Title: Expressing support for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, its member states, and the United States-ASEAN Special Summit in Washington, DC, and reaffirming the commitment of the United States to continue to remain a strong, reliable, and active partner to ASEAN in the Indo-Pacific.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution expresses support for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and welcomes official representatives from the governments of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam to attend the first U.S.-ASEAN Special Summit in Washington, DC.
The resolution supports the comprehensive strengthening of the U.S.-ASEAN Strategic Partnership in line with the ASEAN Community Pillars, with the aim of upgrading U.S.-ASEAN dialogue relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
The resolution also supports efforts to enhance integration and unity within ASEAN, and build new partnerships between ASEAN and other partners of the United States in the region, including Japan, South Korea, Australia, the European Union, Taiwan, and India.
Finally, the resolution urges ASEAN to build capacity for the promotion and protection of human rights by ASEAN member states and the implementation of related priorities, programs, and activities.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1106 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1106

Expressing support for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, its 
     member states, and the United States-ASEAN Special Summit in 
Washington, DC, and reaffirming the commitment of the United States to 
 continue to remain a strong, reliable, and active partner to ASEAN in 
                           the Indo-Pacific.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 11, 2022

Mr. Castro of Texas (for himself, Mrs. Wagner, Mr. Bera, and Mr. Meeks) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                           on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
Expressing support for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, its 
     member states, and the United States-ASEAN Special Summit in 
Washington, DC, and reaffirming the commitment of the United States to 
 continue to remain a strong, reliable, and active partner to ASEAN in 
                           the Indo-Pacific.

Whereas the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (referred to in this 
        resolution as ``ASEAN'') was established in 1967 to accelerate the 
        economic growth, social progress, and cultural development of its member 
        states, and to promote peace and stability in Southeast Asia;
Whereas the United States has been an ASEAN Dialogue Partner since 1977, and 
        acceded to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia in 
        2009;
Whereas the United States appointed its first Ambassador to ASEAN in 2008, and 
        was the first ASEAN Dialogue Partner to establish a permanent mission to 
        ASEAN in 2010;
Whereas United States-ASEAN dialogue relations were elevated to the strategic 
        level in 2015, and the United States hosted the United States-ASEAN 
        Special Leaders Summit in Sunnylands, California, in 2016;
Whereas the United States will host the first United States-ASEAN Special Summit 
        in Washington, DC, on May 12 and 13, 2022, demonstrating the enduring 
        commitment of the United States to ASEAN;
Whereas considered as a group, the 10 ASEAN member states have a combined gross 
        domestic product of $3,200,000,000,000 and are projected to be the 
        fourth-largest economy in the world by 2030;
Whereas ASEAN states are the top destination for United States foreign direct 
        investment in the Indo-Pacific, with the cumulative total of 
        $328,000,000,000, exceeding the combined amount invested in China, 
        India, Japan, and the Republic of Korea;
Whereas ASEAN is the fourth-largest destination for United States goods and 
        exports, with annual volume exceeding $122,000,000,000, exports to ASEAN 
        support 625,000 jobs in all 50 States;
Whereas the United States has provided support to the ASEAN Single Window to 
        enhance trade facilitation and customs procedures across the ASEAN 
        economic community;
Whereas the United States-ASEAN Smart Cities Partnership, launched in 2018, 
        harnesses the expertise of the United States Government and private 
        sector to address the challenges of rapid urbanization and create smart, 
        sustainable cities in cooperation with the 26 cities participating in 
        the ASEAN Smart Cities Network;
Whereas the Mekong-United States Partnership, launched in 2020, builds on the 
        work of the Lower Mekong Initiative to encourage equitable growth in the 
        Lower Mekong region of Southeast Asia in cooperation through improved 
        governance, increased capacity to manage natural resources, sustainable 
        infrastructure, nontraditional security, and health security;
Whereas the Japan-United States Mekong Power Partnership supports the Mekong 
        region's integration and cross-border electricity trade, leveraging the 
        joint capabilities the United States and its partners and underscoring 
        the shared desire to forge stronger ties with the Lower Mekong region;
Whereas the United States has cooperated with ASEAN member states and provided 
        emergency health assistance to enhance the resilience of ASEAN states 
        throughout the COVID-19 pandemic building on more than $3,500,000,000 
        invested by the United States in ASEAN public health initiatives over 
        the last 20 years;
