The Senate’s annual defense policy bill says China should continue to be barred from the annual Rim of the Pacific military exercise until it removes weapons from its reclaimed islands.
The bill text unveiled Wednesday advises Defense Secretary Jim Mattis to also deny Beijing’s participation until it ceases creating the islands in the South China Sea and shows a four-year track record of stabilizing the region.
Last month, the Pentagon disinvited China from the biennial RIMPAC, billed as the world’s largest maritime exercise, citing evidence it has moved anti-ship missiles, surface-to-air missile systems, and electronic jammers into the Spratly Islands.
“The secretary of Defense shall not enable or facilitate the participation of the People’s Republic of China in any Rim of the Pacific … naval exercise unless the secretary certifies to the congressional defense committees that China has” met the requirements, according to the text of the Senate’s version of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act.
The language was added as the “sense of Congress” and would serve as a strong recommendation to Mattis, who has already said Beijing must be confronted about the activity.
The Senate is expected to begin consideration of the massive policy bill today.
