A bill to require the Secretary of Defense to develop and implement a strategy to strengthen multilateral deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region.

This bill would require the Secretary of Defense to create and execute a strategy to strengthen multilateral deterrence against regional aggression in the Indo-Pacific, by expanding coordination with U.S. allies and partners—specifically Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, and Australia. The strategy would focus on improving regional access and basing agreements, command and control (C2) structures, intelligence sharing, and multilateral exercises and operations. The initiative envisions a five-year plan with concrete actions to deepen interoperability and presence across the region, including pre-positioned munitions, shared facilities, enhanced maritime domain awareness, and more frequent combined maritime operations in areas such as the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, as well as near Alaska. Key features include a requirement to consider strategic and operational contingencies for security of critical sea lanes and trade routes, and to ensure operations align with those contingencies. The Secretary of Defense must submit a written strategy to Congress within 180 days of enactment, outlining funding, policy changes, and additional resources needed; and an interim progress report with resource or authority gaps by March 15, 2027. The definition of the Indo-Pacific region includes the US Indo-Pacific Command area and the Alaska theater.