,i #aacth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ggb ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,february #ae1 #bjac ,mr4 ,faleomavaega 7for himself1 ,ms4 ,ros-,lehtinen1 and ,mr4 ,chabot7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs1 and in addition to the ,committee on ,armed ,services1 for a period to be subsequently determined by the ,speaker1 in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned ,a ,,bill ,to promote peaceful and collaborative resolution of the ,south ,china ,sea dispute4 #a4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the ,south ,china ,sea contains vital commercial shipping lanes and points of access between the ,indian ,ocean and ,pacific ,ocean1 providing a maritime lifeline to ,india1 ,singapore1 ,malaysia1 ,indonesia1 the ,philippines1 ,vietnam1 ,brunei1 ,taiwan1 ,japan1 and the ,korean peninsula4 7#b7 ,china1 ,vietnam1 the ,philippines1 ,taiwan1 ,malaysia1 and ,brunei have disputed territorial claims over the ,spratly ,islands1 and ,china1 ,taiwan1 and ,vietnam have disputed territorial claims over the ,paracel ,islands4 7#c7 ,in #bjji1 the ,government of the ,people's ,republic of ,china submitted to the ,united ,nations a map with the #i-;dotted line 7also known as the ,cow ,tongue line7 which raised questions about whether ,china officially claims most of the #a1dbc1jjj square miles of the ,south ,china ,sea1 more than any other nation involved in these territorial disputes4 7#d7 ,in ,november #bjab1 ,china began to include a map of its territorial claims inside its passports1 despite the protests of its neighbors1 including ,vietnam and the ,philippines4 7#e7 ,although not a party to these disputes1 the ,united ,states has a national economic and security interest in maintaining peace1 stability1 and prosperity in ,east ,asia and ,southeast ,asia1 and ensuring that no party threatens or uses force or coercion unilaterally to assert maritime territorial claims in ,east ,asia and ,southeast ,asia1 including in the ,south ,china ,sea1 the ,east ,china ,sea1 or the ,yellow ,sea4 7#f7 ,the ,association of ,southeast ,asian ,nations 7,,asean7 has promoted multilateral talks in disputed areas without settling the issue of sovereignty4 7#g7 ,in #bjjb1 ,,asean and ,china signed a ,declaration on the ,conduct of ,parties in the ,south ,china ,sea4 7#h7 ,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 provided for by the universally recognized principles of international law1 and to resolve their territorial and jurisdictional disputes by peaceful means1 without resorting to the threat or use of force4 7#i7 ,in ,july and ,november of #bjaj1 the ,united ,states and our ,republic of ,korea allies conducted joint naval exercises in the ,yellow ,sea in international waters1 as well as ,republic of ,korea territorial waters1 in the vicinity of the site of the ,march #bjaj ,north ,korean attack on the ,south ,korean military vessel ,cheonan1 these exercises drew objections from ,beijing over foreign operations in the ,yellow ,sea4 7#aj7 ,in ,september #bjaj1 tensions were raised in the ,east ,china ,sea near the ,senkaku 7,diaoyutai7 ,islands1 a territory under the legal administration of ,japan1 when a ,chinese fishing vessel deliberately rammed ,japanese ,coast ,guard patrol boats4 7#aa7 ,on ,february #be1 #bjaa1 a frigate from ,china's navy fired shots at #c fishing boats from the ,philippines4 7#ab7 ,on ,march #b1 #bjaa1 the ,government of the ,philippines reported that two patrol boats from ,china attempted to ram one of its surveillance ships4 7#ac7 ,on ,may #bf1 #bjaa1 a maritime security vessel from ,china cut the cables of an exploration ship from ,vietnam1 the ,binh ,minh1 in the ,south ,china ,sea in waters near ,cam ,ranh ,bay in the exclusive economic zone of ,vietnam4 7#ad7 ,on ,may #ca1 #bjaa1 three ,chinese military vessels used guns to threaten the crews of four ,vietnamese fishing boats while they were fishing in the waters of the ,truong ,sa 7,spratly7 archipelago4 7#ae7 ,on ,june #c1 #bjaa1 ,vietnam's ,foreign ,ministry released a statement that ,vietnam is resolutely opposed to these acts by ,china that seriously violated the sovereign and jurisdiction rights of ,viet ,nam to its continental shelf and ,exclusive ,economic ,zone 7,,eez74 7#af7 ,on ,june #i1 #bjaa1 three vessels from ,china1 including one fishing vessel and two maritime security vessels1 ran into and disabled the cables of another exploration ship from ,vietnam1 the ,viking #b1 in the exclusive economic zone of ,vietnam4 7#ag7 ,the actions of the ,government of the ,people'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 waters1 including the collision of a ,chinese fighter plane with a ,united ,states surveillance plane in #bjja1 the harassment of the ,,usns ,victorious and the ,,usns ,impeccable in ,march #bjji1 and the