COUNTER Act of 2025

Bill Summary: COUNTER Act of 2025 (S. 1731)

Overview

The Combating PRC Overseas and Unlawful Networked Threats through Enhanced Resilience Act of 2025, known as the COUNTER Act of 2025, is a legislative effort to counter the People's Republic of China's (PRC) efforts to establish a global network of military bases and logistics hubs. The bill expresses concern that the expansion of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) overseas could disrupt U.S. military operations, threaten the freedom of movement for U.S. and allied forces, and increase Chinese surveillance and power projection globally.

Main Purpose and Intent

The primary goal of the bill is to shift the United States from a "reactive" to a "proactive" posture regarding PRC global basing. It seeks to create a formalized, interagency strategy to identify high-risk locations where China is seeking military access and to develop specific countermeasures to prevent the establishment of new bases.

Key Provisions

1. Intelligence and Strategic Assessments

The Act mandates two critical reports to be submitted to appropriate congressional committees within 180 days of enactment:
* Intelligence Assessment: The Director of National Intelligence (DNI) must analyze the risks posed by PRC global basing to the U.S. and its allies.
* C-PRC Global Basing Strategy: The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, must develop a strategy that:
* Identifies at least five locations of chief concern where the PRC has a presence or is seeking a presence.
* Lists all executive branch entities involved and identifies resource or personnel constraints.
* Details current efforts to mitigate the impact of these locations.
* Proposes specific actions the U.S. or its allies can take to convince foreign governments to terminate plans for hosting a PRC base.

2. Implementation and Oversight

• Interagency Task Force: Within 90 days of submitting the strategy, the Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense must establish a task force to implement the strategy and seek mitigation measures for additional potential base locations.
• Quadrennial Review: To ensure the strategy remains current, the executive branch must conduct a comprehensive review and submit a report every four years.

3. Sense of Congress

The bill emphasizes that the U.S. approach should:
* Use a "whole-of-government" approach with strong interagency coordination.
* Leverage the influence and historical ties of key allies and partners.
* Be vigilant regarding the use of commercial and scientific cooperation as a "guise" for establishing military access.

Who is Affected?

• U.S. Government Agencies: Specifically the Department of State, Department of Defense, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
• Foreign Governments: Specifically those in regions where the PRC is pursuing access (the bill explicitly mentions countries such as Cambodia, Djibouti, Angola, Pakistan, and several others in Africa and Southeast Asia).
• U.S. Military and Allies: By seeking to preserve "freedom of movement" and prevent the disruption of U.S. power projection.

Procedural Timeline

• Introduced: May 13, 2025.
• Committee Action: Reported by the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on June 18, 2025, with an amendment in the nature of a substitute.
• Next Steps: The bill is currently on the Senate Legislative Calendar (Calendar No. 96) awaiting further floor action.