,i #aahth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #ddhe ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,july #f1 #bjbc,mr4 ,gallagher introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,armed ,services ,a ,,bill ,to develop a strategy for deploying ground-based theater-range missiles in the ,indo-,pacific region1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,rings of ,fire ,act of #bjbc4 #b4 ,indo-,pacific missile strategy 7a7 ,findings ,congress makes the following findings3 7#a7 ,the #bjbb ,national ,defense ,strategy states3 ,the ,people's ,republic of ,china 7,,prc7 has expanded and modernized nearly every aspect of the ,people's ,liberation ,army 7,,pla71 with a focus on offsetting ,u4,s4 military advantages4 ,the ,,prc is therefore the pacing challenge for the ,department44 7#b7 ,the #bjbj report of the ,department of ,defense entitled ,annual ,report to ,congress ,involving the ,people's ,republic of ,china states that-- 7,a7 the ,,prc has more than #a1bej ground-launched ballistic missiles 7,g,l,b,ms7 and ground-launched cruise missiles 7,g,l,c,ms7 with ranges between #ejj and #e1ejj kilometers4 ,the ,united ,states currently fields one type of conventional ,,glbm with a range of #gj to #cjj kilometers and no ,g,l,c,ms42 and 7,b7 in #bjba1 the ,people's ,liberation ,army ,rocket ,force launched approximately #ace ballistic missiles for testing and training4 ,this was more than the rest of the world combined excluding ballistic missile employment in conflict zones44 7#c7 ,in #bjai1 the ,united ,states withdrew from the ,intermediate-,range ,nuclear ,forces ,treaty1 which eliminated ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with a range capability between #ejj and #e1ejj kilometers and their associated launchers1 due to the ,russian ,federation's continuing violation of the treaty4 7#d7 ,the ,united ,states does not deploy or develop ground-based intermediate-range missiles4 7#e7 ,in ,september #bjba1 the ,united ,states entered a security partnership with the ,united ,kingdom and ,australia 7commonly known as ,,aukus74 ,in ,april #bjbb1 ,,aukus leaders committed to commence new trilateral cooperation on hypersonic technologies1 counter-hypersonic defense systems1 and electronic warfare capabilities1 as well as to deepen cooperation ''' on defense innovation44 7b7 ,sense of ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress that-- 7#a7 ,united ,states conventional ground-based theater-range missile systems in the ,indo-,pacific region provide operational and strategy utility in-- 7,a7 availability of persistent1 prompt1 and survivable strike options2 7,b7 deterrence of enemy attack or escalation2 7,c7 imposition of operational costs on enemy forces2 7,d7 responsive strikes against time-critical enemy targets2 and 7,e7 destruction of high-value targets to enable other joint forces2 and 7#b7 an ,indo-,pacific ,missile ,strategy should-- 7,a7 provide coherent direction to concept and capability development1 including procurement1 deployment1 and employment2 7,b7 distribute integrated capabilities at operationally relevant ranges2 7,c7 coordinate and differentiate strike missions among ,united ,states military services and its allies2 and 7,d7 pursue co-development and co-production of capabilities with partners1 including through existing institutional mechanisms4 7c7 ,strategy 7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #ahj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees 7as defined in section #aja of title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code7 a strategy for deploying ground-based theater-range missile in the ,indo-,pacific region4 7#b7 ,elements ,the strategy required by paragraph 7#a7 shall include the following3 7,a7 ,an assessment of gaps in conventional theater-range precision strike capabilities in the area of responsibility of the ,united ,states ,indo-,pacific ,command4 7,b7 ,an identification of military requirements for conventional ground-based theater-range missile systems1 including range1 propulsion1 payload1 launch platform1 weapon effects1 and other operationally relevant factors4 7,c7 ,an identification of prospective basing locations in the area of responsibility of the ,united ,states ,indo-,pacific ,command4 7,d7 ,a description of operational concepts for employment1 including integration with short-range and multi-domain fires1 in denial operations in the ,western ,pacific4 7,e7 ,an identification of prospective allies and institutional mechanisms for co-development of new theater-range conventional missiles4 7,f7 ,an assessment of the cost1 schedule1 and feasibility of ground-based theater-range missiles programs1 including any potential cost-sharing structure through existing institutional mechanisms4 7,g7 ,the designation of a theater component commander responsible for theater missile strategy4 7#c7 ,form ,the strategy required by paragraph 7#a7 may be submitted in classified form but shall include an unclassified summary4 7d7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,ground-,based ,theater-,range ,missile ,the term ground-based theater-range missile means a conventional mobile ground-launched ballistic or cruise missile system with a range between #ejj and #e1ejj kilometers4 7#b7 ,intermediate-range ,with respect to a missile system1 the term intermediate-range means a missile system with a range between #c1jjj and #e1ejj kilometers4