,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #afcb  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,march #g1 #bjai     
,mrs4 ,wagner 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,castro
 of ,texas1 and ,mr4 ,yoho7 introduced  
the following bill2 which was referred  
to the ,committee on ,foreign ,affairs  
,a ,,bill  ,to require a strategy for   
engagement with ,southeast ,asia and the
 ,association of ,southeast ,asian      
,nations 7,,asean74  #a4 ,short title   
,this ,act may be cited as the          
,southeast ,asia ,strategy ,act4  #b4   
,findings ,congress finds the following3
  7#a7 ,southeast ,asia is the fulcrum  
of the ,indo-,pacific region and the    
,association of ,southeast ,asian       
,nations 7,,asean71 a regional          
intergovernmental organization1 remains 
the centerpiece of the ,indo-,pacific   
region's architecture4  7#b7 ,the       
,united ,states has reaffirmed that the 
security and sovereignty of its         
,southeast ,asian allies and partners1  
including a strong1 independent ,,asean1

 remain vital to the security1          
prosperity1 and stability of the        
,indo-,pacific region4  7#c7 ,the       
,united ,states has committed to        
reinvigorating its longstanding security
 alliances with the ,philippines and    
,thailand1 as well as bolstering        
partnerships with a range of ,southeast 
,asian nations4  7#d7 ,a central element
 of ,united ,states strategy for the    
,indo-,pacific region is strengthening  
,united ,states alliances and           
partnerships and working with and       
through allies and partners to address  
common challenges and to enhance shared 
capabilities4  7#e7 ,,asean member      
states are critical ,united ,states     
security partners in preventing violent 
extremism1 protecting the freedom and   
openness of the maritime domain1        
engaging in global peacekeeping         
operations1 and preventing the          
trafficking of weapons of mass          
destruction4  7#f7 ,,asean member states
 are vital to the prosperity of the     

,united ,states economy and exports to  
,,asean economies support more than     
#ejj1jjj jobs in the ,united ,states4   
7#g7 ,the ,united ,states and ,,asean   
have recently celebrated the #djth      
anniversary of their ties and           
established a new strategic partnership 
that will enhance cooperation across the
 economic1 political-security1 and      
people-to-people pillars of the         
relationship4  #c4 ,statement of policy 
,it is the policy of the ,united ,states
 to--  7#a7 cooperate more closely with 
the ,,asean and ,,asean member states in
 the interest of promoting peace1       
security1 and stability in the          
,indo-,pacific region2  7#b7 establish  
and communicate a comprehensive and     
focused strategy that articulates the   
role and importance of ,southeast ,asia 
to the ,united ,states1 the value of the
 ,united ,states-,,asean relationship1  
the mutual interests of both parties1   
and the concrete and material benefits  
all nations derive from strong ,united  

,states engagement and leadership in    
,southeast ,asia2 and  7#c7 affirm the  
importance of ,,asean centrality and    
,,asean-led mechanisms in the evolving  
regional architecture of the            
,indo-,pacific region4  #d4 ,strategy   
for engagement with ,southeast ,asia and
 ,,asean  7a7 ,in general ,not later    
than #ahj days after the date of the    
enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary  
of ,state1 in consultation with the     
,secretary of ,commerce and the         
,secretary of ,defense1 shall develop   
and submit to the appropriate           
congressional committees a comprehensive
 and focused multi-year strategy for    
engagement with ,southeast ,asia and    
,,asean4  7b7 ,matters ,to be included  
,the strategy required by subsection 7a7
 shall include the following3 7#a7 ,an  
identification of enduring ,united      
,states interests in ,southeast ,asia   
and efforts to bolster the effectiveness
 of ,,asean as an independent and       
unified regional leader4  7#b7 ,an      

identification of-- 7,a7 the future of  
,southeast ,asian alliances1            
partnerships1 and multilateral          
engagements1 including efforts to expand
 security interoperability and economic 
connectivity1 and build networks of     
allies and partners with other ,united  
,states partners in the ,indo-,pacific  
region2 and  7,b7 partners outside      
,,asean that support ,united ,states    
interests in ,southeast ,asia1 such as  
an ,,asean-centered and rules-based     
order1 including multilateral efforts to
 coordinate engagement with ,,asean4    
7#c7 ,a list of ongoing and planned     
initiatives and programs to strengthen  
the ,united ,states partnership with    
,southeast ,asian countries and ,,asean 
through trade1 investment1 energy1 and  
economic and political diplomacy in     
,southeast ,asia and through development
 and capacity building1 including       
efforts to improve the environment for  
private sector-led economic development1
 public-private partnerships1           

infrastructure development1 development 
of the digital economy and technology1  
and other initiatives relating to       
education1 disaster management1 and     
public health4  7#d7 ,an assessment of  
ongoing and planned initiatives to      
directly assist ,southeast ,asian       
countries and ,,asean in developing     
institutional capabilities1 including   
with respect to enforcing international 
law and sanctions1 and initiatives to   
cooperate with ,,asean as an institution
 in these areas4  7#e7 ,an assessment of
 ongoing and planned efforts to promote 
and engage with ,southeast ,asian       
countries on human rights and democracy1
 to strengthen the rule of law1 civil   
society1 and transparent governance1 and
 to protect the integrity of elections  
and personal data from cyber threats4   
7#f7 ,an assessment of ongoing and      
planned security cooperation1           
assistance1 and training initiatives    
within ,southeast ,asian countries1     
including-- 7,a7 maritime security and  

political initiatives for protecting the
 maritime commons and supporting        
international law and freedom of        
navigation in the ,south ,china ,sea2   
and  7,b7 efforts to combat terrorism1  
human trafficking1 piracy1 and illegal  
fishing1 and promote more open1 reliable
 routes for trade4  7#g7 ,an assessment 
of ongoing and planned funding for      
relevant ,united ,states ,government    
departments and agencies on the         
implementation of initiatives           
highlighted in the strategy and an      
identification of additional strategic1 
management1 procedural1 legal1          
personnel1 and funding resources needed 
to fully implement the strategy4  7c7   
,updates to strategy ,the ,secretary of 
,state1 in consultation with the        
,secretary of ,commerce and the         
,secretary of ,defense1 shall submit to 
the appropriate congressional committees
 an updated strategy under subsection   
7a7 for each of the four years following
 the year in which the initial strategy 

is submitted under subsection 7a74  7d7 
,appropriate congressional committees   
defined ,in this section1 the term      
appropriate congressional committees    
means--  7#a7 the ,committee on ,foreign
 ,affairs and the ,committee on ,armed  
,services of the ,house of              
,representatives2 and  7#b7 the         
,committee on ,foreign ,relations and   
the ,committee on ,armed ,services of   
the ,senate4