea. 
(6) The Association of Southeast Asian Nations 
(ASEAN) has promoted multilateral talks in dis-
puted areas without settling the issue of sovereignty. 
(7) In 2002, ASEAN and China signed a Dec-
laration on the Conduct of Parties in the South 
China Sea. 
(8) That declaration committed all parties to 
those territorial disputes to ‘‘reaffirm their respect 
for and commitment to the freedom of navigation in 
and over flight above the South China Sea as pro-
vided for by the universally recognized principles of 
international law’’, and to ‘‘resolve their territorial 
and jurisdictional disputes by peaceful means, with-
out resorting to the threat or use of force’’. 
(9) In July and November of 2010, the United 
States and our Republic of Korea allies conducted 
joint naval exercises in the Yellow Sea in inter-
national waters, as well as Republic of Korea terri-
torial waters, in the vicinity of the site of the March 
2010 North Korean attack on the South Korean 
military vessel Cheonan, these exercises drew objec-
tions from Beijing over foreign operations in the 
Yellow Sea. 
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(10) In September 2010, tensions were raised 
in the East China Sea near the Senkaku (Diaoyutai) 
Islands, a territory under the legal administration of 
Japan, when a Chinese fishing vessel deliberately 
rammed Japanese Coast Guard patrol boats. 
(11) On February 25, 2011, a frigate from Chi-
na’s navy fired shots at 3 fishing boats from the 
Philippines. 
(12) On March 2, 2011, the Government of the 
Philippines reported that two patrol boats from 
China attempted to ram one of its surveillance ships. 
(13) On May 26, 2011, a maritime security ves-
sel from China cut the cables of an exploration ship 
from Vietnam, the Binh Minh, in the South China 
Sea in waters near Cam Ranh Bay in the exclusive 
economic zone of Vietnam. 
(14) On May 31, 2011, three Chinese military 
vessels used guns to threaten the crews of four Viet-
namese fishing boats while they were fishing in the 
waters of the Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago. 
(15) On June 3, 2011, Vietnam’s Foreign Min-
istry released a statement that ‘‘Vietnam is reso-
lutely opposed to these acts by China that seriously 
violated the sovereign and jurisdiction rights of Viet 
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Nam to its continental shelf and Exclusive Economic 
Zone (EEZ)’’. 
(16) On June 9, 2011, three vessels from 
China, including one fishing vessel and two maritime 
security vessels, ran into and disabled the cables of 
another exploration ship from Vietnam, the Viking 
2, in the exclusive economic zone of Vietnam. 
(17) The actions of the Government of the Peo-
ple’s Republic of China in the South China Sea have 
also affected United States military and maritime 
vessels and aircraft transiting through international 
air space and waters, including the collision of a 
Chinese fighter plane with a United States surveil-
lance plane in 2001, the harassment of the USNS 
Victorious and the USNS Impeccable in March 
2009, and the collision of a Chinese submarine with 
the sonar cable of the USS John McCain in June 
2009. 
(18) On July 23, 2010, former Secretary of 
State Hillary Rodham Clinton stated at the ASEAN 
Regional Forum that the United States, like every 
nation, has a national interest in freedom of naviga-
tion, open access to Asia’s maritime commons, re-
spect for international law, and unimpeded com-
merce in the South China Sea. 
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(19) On June 23, 2011, the United States stat-
ed that it was ready to provide hardware to mod-
ernize the military of the Philippines. 
(20) The United States and the Philippines 
conducted combined naval exercises in the Sulu Sea, 
near the South China Sea, from June 28 to July 8, 
2011. 
(21) On July 22, 2011, an Indian naval vessel, 
sailing about 45 nautical miles off the coast of Viet-
nam, was warned by a Chinese naval vessel that it 
was allegedly violating Chinese territorial waters. 
(22) In June 2012, China’s cabinet, the State 
Council, approved the establishment of the city of 
Sansha to oversee the areas claimed by China in the 
South China Sea. 
(23) In July 2012, Chinese military authorities 
announced that they had established a corresponding 
Sansha garrison in the new prefecture. 
(24) On June 23, 2012, the China National 
Offshore Oil Corporation invited bids for oil explo-
ration in areas within 200 nautical miles of the con-
tinental shelf and within the exclusive economic zone 
of Vietnam. 
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(25) Since July 2012, Chinese patrol ships have 
been spotted near the disputed Senkaku (Diaoyutai) 
Islands in the East China Sea. 
(26) At the July 2012 ASEAN Regional 
Forum, former Secretary of State Clinton said, ‘‘We 
believe the nations of the region should work collabo-
ratively and diplomatically to resolve disputes with-
out coercion, without intimidation, without threats, 
and without the use of force’’. 
(27) In November 2012, a regulation was ap-
proved by the Hainan People’s Congress authorizing 
Chinese maritime police to ‘‘board, search’’ and even 
‘‘take over’’ ships determined to be ‘‘illegally enter-
ing’’ South China Sea waters unilaterally claimed by 
Beijing. 
(28) At a meeting with the Japanese Foreign 
Minister on January 18, 2013, former Secretary of 
State Clinton stated that ‘‘although the United 
States does not take a position on the ultimate sov-
ereignty of the (Senkaku) islands, we acknowledge 
they are under the administration of Japan’’, adding 
that ‘‘We oppose any unilateral actions that would 
seek to undermine Japanese administration, and we 
urge all parties to take steps to prevent incidents 
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and 
manage 
disagreements 
through 
peaceful 
means’’. 
(29) On August 3, 2012, a Department of 
State spokesperson expressed concern over ‘‘China’s 
upgrading of the administrative level of Sansha City 
and the establishment of a new military garrison 
there’’, expressed encouragement for ASEAN and 
China ‘‘to make meaningful progress toward final-
izing a comprehensive Code of Conduct’’, and called 
upon claimants to ‘‘explore every diplomatic or other 
peaceful avenue for resolution, including the use of 
arbitration or other international legal mechanisms 
as needed’’. 
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
It is the sense of Congress that, in light of the con-
gressional finding described above, the Secretary of State 
should— 
(1) reaffirm the strong support of the United 
States for the peaceful resolution of maritime terri-
torial disputes in the South China Sea, the Taiwan 
Strait, the East China Sea, and the Yellow Sea and 
pledge continued efforts to facilitate a collaborative, 
peaceful process to resolve these disputes; 
(2) condemn the use of threats or force by 
naval, maritime security, and fishing vessels from 
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China in the South China Sea and the East China 
Sea as well as the use of force by North Korea in 
the Yellow Sea that would escalate tensions or result 
in miscalculations; 
(3) note that overt threats and gun boat diplo-
macy are not constructive means for settling these 
outstanding maritime disputes; 
(4) welcome the diplomatic efforts of Associa-
tion of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the 
United States allies and partners in Japan, the Re-
public of Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, and India 
to amiably and fairly resolve these outstanding dis-
putes; and 
(5) support the continuation of operations by 
the United States Armed Forces in support of free-
dom of navigation rights in international waters and 
air space in the South China Sea, the East China 
Sea, the Taiwan Strait, and the Yellow Sea. 
SEC. 3. REPORT ON THE CODE OF CONDUCT FOR THE 
SOUTH CHINA SEA. 
(a) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall 
submit to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 
of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Rela-
tions of the Senate a report on the Code of Conduct and 
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other peaceful measures for resolution of the territorial 
disputes in the South China Sea. 
(b) FORM.—The report required under subsection (a) 
shall be submitted in unclassified form, but may contain 
a classified annex if necessary. 
Æ 
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