| 1 | 1 | | II |
|---|
| 2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
|---|
| 3 | 3 | | 1 |
|---|
| 4 | 4 | | STSESSION S. 777 |
|---|
| 5 | 5 | | To require the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State to monitor |
|---|
| 6 | 6 | | efforts by the People’s Republic of China to build or buy strategic |
|---|
| 7 | 7 | | foreign ports, and for other purposes. |
|---|
| 8 | 8 | | IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES |
|---|
| 9 | 9 | | FEBRUARY27, 2025 |
|---|
| 10 | 10 | | Mr. B |
|---|
| 11 | 11 | | UDD(for himself, Mr. KELLY, and Mr. SCOTTof Florida) introduced |
|---|
| 12 | 12 | | the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee |
|---|
| 13 | 13 | | on Foreign Relations |
|---|
| 14 | 14 | | A BILL |
|---|
| 15 | 15 | | To require the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of |
|---|
| 16 | 16 | | State to monitor efforts by the People’s Republic of |
|---|
| 17 | 17 | | China to build or buy strategic foreign ports, and for |
|---|
| 18 | 18 | | other purposes. |
|---|
| 19 | 19 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
|---|
| 20 | 20 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
|---|
| 21 | 21 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 |
|---|
| 22 | 22 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strategic Ports Re-4 |
|---|
| 23 | 23 | | porting Act’’. 5 |
|---|
| 24 | 24 | | VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:45 Mar 14, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S777.IS S777 |
|---|
| 25 | 25 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2 |
|---|
| 26 | 26 | | •S 777 IS |
|---|
| 27 | 27 | | SEC. 2. MAPPING AND STRATEGY REQUIRED. 1 |
|---|
| 28 | 28 | | (a) M |
|---|
| 29 | 29 | | APPING OFGLOBALPORTS.—The Secretary of 2 |
|---|
| 30 | 30 | | State, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, 3 |
|---|
| 31 | 31 | | shall— 4 |
|---|
| 32 | 32 | | (1) develop an updated, global mapping of for-5 |
|---|
| 33 | 33 | | eign and domestic ports identified to be of impor-6 |
|---|
| 34 | 34 | | tance to the United States, because of a capability 7 |
|---|
| 35 | 35 | | to provide military, diplomatic, economic, or resource 8 |
|---|
| 36 | 36 | | exploration superiority; and 9 |
|---|
| 37 | 37 | | (2) identify any efforts by the Government of 10 |
|---|
| 38 | 38 | | the People’s Republic of China (in this Act referred 11 |
|---|
| 39 | 39 | | to as the ‘‘PRC’’) or other PRC entities to build, 12 |
|---|
| 40 | 40 | | buy, or otherwise control, directly or indirectly, such 13 |
|---|
| 41 | 41 | | ports. 14 |
|---|
| 42 | 42 | | (b) S |
|---|
| 43 | 43 | | UBMISSION OFMAP.—The Secretary of State, 15 |
|---|
| 44 | 44 | | in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, shall submit 16 |
|---|
| 45 | 45 | | the mapping developed pursuant to subsection (a) to the 17 |
|---|
| 46 | 46 | | appropriate congressional committees. Such submission 18 |
|---|
| 47 | 47 | | shall be in unclassified form, but may include a classified 19 |
|---|
| 48 | 48 | | annex. 20 |
|---|
| 49 | 49 | | SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF STATE AND DEPARTMENT OF DE-21 |
|---|
| 50 | 50 | | FENSE STUDY AND REPORT ON STRATEGIC 22 |
|---|
| 51 | 51 | | PORTS. 23 |
|---|
| 52 | 52 | | (a) S |
|---|
| 53 | 53 | | TUDYREQUIRED.—The Secretary of State, in 24 |
|---|
| 54 | 54 | | coordination with the Secretary of Defense, shall conduct 25 |
|---|
| 55 | 55 | | a study of— 26 |
|---|
| 56 | 56 | | VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:45 Mar 14, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S777.IS S777 |
|---|
| 57 | 57 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3 |
|---|
| 58 | 58 | | •S 777 IS |
|---|
| 59 | 59 | | (1) strategic ports; 1 |
|---|
| 60 | 60 | | (2) the reasons such ports are of interest to the 2 |
