IV
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. RES. 103
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States
should maintain approximately 100,000 United States military personnel
in the Asia and Pacific region until such time as there is a peaceful
and permanent resolution to the major security and political conflicts
in the region.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 20, 1997
Mr. BEREUTER (for himself and Mr. SPENCE) submitted the following
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that
the United States should maintain approximately
100,000 United States military personnel in the Asia
and Pacific region until such time as there is a peaceful
and permanent resolution to the major security and polit-
ical conflicts in the region.
Whereas the stability of the Asia-Pacific region is a matter
of vital national interest affecting the well-being of all
Americans;
Whereas the nations of the Pacific Rim collectively represent
the United States largest trading partner and are ex-
pected to account for almost one-third of the world’s eco-
nomic activity by the start of the next century;
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Whereas the increased reliance by the United States on trade
and Middle East oil sources has reinforced United States
security interests in the Southeast Asia shipping lanes
through the South China Sea and the key straits of Ma-
lacca, Sunda, Lombok, and Makassar;
Whereas the South China Sea is a vital conduit for United
States Navy ships passing from the Pacific to the Indian
Ocean and the Persian Gulf;
Whereas maintaining freedom of navigation in the South
China Sea is a fundamental interest of the United States;
Whereas the threats of proliferation of weapons of mass de-
struction, the emerging nationalism amidst long-standing
ethnic and national rivalries, and the unresolved terri-
torial disputes combine to create a political landscape of
potential instability and conflict that would jeopardize the
interests of the United States and the safety of United
States nationals in this region;
Whereas a critical component of the East Asia strategy of the
United States is maintaining forward deployed forces in
Asia to ensure broad regional stability, to help to deter
aggression, and to contribute to the political and eco-
nomic advances of the region from which the United
States benefits;
Whereas the forward presence of the United States in North-
east Asia enables the United States to respond to re-
gional contingencies, to protect sea lines of communica-
tion, to sustain influence, and to support operations as
distant as operations in the Persian Gulf;
Whereas the military forces of the United States serve to pre-
vent the political or economic control of the Asia-Pacific
region by a rival, hostile power or coalition of such pow-
•HRES 103 IH
ers, thus preventing any such group from having com-
mand over the vast resources, enormous wealth, and ad-
vanced technology of the region;
Whereas allies of the United States in the region can base
their defense planning on a reliable American security
commitment, a reduction of which could stimulate an
arms buildup in the region;
Whereas the Joint Announcement of the United States-Japan
Security Consultative Committee of December 1996, ac-
knowledged that ‘‘the forward presence of U.S. forces
continues to be an essential element for pursuing our
common security objectives’’;
Whereas the administration has committed itself on numer-
ous occasions to maintain approximately 100,000 troops
in the region, most recently by the President in Australia
and the Secretary of State in the Republic of Korea;
Whereas the United States and Japan signed the United
States-Japan Security Declaration in April 1996, in
which the United States reaffirmed its commitment to
maintain this level of 100,000 United States military per-
sonnel in the region;
Whereas the United States military presence is warmly and
widely welcomed by the nations of the region as serving
stability and signaling United States engagement;
Whereas the nations of East Asia and the Pacific consider
the commitment of the forces of the United States to be
so vital to their future that they scrutinize actions of the
United States for any sign of weakened commitment to
the security of the region;
Whereas the reduction of forward-based military forces could
negatively affect the ability of the United States to con-
•HRES 103 IH
tribute to the peace and stability of the Asia and Pacific
region;
Whereas reduction in the number of forward-based troops re-
duces the perception of American capability and commit-
ment in the region that cannot be completely offset by
modernization of the remaining forces;
Whereas during time of crisis, redeployment of forces pre-
viously removed from the area might itself be deemed an
act of provocation that could be used as a pretext by a
hostile power for armed aggression within the region, and
the existence of that possibility might hinder this rede-
ployment; and
Whereas proposals to reduce the forward presence of the
United States in Asia or drastically subordinate security
interests to United States domestic budgetary concerns
immediately erode the perception of the commitment of
the United States to its alliances and interests in the re-
gion: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
resentatives that the United States should maintain ap-
proximately 100,000 United States military personnel in
the Asia and Pacific region until such time as there is
a peaceful and permanent resolution to the major security
and political conflicts in the region.
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