Whereas the United States announced the intent to provide up to $102,000,000 in 
        new initiatives expanding our partnership with ASEAN during the October 
        26, 2021, United States-ASEAN summit, encompassing cooperation on public 
        health, economic development, resilience and sustainability, and 
        education;
Whereas the United States and ASEAN have robust people-to-people ties, with at 
        least 7,600,000 Americans identifying with an ASEAN ethnicity and at 
        least 110 ``sister relationships'' between cities and States in the 
        United States and States and localities;
Whereas, in 2019, 4,800,000 Americans visited an ASEAN country and 1,300,000 
        people from an ASEAN country visited the United States, contributing 
        nearly $8,000,000,000 in tourism revenue to the United States economy;
Whereas more than 55,000 students from an ASEAN country studied in the United 
        States during the 2019 to 2020 academic year;
Whereas over 12,700 scholars from ASEAN states have participated in the 
        Fulbright program since its founding in 1949, and more than 6,800 
        students from the United States have participated in Fulbright programs 
        in ASEAN countries;
Whereas the United States Government launched the Young Southeast Asian Leaders 
        Initiative in 2013 to empower emerging entrepreneurs and civil society 
        leaders to contribute to social and economic development in their 
        communities;
Whereas the United States has engaged ASEAN on transnational security issues 
        including maritime security, counterterrorism, and law enforcement 
        cooperation on transnational crime and trafficking in persons through 
        ASEAN-convened mechanisms such as the ASEAN Regional Forum, ASEAN 
        Defense Ministers Meeting Plus, the ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on 
        Transnational Crime, and East Asia Summit;
Whereas the United States and ASEAN held their first maritime exercise in 2019;
Whereas the United States and ASEAN have cooperated on emerging issues such as 
        cybersecurity through fora such as the ASEAN-United States Cyber Policy 
        Dialogue, launched in 2019;
Whereas the United States has robust bilateral security partnerships with many 
        ASEAN states, including alliances with the Philippines and Thailand;
Whereas 6 ASEAN militaries partner with the National Guard of 4 States through 
        the National Guard State Partnership Program;
Whereas friends must be honest about challenges as well as working together on 
        their strengths;
Whereas the Burmese Armed Forces conducted an illegitimate and illegal coup in 
        2021, usurped the democratic Government of Burma, detained thousands of 
        civilians, killed hundreds of citizens, and displaced more than 440,000 
        people;
Whereas the Burmese junta has failed to make meaningful progress on ASEAN's 
        Five-Point Consensus or receive official recognition from ASEAN;
Whereas the United States remains concerned about democratic backsliding and the 
        erosion of protections of fundamental human rights in Southeast Asia;
Whereas the Indo-Pacific Strategy of the United States and the ASEAN outlook on 
        the Indo-Pacific both emphasize common principles, including an 
        inclusive and open regional architecture based on the rule of law, good 
        governance, and respect for international law, and that shared vision is 
        a strong basis for closer relations and continued cooperation towards a 
        free and open Indo-Pacific; and
Whereas the February 2022 Indo-Pacific Strategy of the United States stated: 
        ``The United States. . .welcomes a strong and independent ASEAN that 
        leads in Southeast Asia. We endorse ASEAN centrality and support ASEAN 
        in its efforts to deliver sustainable solutions to the region's most 
        pressing challenges.'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) welcomes official representatives from the Governments 
        of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the 
        Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam to attend the 
        first United States-ASEAN Special Summit in Washington, DC;
            (2) supports the comprehensive strengthening of the United 
        States-ASEAN Strategic Partnership in line with the ASEAN 
        Community Pillars, with the aim of upgrading United States-
        ASEAN dialogue relations to a comprehensive strategic 
        partnership;
            (3) supports the decision of the Association of Southeast 
        Asian Nations to invite nonpolitical representatives from Burma 
        to high-level ASEAN events;
            (4) calls for the swift and complete implementation of the 
        ASEAN Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar, decided on April 24, 
        2021;
            (5) urges the immediate cessation of violence in Burma, 
        constructive and inclusive dialogue with all political 
        stakeholders, access for humanitarian aid and organizations and 
        full respect for human rights, including release of persons 
        unjustly detained;
            (6) urges the United States-ASEAN Special Summit to 
        prioritize--
                    (A) the pursuit of a robust economic agenda; and
                    (B) good governance, the rule of law, and human 
                rights and address the trend of democratic backsliding 
                in Southeast Asia, including the 2021 coup in Burma;
            (7) calls on the administration to promptly nominate a 
        qualified individual to serve as the Ambassador to ASEAN to 