|---|
| 61 | 61 | | United States; 3 |
|---|
| 62 | 62 | | (3) the activities and plans of the Government 4 |
|---|
| 63 | 63 | | of the PRC to expand its control over strategic ports 5 |
|---|
| 64 | 64 | | outside of the PRC; 6 |
|---|
| 65 | 65 | | (4) the public and private actors, such as China 7 |
|---|
| 66 | 66 | | Ocean Shipping Company, that are executing and 8 |
|---|
| 67 | 67 | | supporting the activities and plans of the Govern-9 |
|---|
| 68 | 68 | | ment of the PRC to expand its control over strategic 10 |
|---|
| 69 | 69 | | ports outside of the PRC; 11 |
|---|
| 70 | 70 | | (5) the activities and plans of the Government 12 |
|---|
| 71 | 71 | | of the PRC to expand its control over maritime lo-13 |
|---|
| 72 | 72 | | gistics by promoting products, such as LOGINK, 14 |
|---|
| 73 | 73 | | and setting industry standards outside the PRC; 15 |
|---|
| 74 | 74 | | (6) how the control by the Government of the 16 |
|---|
| 75 | 75 | | PRC over strategic ports outside of the PRC could 17 |
|---|
| 76 | 76 | | harm the national security or economic interests of 18 |
|---|
| 77 | 77 | | the United States and allies and partners of the 19 |
|---|
| 78 | 78 | | United States; and 20 |
|---|
| 79 | 79 | | (7) measures the United States Government 21 |
|---|
| 80 | 80 | | could take to ensure open access and security for 22 |
|---|
| 81 | 81 | | strategic ports and offer alternatives to PRC invest-23 |
|---|
| 82 | 82 | | ments or stakes in strategic ports. 24 |
|---|
| 83 | 83 | | VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:45 Mar 14, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S777.IS S777 |
|---|
| 84 | 84 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 4 |
|---|
| 85 | 85 | | •S 777 IS |
|---|
| 86 | 86 | | (b) CONDUCT OFSTUDY.—The Secretary of State 1 |
|---|
| 87 | 87 | | and the Secretary of Defense may enter into an arrange-2 |
|---|
| 88 | 88 | | ment with a federally funded research and development 3 |
|---|
| 89 | 89 | | center under which the center shall conduct the study re-4 |
|---|
| 90 | 90 | | quired under subsection (a). 5 |
|---|
| 91 | 91 | | (c) R |
|---|
| 92 | 92 | | EPORT.— 6 |
|---|
| 93 | 93 | | (1) I |
|---|
| 94 | 94 | | N GENERAL.—Not later than one year 7 |
|---|
| 95 | 95 | | after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-8 |
|---|
| 96 | 96 | | retary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of 9 |
|---|
| 97 | 97 | | Defense, shall submit to the appropriate congres-10 |
|---|
| 98 | 98 | | sional committees a report on the findings of the 11 |
|---|
| 99 | 99 | | study conducted under subsection (a). 12 |
|---|
| 100 | 100 | | (2) E |
|---|
| 101 | 101 | | LEMENTS.—The report required by para-13 |
|---|
| 102 | 102 | | graph (1) shall include— 14 |
|---|
| 103 | 103 | | (A) a detailed list of all known strategic 15 |
|---|
| 104 | 104 | | ports operated, controlled, or owned, directly or 16 |
|---|
| 105 | 105 | | indirectly, by the PRC or by a foreign person 17 |
|---|
| 106 | 106 | | of the PRC, and an assessment of the national 18 |
|---|
| 107 | 107 | | security and economic interests relevant to each 19 |
|---|
| 108 | 108 | | such port; 20 |
|---|
| 109 | 109 | | (B) a detailed list of all known strategic 21 |
|---|
| 110 | 110 | | ports operated, controlled, or owned, directly or 22 |
|---|
| 111 | 111 | | indirectly, by the United States or United 23 |
|---|
| 112 | 112 | | States persons and an assessment of the na-24 |
|---|
| 113 | 113 | | VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:45 Mar 14, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S777.IS S777 |
|---|
| 114 | 114 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 5 |
|---|
| 115 | 115 | | •S 777 IS |
|---|
| 116 | 116 | | tional security and economic interests relevant 1 |
|---|
