Providing Appropriate Recognition and Treatment Needed to Enhance Relations with Asean Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. CASTRO of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call for passage of the PARTNER with ASEAN Act, bipartisan legislation I introduced with Congresswoman Young Kim of California to strengthen the longstanding relationship between the United States and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

For nearly six decades, ASEAN has worked to promote stability, prosperity, and multilateral cooperation in Southeast Asia and has become a critical part of the diplomatic architecture of the broader Indo-Pacific. Together, the ten member nations of ASEAN represent the world's fourth-largest market, and U.S. trade with ASEAN accounts for hundreds of billions of dollars a year. Last fall, the U.S. and ASEAN agreed to elevate their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

In 2017, I co-founded the Congressional ASEAN Caucus with Congresswoman Ann Wagner to foster greater dialogue on Capitol Hill around issues related to Southeast Asia. Today's consideration of the PARTNER with ASEAN Act comes from years of bipartisan work by our Caucus, and I also want to recognize the contributions of the bill's original co-sponsor Representative Steve Chabot, who was a leader on Asia policy issues in Congress for many years.

The United States was the first non-member country to appoint an ambassador to ASEAN, and Congress has long recognized the regional and global importance of ASEAN. Despite the bipartisan consensus about the importance of ASEAN centrality, the United States has yet to accord ASEAN the routine diplomatic privileges that we provide to similar groupings like the Organization of American States, African Union, or European Union.

The PARTNER with ASEAN Act would authorize ASEAN to be designated as an international organization with full diplomatic privileges and open new avenues for U.S.-ASEAN cooperation, including the potential establishment of an ASEAN mission in the United States. It has bipartisan support in the Senate, where a companion bill was introduced earlier this month, and President Biden has committed to signing the bill into law once it reaches his desk.

At a time of increased global focus on the Indo-Pacific, the PARTNER with ASEAN Act makes a simple change that will have an outsized impact on our international relations. I thank Congresswoman Kim for her partnership on this bill, and I also want to recognize the work of Erik Ashida, who served on my staff until last month and played an instrumental role in moving this legislation forward.

I urge my colleagues to support the swift and bipartisan passage of the PARTNER with ASEAN Act and applaud the longstanding commitment of this body to maintaining strong relationships with our partners in the Indo-Pacific.

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