        facilitate diplomatic engagement with ASEAN countries, and to 
        maintain continued commitment to high-level representation at 
        the East Asia Summit and other ASEAN forums;
            (8) supports efforts to enhance integration and unity 
        within ASEAN, and build new partnerships between ASEAN and 
        other partners of the United States in the region, including 
        Japan, the Republic of Korea, Australia, the European Union, 
        Taiwan, and India;
            (9) urges ASEAN to build capacity for the promotion and 
        protection of human rights by ASEAN member states and the 
        implementation of related priorities, programs, and activities;
            (10) calls on ASEAN to reaffirm its commitment, consistent 
        with the ASEAN Charter and Treaty of Amity and Cooperation, to 
        the sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity 
        of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, and 
        to call for an immediate ceasefire and withdrawal of Russian 
        forces from Ukraine;
            (11) acknowledges the governments of ASEAN member states 
        that have fully upheld and implemented all United Nations 
        Security Council resolutions and international agreements with 
        respect to nuclear and ballistic missile programs in the 
        Democratic People's Republic of Korea, and encourages all other 
        ASEAN member states to do the same;
            (12) urges ASEAN member states and other states in the 
        region, such as the People's Republic of China, to addressing 
        maritime and territorial disputes in a peaceful manner, in 
        accordance with customary international law, using diplomacy 
        and legitimate regional and international arbitration 
        mechanisms, as well as the adoption of a Code of Conduct in the 
        South China Sea that represents the interests of all parties 
        and promotes peace and stability in the region;
            (13) urges all claimants involved in maritime and 
        territorial disputes in the Indo-Pacific region to--
                    (A) cease any current activities, and avoid 
                undertaking any actions in the future that undermine 
                stability or complicate or escalate disputes through 
                the use of coercion, intimidation, or military force;
                    (B) demilitarize islands, reefs, shoals, and other 
                features, and refrain from new efforts to construct new 
                garrisons and facilities or relocate military 
                personnel, material, or equipment;
                    (C) oppose actions by any country that prevent 
                other countries from exercising their sovereign rights 
                to the resources in their exclusive economic zones and 
                extended continental shelves by enforcing claims to 
                those areas in the South China Sea that lack support in 
                international law;
                    (D) oppose unilateral declarations of 
                administrative and military districts in contested 
                areas in the South China Sea; and
                    (E) refrain from unilateral actions that cause 
                permanent physical damage to the marine environment;
            (14) recognizes that ASEAN, as a regional organization with 
        a security mission, plays an important role in maintaining 
        peace and stability in the Southeast Asian region and supports 
        the assistance of the Department of Defense to build ASEAN's 
        institutional capacity to collectively address regional 
        security challenges;
            (15) supports cooperation between the United States, ASEAN, 
        and individual ASEAN member states to--
                    (A) enhance maritime capability and maritime domain 
                awareness;
                    (B) protect freedom of navigation, overflight, and 
                other lawful uses of the seas in the Indo-Pacific 
                region;
                    (C) counter piracy and disrupt illicit maritime 
                trafficking of persons, goods, or narcotics; and
                    (D) enhance the capabilities of countries or 
                regional organizations to respond to emerging risks to 
                maritime security in the Indo-Pacific region;
            (16) reaffirms the commitment of the United States to 
        continue joint efforts to halt human smuggling and trafficking 
        in persons, and urges ASEAN to create and strengthen regional 
        mechanisms to provide assistance and support to refugees and 
        migrants;
            (17) supports the Young Southeast Asian Leaders Initiative 
        as an example of a people-to-people partnership that provides 
        skills, networks, and leadership training to a new generation 
        who will create and fill jobs, foster cross-border cooperation 
        and partnerships, and rise to solve the regional and global 
        challenges of the future;
            (18) encourages the enhancement of economic engagement 
        between the United States and ASEAN through the elimination of 
        trade barriers; and
            (19) supports innovative programs to promote development 
        and sustainable growth in Southeast Asia, including the Mekong-
        United States Partnership and United States-ASEAN Smart Cities 
        Partnership, and urges the continued development of such 
        programs, responsive to local needs, in coordination with 
        United States allies and partners.
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