| 117 | 117 | | to each such port; 2 |
|---|
| 118 | 118 | | (C) an assessment of vulnerabilities of— 3 |
|---|
| 119 | 119 | | (i) ports operated, controlled, or 4 |
|---|
| 120 | 120 | | owned, directly or indirectly, by the United 5 |
|---|
| 121 | 121 | | States; and 6 |
|---|
| 122 | 122 | | (ii) strategic ports; 7 |
|---|
| 123 | 123 | | (D) an analysis of the activities and ac-8 |
|---|
| 124 | 124 | | tions of the Government of the PRC to gain 9 |
|---|
| 125 | 125 | | control or ownership over strategic ports, in-10 |
|---|
| 126 | 126 | | cluding promoting products, such as LOGINK, 11 |
|---|
| 127 | 127 | | and setting industry standards; 12 |
|---|
| 128 | 128 | | (E) an assessment of how the Government 13 |
|---|
| 129 | 129 | | of the PRC plans to expand its control over 14 |
|---|
| 130 | 130 | | strategic ports outside of the PRC; 15 |
|---|
| 131 | 131 | | (F) a suggested strategy, developed in con-16 |
|---|
| 132 | 132 | | sultation with the heads of the relevant United 17 |
|---|
| 133 | 133 | | States Government offices, that suggests 18 |
|---|
| 134 | 134 | | courses of action to secure trusted investment 19 |
|---|
| 135 | 135 | | and ownership of strategic ports and maritime 20 |
|---|
| 136 | 136 | | infrastructure, protect such ports and infra-21 |
|---|
| 137 | 137 | | structure from PRC control, and ensure open 22 |
|---|
| 138 | 138 | | access and security for such ports, that in-23 |
|---|
| 139 | 139 | | cludes— 24 |
|---|
| 140 | 140 | | VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:45 Mar 14, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S777.IS S777 |
|---|
| 141 | 141 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 6 |
|---|
| 142 | 142 | | •S 777 IS |
|---|
| 143 | 143 | | (i) a list of relevant existing authori-1 |
|---|
| 144 | 144 | | ties that can be used to carry out the 2 |
|---|
| 145 | 145 | | strategy; 3 |
|---|
| 146 | 146 | | (ii) a list of any additional authorities 4 |
|---|
| 147 | 147 | | necessary to carry out the strategy; 5 |
|---|
| 148 | 148 | | (iii) an assessment of products owned 6 |
|---|
| 149 | 149 | | by the Government of the PRC or by an 7 |
|---|
| 150 | 150 | | entity headquartered in the PRC that are 8 |
|---|
| 151 | 151 | | used in connection with strategic ports or 9 |
|---|
| 152 | 152 | | maritime infrastructure; 10 |
|---|
| 153 | 153 | | (iv) an assessment of the costs to— 11 |
|---|
| 154 | 154 | | (I) secure such trusted invest-12 |
|---|
| 155 | 155 | | ment and ownership; 13 |
|---|
| 156 | 156 | | (II) replace products owned by 14 |
|---|
| 157 | 157 | | the Government of the PRC or an en-15 |
|---|
| 158 | 158 | | tity headquartered in the PRC that 16 |
|---|
| 159 | 159 | | are used in connection with such 17 |
|---|
| 160 | 160 | | ports; and 18 |
|---|
| 161 | 161 | | (III) enhance transparency 19 |
|---|
| 162 | 162 | | around the negative impacts of PRC 20 |
|---|
| 163 | 163 | | control over strategic ports; and 21 |
|---|
| 164 | 164 | | (v) a list of funding sources to secure 22 |
|---|
| 165 | 165 | | trusted investment and ownership of stra-23 |
|---|
| 166 | 166 | | tegic ports, which shall include— 24 |
|---|
| 167 | 167 | | VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:45 Mar 14, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S777.IS S777 |
|---|
| 168 | 168 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 7 |
|---|
| 169 | 169 | | •S 777 IS |
|---|
| 170 | 170 | | (I) an identification of private 1 |
|---|
| 171 | 171 | | funding sources; and 2 |
|---|
| 172 | 172 | | (II) an identification of public 3 |
|---|
| 173 | 173 | | funding sources, including loans, loan 4 |
|---|
| 174 | 174 | | guarantees, and tax incentives; 5 |
|---|
| 175 | 175 | | (G) a suggested strategy for Federal agen-6 |
|---|
| 176 | 176 | | cies to maintain an up-to-date list of strategic 7 |
