[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2669 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2669
To require the Secretary of Defense to develop and implement a strategy
to strengthen multilateral deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 1, 2025
Mr. Bennet (for himself and Mr. Sullivan) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign
Relations
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the Secretary of Defense to develop and implement a strategy
to strengthen multilateral deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. STRATEGY TO STRENGTHEN MULTILATERAL DETERRENCE IN THE INDO-
PACIFIC REGION.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Defense shall develop and
implement a strategy to strengthen multilateral deterrence against
regional aggression in the Indo-Pacific region by expanding
multilateral coordination with United States allies and partners in the
Indo-Pacific region, particularly Japan, the Republic of Korea, the
Philippines, and Australia, including by enhancing multilateral access
and basing agreements, command and control structures, intelligence-
sharing, and exercises and operations.
(b) Elements.--The strategy required by subsection (a) shall--
(1) describe current activities and identify future actions
to be taken over the next 5 years by the Department of
Defense--
(A) to leverage reciprocal access agreements
between the United States and allies and partners in
the Indo-Pacific region, particularly Japan, the
Republic of Korea, the Philippines, and Australia, to
expand regional access for the military forces of such
allies and partners, including for purposes of
enhancing interoperability at locations across the
Indo-Pacific region, pre-positioning munitions
stockpiles, and jointly supporting and leveraging
shared facilities, operational access, and
infrastructure;
(B) to improve command and control structures
enabling enhanced multilateral coordination with allies
and partners in the Indo-Pacific region, including
through the Combined Coordination Center in the
Philippines, the joint force headquarters of the United
States in Japan, the Combined Forces Command in the
Republic of Korea, and a potential combined
coordination structure in Australia;
(C) to expand intelligence-sharing and maritime
domain awareness among the United States and allies and
partners in the Indo-Pacific region, including through
the Bilateral Intelligence Analysis Cell in Japan and
the Combined Coordination Center in the Philippines;
and
(D) to expand the scope and scale of multilateral
military exercises and operations as well as basing
infrastructure and posture in the Indo-Pacific region,
particularly among the United States, Japan, the
Republic of Korea, the Philippines, and Australia,
including more frequent combined maritime operations
through the Taiwan Strait, the South China Sea, and the
Aleutian Islands;
(2) fully consider strategic and operational contingencies
for security of likely military and economic avenues of
approach and trade routes across the South, Central, and North
Indo-Pacific region; and
(3) address the conduct of operations in accordance with
such strategic and operational contingencies.
(c) Submission.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the
congressional defense committees (as defined in section 101 of title
10, United States Code) the written strategy required by subsection
(a), including an identification of--
(1) any changes to funding or policy required to strengthen
multilateral deterrence among the United States and allies and
partners in the Indo-Pacific region against regional
aggression; and
(2) any additional resources required to carry out specific
initiatives described in subsection (b), such as expanding
regional access to the military forces of such allies and
partners, improving command and control structures, expanding
intelligence-sharing and maritime domain awareness, and
expanding the scope and scale of multilateral exercises and
operations in the Indo-Pacific region.
(d) Interim Report on Implementation.--Not later than March 15,
2027, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional
defense committees (as defined in section 101 of title 10, United
States Code) a report on the progress of the implementation of the
strategy required by subsection (a), including any resource or
authority gaps identified in the ability of the Department of Defense
to implement the strategy.
(e) Indo-Pacific Region Defined.--In this section, the term ``Indo-
Pacific region'' means--
(1) the geographical area encompassing the area of
responsibility of the United States Indo-Pacific Command; and
(2) the Alaska theater of operations, including the
entirety of the State of Alaska and the entirety of the oceans
or other such maritime features bordering the State of Alaska.
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