collision of a ,chinese submarine with the sonar cable of the ,,uss ,john ,mc,cain in ,june #bjji4 7#ah7 ,on ,july #bc1 #bjaj1 former ,secretary of ,state ,hillary ,rodham ,clinton stated at the ,,asean ,regional ,forum that the ,united ,states1 like every nation1 has a national interest in freedom of navigation1 open access to ,asia's maritime commons1 respect for international law1 and unimpeded commerce in the ,south ,china ,sea4 7#ai7 ,on ,june #bc1 #bjaa1 the ,united ,states stated that it was ready to provide hardware to modernize the military of the ,philippines4 7#bj7 ,the ,united ,states and the ,philippines conducted combined naval exercises in the ,sulu ,sea1 near the ,south ,china ,sea1 from ,june #bh to ,july #h1 #bjaa4 7#ba7 ,on ,july #bb1 #bjaa1 an ,indian naval vessel1 sailing about #de nautical miles off the coast of ,vietnam1 was warned by a ,chinese naval vessel that it was allegedly violating ,chinese territorial waters4 7#bb7 ,in ,june #bjab1 ,china's cabinet1 the ,state ,council1 approved the establishment of the city of ,sansha to oversee the areas claimed by ,china in the ,south ,china ,sea4 7#bc7 ,in ,july #bjab1 ,chinese military authorities announced that they had established a corresponding ,sansha garrison in the new prefecture4 7#bd7 ,on ,june #bc1 #bjab1 the ,china ,national ,offshore ,oil ,corporation invited bids for oil exploration in areas within #bjj nautical miles of the continental shelf and within the exclusive economic zone of ,vietnam4 7#be7 ,since ,july #bjab1 ,chinese patrol ships have been spotted near the disputed ,senkaku 7,diaoyutai7 ,islands in the ,east ,china ,sea4 7#bf7 ,at the ,july #bjab ,,asean ,regional ,forum1 former ,secretary of ,state ,clinton said1 ,we believe the nations of the region should work collaboratively and diplomatically to resolve disputes without coercion1 without intimidation1 without threats1 and without the use of force4 7#bg7 ,in ,november #bjab1 a regulation was approved by the ,hainan ,people's ,congress authorizing ,chinese maritime police to board1 search and even take over ships determined to be illegally entering ,south ,china ,sea waters unilaterally claimed by ,beijing4 7#bh7 ,at a meeting with the ,japanese ,foreign ,minister on ,january #ah1 #bjac1 former ,secretary of ,state ,clinton stated that although the ,united ,states does not take a position on the ultimate sovereignty of the 7,senkaku7 islands1 we acknowledge they are under the administration of ,japan1 adding that ,we oppose any unilateral actions that would seek to undermine ,japanese administration1 and we urge all parties to take steps to prevent incidents and manage disagreements through peaceful means4 7#bi7 ,on ,august #c1 #bjab1 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 there1 expressed encouragement for ,,asean and ,china to make meaningful progress toward finalizing a comprehensive ,code of ,conduct1 and called upon claimants to explore every diplomatic or other peaceful avenue for resolution1 including the use of arbitration or other international legal mechanisms as needed4 #b4 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that1 in light of the congressional finding described above1 the ,secretary of ,state should-- 7#a7 reaffirm the strong support of the ,united ,states for the peaceful resolution of maritime territorial disputes in the ,south ,china ,sea1 the ,taiwan ,strait1 the ,east ,china ,sea1 and the ,yellow ,sea and pledge continued efforts to facilitate a collaborative1 peaceful process to resolve these disputes2 7#b7 condemn the use of threats or force by naval1 maritime security1 and fishing vessels from ,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 miscalculations2 7#c7 note that overt threats and gun boat diplomacy are not constructive means for settling these outstanding maritime disputes2 7#d7 welcome the diplomatic efforts of ,association of ,southeast ,asian ,nations 7,,asean7 and the ,united ,states allies and partners in ,japan1 the ,republic of ,korea1 ,taiwan1 the ,philippines1 and ,india to amiably and fairly resolve these outstanding disputes2 and 7#e7 support the continuation of operations by the ,united ,states ,armed ,forces in support of freedom of navigation rights in international waters and air space in the ,south ,china ,sea1 the ,east ,china ,sea1 the ,taiwan ,strait1 and the ,yellow ,sea4 #c4 ,report on the ,code of ,conduct for the ,south ,china ,sea 7a7 ,report ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,state shall submit to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of the ,senate a report on the ,code of ,conduct and other peaceful measures for resolution of the territorial disputes in the ,south ,china ,sea4 7b7 ,form ,the report required under subsection 7a7 shall be submitted in unclassified form1 but may contain a classified annex if necessary4