,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #dfji  ,,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 the ,secretary 
of ,defense to develop a strategy for   
crisis management in the ,south ,china  
,sea1 and for other purposes4  #a4      
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,strategy for ,crisis ,management   
,act of #bjbf4  #b4 ,strategy for crisis
 management in ,south ,china ,sea  7a7  
,crisis defined ,in this section1 the   
term crisis means an incident or        
situation that creates a condition of   
such national security importance that  
the ,president or the ,secretary of     
,defense may consider a commitment of   
the ,united ,states ,armed ,forces or   
,department resources1 or the initiation
 of activities by the ,department of    
,defense1 to achieve or defend national 

objectives4  7b7 ,strategy ,the         
,secretary of ,defense shall develop a  
strategy for crisis management in the   
,south ,china ,sea that-- 7#a7          
identifies the exact locations of the   
most likely flashpoints in the ,south   
,china ,sea that could lead to scenarios
 of crises short of war that would      
require heightened interagency and      
international coordination2 and  7#b7   
includes1 for each major likely         
flashpoint1 a crisis playbook with      
sequenced response options and a plan   
for coordination with foreign partners4 
7c7 ,objectives ,the strategy required  
by subsection 7b7 shall be designed--   
7#a7 to deny the aim of the ,people's   
,republic of ,china and deter further   
,people's ,republic of ,china           
provocation or actions that expand the  
crisis2  7#b7 to ensure the safety of   
,united ,states citizens and residents  
in the region and in the ,united        
,states2  7#c7 to ensure the safety of  
members of the ,united ,states ,armed   

,forces in the region1 including safety 
from accidents2  7#d7 to preserve       
,united ,states economic interests in   
the region1 including protecting key    
trade and commerce routes2  7#e7 to     
protect ,united ,states national        
security interests1 including by        
upholding treaty obligations and        
protecting allies and partners2 and     
7#f7 to manage possible escalation into 
combat operations by taking             
opportunities for de-escalation and     
maintaining strategic stability4  7d7   
,crisis playbooks  7#a7 ,in general     
,each crisis playbook required by       
subsection 7b77#b7-- 7,a7 shall be      
developed by the ,secretary of ,defense1
 in coordination with the ,secretary of 
,state1 the applicable ,chief of        
,mission1 the ,secretary of ,commerce1  
the ,secretary of the ,treasury1 and the
 head of any other relevant agency2 and 
7,b7 shall be informed by the           
intelligence community and relevant     
experts4  7#b7 ,elements ,each crisis   

playbook shall include the following3   
7,a7 ,a list of specific indicators that
 would elevate a scenario from a        
baseline of gray-zone conditions to the 
level of a crisis4  7,b7 ,not less than 
one planning scenario that could lead to
 crisis1 with clearly identified        
assumptions1 phases1 and likely         
branches4  7,c7 ,anticipated decision   
points and recommended options1         
sequenced across all identified phases4 
,the ,secretary of ,defense shall       
consider at least the following types of
 recommended options3 7i7 ,response     
options for ,department action1 across  
the range of possible decisions across  
the ,department1 including force        
employment1 military posture1           
,department official statements or      
travel1 engagements or public           
announcements1 capability demonstrations
 or tests4  7ii7 ,recommendations for   
types of ongoing ,department activities 
to consider ceasing1 reducing1 or       
changing in scale or type4  7iii7       

,diplomatic and economic options1       
developed in coordination with the      
,secretary of ,state1 the applicable    
,chief of ,mission1 the ,secretary of   
,commerce1 the ,secretary of the        
,treasury1 and the head of any other    
relevant agency1 to accompany the       
options for the ,department4  7,d7 ,each
 option recommended under subparagraph  
7,c7 shall include a cost-benefit-risk  
analysis1 specifically-- 7i7 the        
projected benefit of the option2  7ii7  
the assessed risk to members of the     
,united ,states ,armed ,forces2  7iii7  
the estimated financial cost2  7iv7 the 
projected humanitarian impact1 including
 the impact on local civilians2  7v7 the
 projected impact to escalation risk2   
and  7vi7 any accompanying risk         
mitigation strategies4  7,e7 ,a list of 
possible off-ramps1 including a         
description of indicators of such       
off-ramps and recommendations of options
 for the ,secretary of ,defense to take 
advantage of such off-ramps4  7,f7 ,an  

engagement plan-- 7i7 for streamlined   
communication and coordination with     
relevant foreign partners during each   
phase of the crisis to design collective
 diplomatic1 economic and military      
responses to ,people's ,republic of     
,china coercion and avoid potential     
actions that could unnecessarily provoke
 or exacerbate a tense situation2 and   
7ii7 that identifies recommendations for
 specific immediate actions the         
,secretary of ,defense should take now  
to pre-coordinate with foreign partners4
  7e7 ,semiannual review ,not less      
frequently than semiannually1 the       
,secretary of ,defense shall review1    
update as necessary1 and validate each  
crisis playbook developed under         
subsection 7b77#b74  7f7 ,interim report
  7#a7 ,in general ,not later than #abj 
days after the date of the enactment of 
this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,defense   
shall submit to ,committees on ,armed   
,services of the ,senate and the ,house 
of ,representatives a progress report   

that-- 7,a7 details the list of         
locations and scenarios identified under
 subsection 7b77#a72  7,b7 provides a   
status update on the development of the 
crisis playbook required by subsection  
7b77#b72  7,c7 sets forth a plan for the
 completion of such playbooks not later 
than ,march #bjbg2 and  7,d7 details the
 process by which such playbooks will be
 reviewed1 updated as necessary1 and    
validated under subsection 7e74  7#b7   
,form ,the interim report required by   
paragraph 7#a7 shall be submitted in    
unclassified form but may include a     
classified annex4  7g7 ,report  7#a7 ,in
 general ,not later than one year after 
the date of the enactment of this ,act1 
the ,secretary of ,defense shall submit 
to the ,committees on ,armed ,services  
of the ,senate the ,house of            
,representatives a report that          
summarizes the strategy developed under 
subsection 7b74  7#b7 ,form ,the report 
required by paragraph 7#a7 shall be     
submitted in unclassified form but may  

include a classified annex4  7h7 ,rule  
of construction ,nothing in this section
 may be construed to require the options
 set forth in a playbook developed under
 subsection 7b77#b7 to be the only      
options considered or followed in a     
crisis scenario4