S.Amdt. 2703

SA 2703. Mr. RUBIO submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 2282 proposed by Mr. Inhofe (for himself and Mr. McCain)
to the bill H.R. 5515, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2019
for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the end of subtitle E of title XII, add the following:

SEC. 12__. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ESTABLISHMENT OF COMBINED
MARITIME TASK FORCE PACIFIC.

(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) The Indo-Pacific region--
(A) represents nearly \1/2\ of the global population;
(B) is home to some of the most dynamic economies in the
world; and
(C) poses security challenges that threaten to undermine
United States national security interests, regional peace,
and global stability.
(2) The core tenets of the United States-backed
international system are being challenged with increasingly
coercive behavior, including--
(A) China's illegal construction and militarization of
artificial features in the South China Sea;
(B) North Korea's acceleration of its nuclear and ballistic
missile capabilities; and
(C) the increased presence throughout Southeast Asia of the
Islamic State and other international terrorist organizations
that threaten the United States.
(3) The economic order in the Indo-Pacific region continues
to transform, presenting both opportunities and challenges to
United States economic interests.
(4) The United States has a fundamental interest in
defending human rights and promoting the rule of law in the
Indo-Pacific region. Although many countries in the Indo-
Pacific region have improved the treatment of their citizens,
several Indo-Pacific countries continue to be human rights
abusers and there are serious concerns with political rights
and civil liberties throughout the Indo-Pacific region.
(5) Without strong leadership from the United States, the
international system, fundamentally rooted in the rule of
law, may wither, to the detriment of United States, regional,
and global interests. It is imperative that the United States
continue to play a leading role in the Indo-Pacific region
by--
(A) defending peace and security;
(B) advancing economic prosperity; and
(C) promoting respect for fundamental human rights.
(6) In 2017, the Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific,
and International Cybersecurity Policy of the Committee on
Foreign Relations of the Senate held a series of hearings on
United States leadership in the Indo-Pacific region, in
which--
(A) experts, including Representative Randy Forbes,
Ambassador Robert Gallucci, Ms. Tami Overby, Dr. Robert Orr,
Ambassador Derek Mitchell, Ambassador Robert King, Mr. Murray
Hiebert, and others detailed the security challenges,
economic opportunities, and imperatives of promoting

[[Page S3699]]

rule of law, human rights, and democracy, in the Indo-Pacific
region; and
(B) Dr. Graham Allison, the Douglas Dillon Professor of
Government at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at
Harvard University, testified, ``As realistic students of
history, Chinese leaders recognize that the role the U.S. has
played since World War II as the architect and underwriter of
regional stability and security has been essential to the
rise of Asia, including China itself. But they believe that
as the tide that brought the U.S. to Asia recedes, America
must leave with it. Much as Britain's role in the Western
Hemisphere faded at the beginning of the twentieth century,
so must America's role in Asia as the region's historic
superpower resumes its place.''.
(7) The United States National Security Strategy, which was
released in December 2017, states
(A) ``A geopolitical competition between free and
repressive visions of world order is taking place in the
Indo-Pacific region. The region, which stretches from the
west coast of India to the western shores of the United
States, represents the most populous and economically dynamic
part of the world. The U.S. interest in a free and open Indo-
Pacific extends back to the earliest days of our republic.'';
and
(B) ``Our vision for the Indo-Pacific excludes no nation.
We will redouble our commitment to established alliances and
partnerships, while expanding and deepening relationships
with new partners that share respect for sovereignty, fair
and reciprocal trade, and the rule of law. We will reinforce
our commitment to freedom of the seas and the peaceful
resolution of territorial and maritime disputes in accordance
with international law. We will work with allies and partners
to achieve complete, verifiable, and irreversible
denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and preserve the
non-proliferation regime in Northeast Asia.''.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) not later than one year after the date of the enactment
of this Act, the President should establish a task force, to
be known as the Combined Maritime Task Force Pacific, to
protect a free and open Indo-Pacific maritime region;
(2) in establishing the task force, the President should
seek the participation of partner nations that are interested
in goals of the task force; and
(3) the United States Navy shall lead the task force.
______