,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #dfjj  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,may #bj1      
#bjbf,ms4 ,duckworth 7for herself and   
,mr4 ,curtis7 introduced the following  
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations
  ,a ,,bill  ,to require a ,south ,china
 ,sea diplomatic engagement strategy1   
and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short     
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,south ,china ,sea ,strategy ,act of    
#bjbf4  #b4 ,united ,states policy ,it  
is the policy of the ,united ,states--  
7#a7 to support the importance of the   
freedom of navigation1 overflight1 and  
unfettered commerce in the ,south ,china
 ,sea1 in a manner consistent with      
international law to preserve ,united   
,states economic interests in the       
region2  7#b7 to commit to a rules-based
 approach to resolving maritime         
disputes2  7#c7 to counter efforts by   
the ,people's ,republic of ,china       
7,,prc7 to unilaterally change the      

status quo and treat the ,south ,china  
,sea as its unilateral dominion1        
undermining regional stability and      
contravening the ,,prc's prior          
commitments to resolve disputes         
peacefully and through appropriate legal
 venues2 and  7#d7 to engage with allies
 and partners in a concerted1           
coordinated manner to support a         
strategic1 consistent approach to       
diplomatic engagement on issues and     
crises that arise that affect ,united   
,states interests in the ,south ,china  
,sea1 including to ensure the safety of 
,united ,states citizens in the region4 
#c4 ,south ,china ,sea diplomatic       
engagement strategy  7a7 ,in general    
,not later than #ahj days after the date
 of the enactment of this ,act1 the     
,secretary of ,state shall1 in          
consultation with the ,secretary of     
,defense1 submit to the appropriate     
congressional committees a ,strategy for
 ,diplomatic ,engagement on the ,south  
,china ,sea to ensure that the ,united  

,states ,government is operating in a   
smart1 strategic direction in line with 
,united ,states interests to maximize   
our efficient engagement on ,south      
,china ,sea matters4  7b7 ,elements ,the
 ,strategy listed in subsection 7a7     
shall-- 7#a7 describe the overarching   
goals of ,united ,states engagement with
 littoral states1 allies1 and partners  
on security1 diplomatic1 legal1 and     
economic matters in the ,south ,china   
,sea2  7#b7 designate an office tasked  
with lead responsibility for            
coordinating execution of each goal     
described in paragraph 7#a72  7#c7      
analyze the successes of the ,department
 of ,state's existing mechanisms1       
programs1 and forums for advancing      
,united ,states goals in the ,south     
,china ,sea through bilateral1          
multilateral1 subnational1 civil        
society1 and private sector avenues with
 littoral states1 allies1 and partners1 
and identifies gaps in engagement2  7#d7
 detail plans to deepen bilateral       

engagement with each littoral state     
around pressures1 threats and           
opportunities in the ,south ,china ,sea 
identified as priorities in previous    
bilateral engagements2  7#e7 detail     
plans to convene and increase the       
frequency of collective engagements with
 littoral states1 including additional  
allies and partners as appropriate1     
around themes of shared importance1     
including-- 7,a7 bolstering defense     
capabilities2  7,b7 reinforcing maritime
 law enforcement capacity and           
governance2  7,c7 responding to         
grey-zone tactics1 including coordinated
 illegal1 unreported1 and unregulated   
fishing2  7,d7 managing maritime        
territorial disputes to reducing the    
likelihood of security crises and       
conflicts2  7,e7 preparing crisis       
management and response mechanisms to   
avoid potential actions that could      
unnecessarily provoke or exacerbate a   
volatile or tense situation2  7,f7      
building resilience to foreign malign   

influence and interference2  7,g7       
supporting economic development and     
resilience to economic coercion2 and    
7,h7 addressing additional factors      
assessed by the ,secretary to be causing
 a direct risk to the ,united ,states   
national interests in the ,south ,china 
,sea2 and  7#f7 detail plans for        
coordination with the interagency and   
foreign governments to address crisis   
management for scenarios short of war   
that would require heightened           
interagency and international           
engagement4  7c7 ,classification ,the   
strategy submitted under subsection 7a7 
shall be submitted in unclassified form 
but may include a classified annex4  #d4
 ,strategy execution  7a7               
,identification of necessary programs   
and resources ,not later than #cfj days 
after the date of the enactment of this 
,act1 the ,secretary of ,state shall    
identify and submit to the appropriate  
congressional committees any necessary  
program1 policy1 or budgetary resources 

required to support implementation of   
the ,strategy for ,diplomatic           
,engagement on the ,south ,china ,sea   
for fiscal years #bjbg1 #bjbh1 and      
#bjbi4  7b7 ,briefing ,not later than   
#cj days after the submission of the    
assessment described in subsection 7a71 
the ,secretary of ,state shall brief the
 appropriate congressional committees on
 the implementation of the ,strategy for
 ,diplomatic ,engagement on the ,south  
,china ,sea4  #e4 ,definitions ,in this 
,act3 7#a7 ,appropriate congressional   
committees ,the term appropriate        
congressional committees means-- 7,a7   
the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations of
 the ,senate2 and  7,b7 the ,committee  
on ,foreign ,affairs of the ,house of   
,representatives4  7#b7 ,littoral states
 ,the term littoral states means-- 7,a7 
,brunei2  7,b7 ,indonesia2  7,c7        
,malaysia2  7,d7 the ,philippines2 and  
7,e7 ,vietnam4