COUNTER Act of 2025
The COUNTER Act of 2025 would require the U.S. government to develop a formal, interagency strategy in response to the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) overseas basing ambitions. Specifically, it directs 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 provide a strategy within 180 days that identifies at least five high-risk locations where the PRC maintains or seeks a physical presence that could transition into a base. The bill also establishes an interagency task force within 90 days of issuing the strategy to implement it and to identify mitigations to prevent further PRC basing. Every four years thereafter, the administration would conduct a quadrennial review and report back to Congress. The act emphasizes a whole-of-government, proactive, and well-resourced approach and calls for consideration of allies’ roles and leverage in countering PRC global basing.
Key Points
- 1Short titles: The act is named the Combating PRC Overseas and Unlawful Networked Threats through Enhanced Resilience Act of 2025 (COUNTER Act of 2025).
- 2Findings: Acknowledges PRC efforts to expand overseas logistics and basing (e.g., Djibouti, Ream Naval Base in Cambodia) and notes potential access to additional facilities worldwide.
- 3Assessments and strategy deadlines: DNI must deliver an intelligence assessment within 180 days; the Secretary of State (with the Secretary of Defense and others) must deliver a strategy within 180 days that includes specific analyses and planning.
- 4Contents of the strategy: Must identify at least five locations posing greatest risk, detail interagency resources and constraints, describe mitigation and preventive efforts, and outline actions to pressure foreign governments to terminate PRC base plans.
- 5Interagency task force: Within 90 days of the strategy’s submission, an interagency task force shall be formed to implement the strategy and identify additional mitigation measures beyond the initial locations.
- 6Quadrennial review: Every four years, the executive branch must review the strategy and related efforts and report back to Congress with findings and the location-specific information.
- 7Definitions: Clarifies terms for congressional committees, the PLA, PRC, and what constitutes PRC global basing (locations outside PRC where PRC forces or related infrastructure operate to support power projection).
- 8Sense of Congress: Emphasizes urgency, comprehensive interagency coordination, a proactive posture, a menu of actions to influence host governments, prioritization within broader US-PRC competition, consideration of PRC use of commercial/scientific cooperation as a cover, and the role of allies/partners.
- 9Resource and oversight emphasis: Calls for sufficient funding and enduring organizational structures to address PRC global basing and to protect US and allied interests in force posture and freedom of movement.