House Passes Castro and Wagner’s ASEAN Resolution

SOURCE:

Theo tin

Sep 27, 2017 Press Release
Washington, D.C. – Today, the House of Representatives passed a resolution introduced by Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) and Congresswoman Ann Wagner (MO-02) that recognizes the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and highlights member nations’ contributions to stability, prosperity, and peace in Southeast Asia. The resolution also marks the 40th anniversary of U.S.-ASEAN relations and recognizes the positive outcomes of that engagement. Reps. Castro and Wagner are founding co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on ASEAN, and both are members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

“As the United States and ASEAN mark 40 years of diplomatic relations, our nations have an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to shared goals and look for areas of even greater cooperation,” said Rep. Castro. “Congresswoman Ann Wagner, my fellow Congressional Caucus on ASEAN co-chair, and I introduced this resolution to recognize this landmark year and the importance of the United States’ strategic relationship with ASEAN member states. From strengthening regional security and growing the U.S.-ASEAN economic partnership, to promoting human rights and safeguarding Southeast Asian maritime passageways, there are numerous high-priority areas in which the United States and ASEAN’s collaboration will yield greater successes than if our nations operate independently. I’m very pleased the House of Representatives passed this measure, and I look forward to the Congressional Caucus on ASEAN’s continued work to enhance U.S.-ASEAN engagement.”

Among its provisions, the resolution reaffirms the elevation of the United States-ASEAN relationship to a strategic partnership and the enhancement of U.S.-ASEAN economic engagement; recognizes the value of ASEAN working with economic, political, and security partners both inside of and outside of Asia; supports efforts by ASEAN member states to address maritime and territorial disputes in a constructive manner to promote peace and stability in the region; and encourages President Trump to communicate to ASEAN leaders the importance of protecting human rights.

“I am thrilled that Congress has passed House Resolution 311,” said Rep. Wagner. “We intend for this Resolution to raise awareness within and outside of Congress about Southeast Asia’s critical role in the global order. Congressman Castro and I founded the Congressional Caucus on ASEAN to acknowledge that America must be the foremost trade and defense partner for ASEAN countries. This Resolution affirms the critical U.S. strategic partnership with ASEAN, and seeks to advance our economic engagement with the region. The U.S. is also committed to partnering with ASEAN to halt human smuggling and human trafficking, and improve assistance to refugees and migrants. I look forward to working with our ASEAN peers to make the next 40 years of U.S.-ASEAN engagement even more fruitful than the last 40 years.”

Full text of the resolution is available here: LINK

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https://castro.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/house-passes-castro-and-wagner-s-asean-resolution