|---|
| 177 | 177 | | ports; and 8 |
|---|
| 178 | 178 | | (H) an assessment of any national security 9 |
|---|
| 179 | 179 | | threat posed by such investments or activities to 10 |
|---|
| 180 | 180 | | United States diplomatic and defense personnel 11 |
|---|
| 181 | 181 | | and facilities in the vicinity of such ports, in-12 |
|---|
| 182 | 182 | | cluding through cyber threats, electronically en-13 |
|---|
| 183 | 183 | | abled espionage, or other means. 14 |
|---|
| 184 | 184 | | (3) F |
|---|
| 185 | 185 | | ORM OF REPORT.—The report required by 15 |
|---|
| 186 | 186 | | paragraph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified 16 |
|---|
| 187 | 187 | | form, but may include a classified annex. 17 |
|---|
| 188 | 188 | | SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 18 |
|---|
| 189 | 189 | | In this Act: 19 |
|---|
| 190 | 190 | | (1) A |
|---|
| 191 | 191 | | PPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT -20 |
|---|
| 192 | 192 | | TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-21 |
|---|
| 193 | 193 | | mittees’’ means— 22 |
|---|
| 194 | 194 | | (A) the Committee on Transportation and 23 |
|---|
| 195 | 195 | | Infrastructure, the Committee on Energy and 24 |
|---|
| 196 | 196 | | Commerce, the Committee on Armed Services, 25 |
|---|
| 197 | 197 | | VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:45 Mar 14, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S777.IS S777 |
|---|
| 198 | 198 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 8 |
|---|
| 199 | 199 | | •S 777 IS |
|---|
| 200 | 200 | | the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Per-1 |
|---|
| 201 | 201 | | manent Select Committee on Intelligence of the 2 |
|---|
| 202 | 202 | | House of Representatives; and 3 |
|---|
| 203 | 203 | | (B) the Committee on Commerce, Science, 4 |
|---|
| 204 | 204 | | and Transportation, the Committee on Armed 5 |
|---|
| 205 | 205 | | Services, the Committee on Foreign Relations, 6 |
|---|
| 206 | 206 | | and the Select Committee on Intelligence of the 7 |
|---|
| 207 | 207 | | Senate. 8 |
|---|
| 208 | 208 | | (2) R |
|---|
| 209 | 209 | | ELEVANT UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT 9 |
|---|
| 210 | 210 | | OFFICES.—The term ‘‘relevant United States Gov-10 |
|---|
| 211 | 211 | | ernment offices’’ means— 11 |
|---|
| 212 | 212 | | (A) the Unified Combatant Commands; 12 |
|---|
| 213 | 213 | | (B) the Office of the Secretary of Defense; 13 |
|---|
| 214 | 214 | | (C) the Office of the Secretary of State; 14 |
|---|
| 215 | 215 | | (D) the United States International Devel-15 |
|---|
| 216 | 216 | | opment Finance Corporation; 16 |
|---|
| 217 | 217 | | (E) the Office of the Director of National 17 |
|---|
| 218 | 218 | | Intelligence; and 18 |
|---|
| 219 | 219 | | (F) the Maritime Administration of the 19 |
|---|
| 220 | 220 | | Department of Transportation. 20 |
|---|
| 221 | 221 | | (3) S |
|---|
| 222 | 222 | | TRATEGIC PORT.—The term ‘‘strategic 21 |
|---|
| 223 | 223 | | port’’ means an international port or waterway that 22 |
|---|
| 224 | 224 | | the heads of the relevant United States Government 23 |
|---|
| 225 | 225 | | VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:45 Mar 14, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S777.IS S777 |
|---|
| 226 | 226 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 9 |
|---|
| 227 | 227 | | •S 777 IS |
|---|
| 228 | 228 | | offices determine is critical to the national security 1 |
|---|
| 229 | 229 | | or economic prosperity of the United States. 2 |
|---|
| 230 | 230 | | Æ |
|---|
| 231 | 231 | | VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:45 Mar 14, 2025 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S777.IS S777 |
|---|
| 232 | 232 | | kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB |
|---|