,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #eafj  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,july #bi1     
#bjbf,ms4 ,duckworth 7for herself and   
,mrs4 ,blackburn7 introduced the        
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,foreign 
,relations  ,a ,,bill  ,to require the  
,secretary of ,state and relevant       
executive branch agencies to monitor and
 address gray-zone operations of the    
,people's ,republic of ,china in the    
,indo-,pacific1 to hold accountable     
gray-zone activities by national and    
international actors1 and for other     
purposes4  #a4 ,short title ,this ,act  
may be cited as the ,countering         
,gray-zone ,aggression by the ,people's 
,republic of ,china ,act4  #b4 ,sense of
 ,congress ,it is the sense of ,congress
 that-- 7#a7 gray-zone operations       
employed in the ,indo-,pacific region   
with the purpose of expanding ,chinese  
interest via coercion by the ,people's  
,republic of ,china 7,,prc7 is a growing

 threat to the ,united ,states1 national
 security1 regional partners in the     
,indo-,pacific and economic interests   
globally1 with the ,indo-,pacific region
 and ,taiwan being a vital area of      
interest to the ,united ,states2  7#b7  
gray-zone tactics are employed by the   
,,prc with the specific purpose of      
reunification with ,taiwan through slow 
erosion of political cohesion1 economic 
independence and societal confidence    
without kinetic escalation1 among other 
objectives2  7#c7 gray-zone tactics are 
becoming increasingly prevalent in the  
,taiwan ,strait and the ,indo-,pacific  
region with the increased incursions of 
,chinese vessels in national waters1    
airspace incursions1 cyberattacks1      
disinformation campaigns and economic   
coercion1 in which ,taiwan and the      
,philippines are identified as main     
targets2  7#d7 the ,,prc is continuously
 increasing the scope of targets and    
disputed territories in the ,pacific1   
broadening the list of target           

territories beyond ,taiwan and the      
,philippines2  7#e7 ,,prc-,russia       
gray-zone tactic coordination is        
becoming an increasing security risk for
 the ,united ,states in both the        
,euro-,atlantic and ,indo-,pacific1 with
 the involvement of ,chinese vessels in 
cable breakages in ,europe1 and ,russian
 vessels near ,taiwan2  7#f7 the ,united
 ,states ,indo-,pacific allies and      
partners find themselves at the         
forefront of aggression by the ,,prc1   
which they cannot effectively counter   
without substantive intelligence        
sharing1 coordination1 and publicization
 of ,,prc aggression1 which can be      
further supplemented by ,united ,states 
coordination2  7#g7 the ,united ,states 
,government should redouble efforts to  
hold the ,,prc accountable1 including   
partnering with non-governmental groups 
who are documenting and exposing the    
,,prc's coercive and destabilizing      
activities1 for the purpose of          
deterrence2 and  7#h7 to effectively    

address ,,prc use of gray-zone tactics1 
the ,united ,states ,government should  
work with partner governments1 civil    
society experts1 and private            
stakeholders to improve information     
sharing1 strengthen preventative        
measures1 raise public awareness1 and   
increase coordination on regional law   
enforcement4  #c4 ,definitions  7a7 ,in 
general ,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 ,representatives2  7#b7       
,gray-zone tactics ,the term gray-zone  
tactics means the use of activities1    
short of open warfare1 to advance a     
state's interests by maximizing         
advancement while avoiding kinetic      
military responses1 including a mix of  
diplomatic1 economic1 informational and 
paramilitary tools4  7#c7 ,strategy ,the
 term ,strategy means the strategy to   

monitor and counter gray-zone tactics   
and hold the ,,prc accountable required 
under section #d4  7b7 ,rule of         
construction ,the definitions under this
 section are exclusive to this ,act and 
may not be construed to affect any other
 provision of ,united ,states law4  #d4 
,strategy to enhance and enact the      
monitoring of ,chinese gray-zone        
activities within the ,indo-,pacific    
7a7 ,in general ,not later than #ahj    
days after the date of enactment of this
 ,act1 the ,secretary of ,state1 in     
consultation with the ,assistant        
,secretary of ,state for ,intelligence  
and ,research1 the ,attorney ,general1  
the heads of intelligence community     
agencies1 and the heads of other        
,federal departments and agencies1 shall
 submit to the appropriate congressional
 committees a comprehensive strategy 7in
 this section referred to as the        
,strategy7 that-- 7#a7 is designed to   
monitor and make public gray-zone       
tactics used by the ,,prc to the        

