COUNTER Act of 2025
The COUNTER Act of 2025 would compel the U.S. executive branch to take a formal, coordinated approach to counter China’s overseas basing ambitions. Specifically, it would require the Director of National Intelligence to produce an intelligence assessment within 180 days, and the Secretary of State (in coordination with the Secretary of Defense and other senior officials) to deliver a strategy within 180 days that identifies high-risk locations where the PRC has or seeks a physical presence that could become a base. The bill also creates an interagency task force within 90 days of the strategy to implement it and to identify mitigation measures for potential future bases. Every four years thereafter, the administration would review and report on the strategy and its effectiveness. Congress would guide and oversee these efforts through defined “appropriate congressional committees” and a sense of Congress emphasizing urgency, interagency coordination, proactive posture, and alignment with allies. Key goals are to deter or prevent the PRC from establishing overseas bases, to inform and mobilize resources across agencies, and to ensure that U.S. force posture and freedom of movement for itself and allies are not jeopardized by China’s global basing activities. The bill also directs attention to how the PRC may use commercial or scientific cooperation as a cover for military access and asks for clear plans on working with allies and partners.
Key Points
- 1Assessment and strategy timeline
- 2- The Director of National Intelligence must deliver a classified intelligence assessment within 180 days.
- 3- The Secretary of State, with the Secretary of Defense and other senior officials, must submit a strategy within 180 days that analyzes risk and lays out a plan to counter PRC global basing.
- 4Contents of the strategy
- 5- Identify at least five locations that pose the greatest risk of hosting a PRC base or evolving into one.
- 6- Provide a comprehensive listing of executive branch entities involved, plus estimated resource needs by agency.
- 7- Describe ongoing efforts to mitigate impacts and prevent new bases, including the necessary resources.
- 8- For each location, specify which actions by the U.S. or allies would be most effective to deter or terminate base-hosting plans.
- 9Interagency task force
- 10- Within 90 days after the strategy is submitted, the Secretary of State (and DoD) must establish an interagency task force to implement the strategy and to identify measures that prevent new bases beyond the identified locations.
- 11Quadrennial reviews and reports
- 12- Every four years (and as needed), the State Department, in coordination with Defense, DNI, and others, must review the strategy and report back to Congress with findings and updated information.
- 13Sense of Congress
- 14- The bill emphasizes urgency, whole-of-government coordination, proactive posture, a menu of actions to influence host governments, prioritization within U.S. competition with the PRC, scrutiny of how the PRC uses commercial/scientific cooperation as a pretext for access, and leveraging allies’ potential contributions. It also calls for ensuring sufficient resources and protecting U.S. and allied freedom of movement.
- 15Definitions
- 16- Defines “PRC global basing,” “PLA” (People’s Liberation Army), and “appropriate congressional committees,” clarifying who must oversight and who is involved.