•HRES 704 IH 
(2) oppose claims that impinge on the rights, 
freedoms, and lawful use of the sea that belong to 
all nations; 
(3) urge all parties to refrain from engaging in 
destabilizing activities, including illegal occupation 
or efforts to unlawfully assert administration over 
disputed claims; 
(4) ensure that disputes are managed without 
intimidation, coercion, or force; 
(5) call on all claimants to clarify or adjust 
claims in accordance with international law; 
(6) support efforts by ASEAN and the People’s 
Republic of China to develop an effective Code of 
Conduct, including the ‘‘early harvest’’ of agreed- 
upon elements in the Code of Conduct that can be 
implemented immediately; 
(7) reaffirm that an existing body of inter-
national rules and guidelines, including the Inter-
national Regulations for Preventing Collisions at 
Sea, done at London October 12, 1972 (COLREGs), 
is sufficient to ensure the safety of navigation be-
tween the United States Armed Forces and the 
forces of other countries, including the People’s Re-
public of China; 
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•HRES 704 IH 
(8) support the development of regional institu-
tions and bodies, including the ASEAN Regional 
Forum, the ASEAN Defense Minister’s Meeting 
Plus, the East Asia Summit, and the expanded 
ASEAN Maritime Forum, to build practical coopera-
tion in the region and reinforce the role of inter-
national law; 
(9) encourage the adoption of mechanisms such 
as hotlines or emergency procedures for preventing 
incidents in sensitive areas, managing them if they 
occur, and preventing disputes from escalating; 
(10) fully support the rights of claimants to ex-
ercise rights they may have to avail themselves of 
peaceful dispute settlement mechanisms; 
(11) encourage claimants not to undertake new 
unilateral attempts to change the status quo since 
the signing of the 2002 Declaration of Conduct, in-
cluding not asserting administrative measures or 
controls in disputed areas in the South China Sea; 
(12) encourage the deepening of partnerships 
with other countries in the region for maritime do-
main awareness and capacity building, as well as ef-
forts by the United States Government to explore 
the development of appropriate multilateral mecha-
nisms for a ‘‘common operating picture’’ in the 
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•HRES 704 IH 
South China Sea that would serve to help countries 
avoid destabilizing behavior and deter risky and dan-
gerous activities; 
(13) establish and implement a policy frame-
work with the Government of Vietnam reflecting 
both the progress in and challenges that remain re-
garding Vietnam’s human rights record as well as 
the vital national security interests the United 
States has in deepening and expanding the com-
prehensive partnership with Vietnam through the 
sale or transfer of United States defense articles ap-
propriate for the development and maintenance of 
Vietnam’s external defense capabilities, excluding 
those items that can be used to suppress protesters, 
for crowd control, or for other domestic security pur-
poses; and 
(14) assure the continuity of operations by the 
United States in the Asia-Pacific region, including, 
when appropriate, in cooperation with partners and 
allies, to reaffirm the principle of freedom of oper-
ations in international waters and airspace in ac-
cordance with established principles and practices of 
international law. 
Æ 
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