detriment of our allies and partners1 as
 a means of exposing ,,prc methods and  
limiting their damage2  7#b7 consults   
with the intelligence community on best 
practices of increasing intelligence    
sharing2  7#c7 is global in scope2 and  
7#d7 may prioritize efforts focused on  
the ,,prc activities in the             
,indo-,pacific region and the ,taiwan   
,strait4  7b7 ,contents ,the ,strategy  
shall-- 7#a7 provide an assessment of   
gaps in capabilities or resourcing      
regarding our ability to monitor ,,prc  
gray zone activities in the             
,indo-,pacific2  7#b7 outline a list of 
territories or areas currently impacted 
by or imminently vulnerable to ,,prc    
gray-zone operations with an assessment 
the capabilities of ,united ,states     
allies and partners to respond1 and     
describe the status of efforts to engage
 with these partners at governmental and
 local levels2  7#c7 identify all       
active1 relevant ,united ,states foreign
 assistance programs and diplomatic     

efforts underway to mitigate and counter
 gray-zone tactics2  7#d7 identify1 if  
applicable1 any additional capabilities 
or resources inherent to allies and     
partners1 the private sector1 or        
academia that would enhance the response
 to ,,prc gray-zone activities2  7#e7   
outline additional resources or         
authorities needed to adequately counter
 ,,prc gray-zone activities and any     
obstacles to responding to gray-zone    
tactic incidents2  7#f7 outline an      
action plan for how the ,federal        
,government will monitor1 prevent1 and  
deter ,,prc gray-zone activities1       
including in coordination with allies   
and partners1 including strategic       
efforts to raise awareness and public   
exposure of ,,prc gray-zone activities2 
and  7#g7 establish objectives and      
performance indicators to achieve this  
strategy4  7c7 ,limitation ,nothing in  
the ,strategy may affect1 apply to1 or  
create obligations related to past1     
present1 or future criminal or civil law

 enforcement or intelligence activities 
of the ,united ,states or the law       
enforcement activities of any ,state or 
subdivision of a ,state4  7d7           
,classification ,the ,strategy shall be 
unclassified but may include a          
classified annex4  #e4 ,establishing a  
task force to implement the ,strategy   
7a7 ,in general ,not later than #ij days
 after submitting the ,strategy pursuant
 to section #d7;a71 the ,secretary of   
,state1 in consultation with the        
,attorney ,general1 the ,secretary of   
the ,treasury1 and the heads of other   
,federal departments and agencies1 shall
 establish an interagency task force    
7referred to in this section as the     
,task ,force7-- 7#a7 to coordinate the  
implementation of the ,strategy2  7#b7  
to conduct and enhance regular          
monitoring and analysis of gray-zone    
operations internationally2  7#c7 to    
track1 formulate and strengthen tools   
for the purpose of countering and       
mitigating gray-zone operations         

internationally1 including determining  
and reporting funding requirements2     
7#d7 to track and evaluate progress     
toward the objectives1 activities1 and  
performance indicators of the ,strategy 
described in section #d7;b77#e72 and    
7#e7 to update the ,strategy1 in        
consultation with the appropriate       
congressional committees1 as needed4    
7b7 ,annual reviews and reports ,not    
later than #a year after the            
establishment of the ,task ,force1 and  
not less frequently than annually       
thereafter1 the ,secretary of ,state and
 the ,attorney ,general1 in consultation
 with the ,secretary of the ,treasury   
and the heads of other ,federal         
departments and agencies1 shall-- 7#a7  
conduct a status review of the ,strategy
 and the overall state gray-zone        
operations by the ,,prc in the          
,indo-,pacific2  7#b7 include a list of 
impacted allies and partners1 as well as
 actors who may be enabling the ,,prc's 
gray zone activity in the               

,indo-,pacific2 and  7#c7 submit the    
results of such review in a public      
report to the appropriate congressional 
committees1 which may contain a         
classified annex4  7c7 ,task force      
termination ,the ,task ,force shall     
terminate on the date that is #g years  
after the date on which it is           
established4