South China Sea Strategy Act of 2026

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4600 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4600

 To require a South China Sea diplomatic engagement strategy, and for
                            other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 20, 2026

  Ms. Duckworth (for herself and Mr. Curtis) introduced the following
  bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 To require a South China Sea diplomatic engagement strategy, and for
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``South China Sea Strategy Act of
2026''.

SEC. 2. UNITED STATES POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States--
            (1) to support the importance of the freedom of navigation,
        overflight, and unfettered commerce in the South China Sea, in
        a manner consistent with international law to preserve United
        States economic interests in the region;
            (2) to commit to a rules-based approach to resolving
        maritime disputes;
            (3) to counter efforts by the People's Republic of China
        (PRC) to unilaterally change the status quo and treat the South
        China Sea as its unilateral dominion, undermining regional
        stability and contravening the PRC's prior commitments to
        resolve disputes peacefully and through appropriate legal
        venues; and
            (4) to engage with allies and partners in a concerted,
        coordinated manner to support a strategic, consistent approach
        to diplomatic engagement on issues and crises that arise that
        affect United States interests in the South China Sea,
        including to ensure the safety of United States citizens in the
        region.

SEC. 3. SOUTH CHINA SEA DIPLOMATIC ENGAGEMENT STRATEGY.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall, in consultation
with the Secretary of Defense, 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 smart,
strategic direction in line with United States interests to maximize
our efficient engagement on South China Sea matters.
    (b) Elements.--The Strategy listed in subsection (a) shall--
            (1) describe the overarching goals of United States
        engagement with littoral states, allies, and partners on
        security, diplomatic, legal, and economic matters in the South
        China Sea;
            (2) designate an office tasked with lead responsibility for
        coordinating execution of each goal described in paragraph (1);
            (3) analyze the successes of the Department of State's
        existing mechanisms, programs, and forums for advancing United
        States goals in the South China Sea through bilateral,
        multilateral, subnational, civil society, and private sector
        avenues with littoral states, allies, and partners, and
        identifies gaps in engagement;
            (4) detail plans to deepen bilateral engagement with each
        littoral state around pressures, threats and opportunities in
        the South China Sea identified as priorities in previous
        bilateral engagements;
            (5) detail plans to convene and increase the frequency of
        collective engagements with littoral states, including
        additional allies and partners as appropriate, around themes of
        shared importance, including--
                    (A) bolstering defense capabilities;
                    (B) reinforcing maritime law enforcement capacity
                and governance;
                    (C) responding to grey-zone tactics, including
                coordinated illegal, unreported, and unregulated
                fishing;
                    (D) managing maritime territorial disputes to
                reducing the likelihood of security crises and
                conflicts;
                    (E) preparing crisis management and response
                mechanisms to avoid potential actions that could
                unnecessarily provoke or exacerbate a volatile or tense
                situation;
                    (F) building resilience to foreign malign influence
                and interference;
                    (G) supporting economic development and resilience
                to economic coercion; and
                    (H) addressing additional factors assessed by the
                Secretary to be causing a direct risk to the United
                States national interests in the South China Sea; and
            (6) 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 engagement.
    (c) Classification.--The strategy submitted under subsection (a)
shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified
annex.

SEC. 4. STRATEGY EXECUTION.

    (a) Identification of Necessary Programs and Resources.--Not later
than 360 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the
Secretary of State shall identify and submit to the appropriate
congressional committees any necessary program, policy, or budgetary
resources required to support implementation of the Strategy for
Diplomatic Engagement on the South China Sea for fiscal years 2027,
2028, and 2029.
    (b) Briefing.--Not later than 30 days after the submission of the
assessment described in subsection (a), the Secretary of State shall
brief the appropriate congressional committees on the implementation of
the Strategy for Diplomatic Engagement on the South China Sea.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
                Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House
                of Representatives.
            (2) Littoral states.--The term ``littoral states'' means--
                    (A) Brunei;
                    (B) Indonesia;
                    (C) Malaysia;
                    (D) the Philippines; and
                    (E) Vietnam.
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