,i  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #bagf  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,april #bf1          
#bjag,mrs4 ,murphy of ,florida 7for     
herself1 ,ms4 ,del,bene1 ,mr4 ,gallego1 
,ms4 ,hanabusa1 ,ms4 ,bordallo1 and ,mr4
 ,castro of ,texas7 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 authorize the            
establishment of an ,asia-,pacific      
,defense ,commission to enhance defense 
cooperation between the ,united ,states 
and allies in the ,asia-,pacific region1
 and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short    
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,asia-,pacific ,defense ,commission     
,act4  #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the
 following3  7#a7 ,the ,united ,states  

has worked cooperatively with its allies
 and partners in the ,asia-,pacific     
region for decades on issues of mutual  
concern having regional and global      
strategic and economic importance1      
including-- 7,a7 deterring and          
confronting external aggression against 
allies and partners2  7,b7 ensuring the 
free flow of energy and commerce1 and   
freedom of navigation in international  
waters2  7,c7 dismantling terrorist     
networks that threaten the safety of the
 region2  7,d7 preventing the           
development1 use1 and proliferation of  
weapons of mass destruction2  7,e7      
adapting to climate change and severe   
weather events1 including cooperation on
 humanitarian assistance and disaster   
response2 and  7,f7 promoting respect   
for the international liberal order     
based on commonly respected norms and   
values4  7#b7 ,the close security       
relationships between the ,united       
,states and its five treaty allies in   
the ,asia-,pacific region--,australia1  

,japan1 the ,philippines1 ,south ,korea 
and ,thailand--as well as the security  
relationships between the ,united       
,states and its non-alliance security   
partners in the region remain vital to  
the ,united ,states national interest   
and a cornerstone of regional stability4
  7#c7 ,the ,united ,states opposes     
,north ,korea's illegal and reckless    
pursuit of nuclear weapons4  7#d7       
,countering ,north ,korea's             
destabilizing activities in the region  
by diplomatic1 economic1 and defensive  
means is a top national security issue  
for the ,united ,states as the threat   
posed by ,north ,korea endangers ,united
 ,states allies1 threatens to           
destabilize the ,asia-,pacific region1  
and if unchecked1 poses a grave nuclear 
proliferation challenge to the world4   
#c4 ,establishment of ,asia-,pacific    
,defense ,commission  7a7 ,statement of 
policy  7#a7 ,in general ,it is the     
policy of the ,united ,states to        
continue to maintain a strong military  

posture in the ,asia-,pacific region in 
order to reassure ,united ,states       
allies1 deter aggression1 and respond   
swiftly to crises4  7#b7 ,enhanced      
military training and exercises ,the    
,secretary of ,defense1 in consultation 
with the ,secretary of ,state1 shall    
seek opportunities to enhance military  
training and exercises with ,united     
,states allies in the ,asia-,pacific    
region to deepen cooperation between the
 militaries of the ,united ,states and  
such allies1 to expand operational      
capabilities1 and to encourage respect  
for human rights and the rule of law4   
7b7 ,joint defense commission ,the      
,president may establish a regional     
joint defense commission to be known as 
the ,asia-,pacific ,defense ,commission4
 ,the purpose of the commission shall be
 to strengthen cooperation between the  
,united ,states and its allies in the   
,asia-,pacific region to combat joint   
threats4 ,the commission may undertake  
the following activities3 7#a7          

,strengthening counterterrorism         
operations and building capacity to     
track1 investigate1 and prosecute       
individuals engaged in terrorist        
activities4  7#b7 ,improving regional   
maritime security and capabilities to   
interdict illegal arms shipments4  7#c7 
,bolstering regional cybersecurity      
initiatives and protecting critical     
infrastructure4  7#d7 ,strengthening    
military preparedness4  7#e7            
,facilitating defense-related transfers1
 subject to the requirements of the     
,arms ,export ,control ,act 7#bb        
,u4,s4,c4 #bgea et seq474  7#f7         
,facilitating efforts to enhance        
training1 preparedness1 and operations  
by allies to address ,north ,korean     
maritime weapons transfers4  7#g7       
,coordinating intelligence collected by 
the intelligence services of the        
countries participating in the          
commission1 identify the most immediate 
threats to inform the security services 
of such countries1 and create guidelines

 for the coordination of multilateral   
direct action against shared threats4   
7c7 ,asia-,pacific ,region ,in this     
section1 the term ,asia-,pacific region 
means the region corresponding to the   
area of responsibility of the ,united   
,states ,pacific ,command1 as defined by
 the ,department of ,defense unified    
command plan4  7d7 ,sense of ,congress  
,it is the sense of ,congress that the  
,united ,states ,navy should regularize 
freedom of navigation operations1 in    
accordance with international law1 in   
the ,japanese-administered ,senkaku     
,islands1 in the ,south ,china ,sea1 and
 in regular ports of call at strategic  
ports in the ,asia-,pacific region4