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Suspend the Rules And Agree to the Resolution, H. Res. 311 with Amendments
(The amendments consist of a new preamble, a substitute text, and an amendment to the title)
115TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION
Recognizing that for 50 years the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has worked toward stability, prosperity, and peace in Southeast Asia.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 3, 2017
Mr. CASTRO of Texas (for himself and Mrs. WAGNER) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
RESOLUTION
Recognizing that for 50 years the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has worked toward stability, prosperity, and peace in Southeast Asia.
Whereas on September 10, 1977, the United States and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (in this resolu- tion referred to as ‘‘ASEAN’’) established dialogue rela- tions, with 2017 marking the 40th anniversary of United States-ASEAN relations;
Whereas on August 8, 2017, ASEAN will celebrate fifty years of regional cooperation towards greater stability, peace, and prosperity in Southeast Asia;
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H. RES. 311
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Whereas on April 29, 2008, the United States was the first non-ASEAN country to appoint an ambassador to ASEAN and the United States became the first dialogue partner to establish a permanent mission to ASEAN in 2010;
Whereas the United States committed in 2009 to hold an an- nual United States-ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting, and up- graded the commitment in 2012 to an annual United States-ASEAN Summit;
Whereas on April 20, 2017, Vice President Mike Pence met with the ASEAN Secretary General and ASEAN Perma- nent Representatives in Jakarta, Indonesia, and stated that the United States-ASEAN relationship ‘‘without a doubt has benefitted both ASEAN and America—dip- lomatically, economically, and from the standpoint of na- tional security’’;
Whereas on February 16, 2016, at the Sunnylands Summit in California, the United States and ASEAN reaffirmed their shared commitment to maintain peace, security, and stability throughout the region;
Whereas in 2013 ASEAN, as a whole, was the seventh-larg- est economy in the world with an annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $2.4 trillion, and is the United States’ fourth-largest export market with total exports reaching $102,000,000,000 in 2015;
Whereas the United States and ASEAN have strong eco- nomic ties, as the United States is the single largest in- vestor in ASEAN with accumulated United States foreign direct investment totaling almost $226,000,000,000 as of 2014, and economic relations with ASEAN supporting more than 500,000 jobs in the United States;
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Whereas the United States-ASEAN partnership is vital to the security interests of the United States, as both the United States and the members of ASEAN have a shared common interest in a peaceful resolution of the South China Sea disputes and achieving a denuclearized North Korea;
Whereas on November 4, 2002, the Declaration on the Con- duct of Parties in the South China Sea was signed by all members of ASEAN and the People’s Republic of China, committing all parties to ‘‘exercise self-restraint in the conduct of activities that would complicate or escalate disputes and affect peace and stability’’;
Whereas ASEAN is a partner to the United States on key transnational challenges, such as terrorism, violent extre- mism, environmental degradation, energy, infectious dis- eases, disarmament, proliferation of weapons of mass de- struction, cybersecurity, trafficking in persons, illicit traf- ficking of wildlife and timber, and illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing; and
Whereas the 2016 East Asia Summit in Vientiane adopted a statement on nonproliferation that reaffirmed the United States, ASEAN, and other Dialogue Partners’ support for efforts at the national, regional, and international level to promote nuclear disarmament, nuclear non- proliferation, and peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and re- iterated the importance of nuclear security to combating nuclear terrorism: Now, therefore, be it
1 2 3 4
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) supports and affirms the elevation of the United States-ASEAN relationship to a strategic partnership, and reaffirms the United States com-
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1 mitment to promoting a rules-based order in the
2 Asia-Pacific and economic growth, peace, human
3 rights and stability in Southeast Asia;
4 (2) recognizes the value of ASEAN working
5 with economic, political, and security partners, such
6 as Australia, Canada, the European Union, India,
7 Japan, New Zealand, Norway, the Republic of
8 Korea, and Taiwan both inside and outside of Asia,
9 to both strengthen existing initiatives such as the
10 United States-ASEAN Connect and to develop new
11 initiatives that address mutual strategic concerns;
12 (3) encourages the enhancement of economic
13 engagement between the United States and ASEAN
14 through the elimination of trade barriers;
15 (4) supports cooperation with ASEAN to imple-
16 ment practical counter-terrorism and countering vio-
17 lent extremism measures, including efforts to
18 counter homegrown radicalization and stem foreign
19 fighter travel;
20 (5) supports efforts by ASEAN member states
21 and other regional states, including the People’s Re-
22 public of China, to address maritime and territorial
23 disputes in a constructive manner and to pursue
24 claims, through diplomacy and the use of legitimate
25 regional and international arbitration mechanisms,
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1 consistent with international law, including through
2 the adoption of a code of conduct in the South
3 China Sea to further promote peace and stability in
4 the region;
5 (6) urges all parties to maritime and territorial
6 disputes in the Asia-Pacific region to—
7 (A) exercise self-restraint in the conduct of
8 activities that would undermine stability or es-
9 calate disputes through the use of coercion, in-
10 timidation, or military force; and
11 (B) refrain from efforts to militarize
12 uninhabited islands, reefs, shoals, and other
13 features, through actions including the con-
14 struction of new garrisons and facilities, and
15 the relocation of additional military personnel,
16 materiel, or equipment; and
17 (7) reaffirms the commitment of the United
18 States to continue joint efforts with ASEAN to halt
19 human smuggling and trafficking in persons and
20 urges ASEAN to make increased efforts to create
21 and strengthen regional mechanisms to provide as-
22 sistance and support to refugees and migrants.
Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill reaffirming the 40 years of relations between the United States and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN),
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and the shared pursuit of economic growth and regional security in Southeast Asia.’’.
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http://docs.house.gov/billsthisweek/20170925/HRes311.pdf