U.S.-China Military Contacts: Issues for Congress - Foreign Press ...

U.S.-China Military Contacts: Issues for Congress
• Joint warfighting experiments and other activities related to transformations in
warfare
• Military space operations
• Other advanced capabilities of the Armed Forces
• Arms sales or military-related technology transfers
• Release of classified or restricted information
• Access to a DOD laboratory.
Section 1201(d) of the FY2000 NDAA required the Secretary of Defense—rather than an
authority in Congress or an objective observer outside of the Defense Department—to submit an
annual written certification by December 31 of each year as to whether any military contact with
China that the Secretary of Defense authorized in that year was a “violation” of the restrictions.
On May 26, 2011, the House passed H.R. 1540, the FY2012 NDAA, with Section 1071(s) to
remove subsection (d) that required the certification. The final bill did not keep the section.
The PLA has objected to the U.S. law as an “obstacle” to the mil-to-mil relationship, blaming the
U.S. side. Under the Bush and Obama Administrations, the Pentagon cautioned that it would not
be necessary to change or lift the law to enhance exchanges, while the law contains prudent
parameters that do not ban all contacts. A third option would be for Congress or the Secretary of
Defense to clarify what type of mil-to-mil contact with the PLA would “create a national security
risk due to an inappropriate exposure.” At a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee on
March 9, 2006, Admiral William Fallon, Commander of the Pacific Command (PACOM), raised
with Representative Victor Snyder the issue of whether to modify this law to relax restrictions on
contacts with the PLA. 20 At a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee on June 13, 2007,
Deputy Under Secretary of Defense Richard Lawless contended that limitations in the law should
not change. The PACOM Commander, Admiral Robert Willard, testified that he agreed with
Secretary Gates that “no exchanges today approach the point where the provisions would prohibit
the activity,” at a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee on January 13, 2010.
Required Reports and Classification
Section 1201(f) of the NDAA for FY2000 (P.L. 106-65) required an unclassified report by March
31, 2000, on past military-to-military contacts with the PRC. The Office of the Secretary of
Defense submitted this report in January 2001.
Section 1201(e) required an annual report, by March 31 of each year starting in 2001, from the
Secretary of Defense on the Secretary’s assessment of the state of mil-to-mil exchanges and
contacts with the PLA, including past contacts, planned contacts, the benefits that the PLA
expects to gain, the benefits that DOD expects to gain, and the role of such contacts for the larger
security relationship with the PRC. The law did not specify whether the report shall be
unclassified and/or classified. In the report submitted in January 2001 (on past mil-to-mil
exchanges), the Pentagon stated that “as a matter of policy, all exchange activities are conducted
20 House Armed Services Committee, hearing on the FY2007 Budget for PACOM, March 9, 2006. Adm. Fallon also
discussed a consideration of modifying the law in an interview: Tony Capaccio, “Fallon Wants to Jumpstart Military
Contacts between U.S., China,” Bloomberg, March 13, 2006.
Congressional Research Service 14