US Senators Marco Rubio and Ben Cardin reintroduced the South China Sea and East China Sea Sanctions Act. This is a bipartisan bill to impose sanctions against Chinese individuals and entities that take part ‘in Beijing’s illegitimate activities to aggressively assert its expansive maritime and territorial claims in these disputed regions.’
Sponsored by 14 Senators, this legislation is given ongoing efforts by the US to perform freedom of navigation operations (FONOPs), aiming to support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
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The bipartisan bill seeks to reinforce US’s commitment to secure a free and open Indo-Pacific, including in the South China Sea and East China Sea, Mr. Rubio said. He added that due to the fact that China is violating international norms in the South China and East China Seas, and this legislation authorizes new sanctions to warn Beijing that the US intends to hold violators accountable.
China has been bully in both the South and East China Seas, encroaching on and intimidating its neighbors. Such aggressive behavior cannot go on unchecked. The United States will defend the free-flow of commerce and freedom of navigation, as well as promote the peaceful diplomatic resolution of disputes consistent with international law
Joining Rubio and Cardin as original cosponsors of the legislation are Senators Tom Cotton, Tim Kaine, Todd Young, Richard Blumenthal, Josh Hawley, Kirsten Gillibrand, Rick Scott, Joe Manchin, Marsha Blackburn, Tammy Duckworth, John Cornyn, Doug Jones, and Mitt Romney.
