South China Sea Strategy Act of 2026

(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.

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.

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.

The strategy submitted under subsection (a) shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified annex.

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.

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.

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.

The term littoral states means—

(A) Brunei;

(B) Indonesia;

(C) Malaysia;

(D) the Philippines; and

(E) Vietnam.