To require the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Defense to develop a strategy in response to the global basing intentions of the People’s Republic of China.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Krishnamoorthi (for himself and Mr. LaHood) introduced the following …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill mandates a coordinated government strategy to counter China's expansion of military bases overseas. It requires:
- An intelligence assessment of risks posed by PRC global basing
- A strategy identifying the top 5 most concerning locations where China has or seeks military presence
- An interagency task force to implement countermeasures
- Quadrennial reviews of U.S. strategy on this issue
Who Benefits and How
- U.S. Military and Defense Establishment: Gains strategic clarity and resources to counter PRC military expansion
- U.S. Allies and Partners: Receive coordinated U.S. support to resist PRC basing arrangements
- Defense Contractors: May benefit from increased security cooperation and assistance programs
- Intelligence Community: Enhanced mandate for monitoring PRC global activities
Who Bears the Burden and How
- State Department and DOD: Required to develop comprehensive strategy within 180 days
- Intelligence Community: Must produce classified assessment of PRC basing risks
- China/PRC: Subject to coordinated U.S. efforts to block military base expansion
- Countries hosting or considering PRC bases: Face U.S. pressure to terminate plans
Key Provisions
- Intelligence Assessment (Sec. 5a): DNI must assess risks from PRC basing to U.S. power projection
- Strategy Development (Sec. 5b): State/DOD must identify top 5 risk locations and mitigation actions
- Interagency Task Force (Sec. 5c): Established within 90 days to implement strategy
- Quadrennial Review (Sec. 5d): Ongoing reviews every 4 years
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Requires the Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to counter the People's Republic of China's global military basing intentions, with a focus on identifying and mitigating the risks posed by PRC overseas bases to U.S. and allied interests.
Policy Domains
COUNTER Act of 2025
Likely Beneficiaries
- U.S. Defense establishment
- U.S. Intelligence Community
- Defense contractors
- U.S. allies in Indo-Pacific and Africa
Likely Burden Bearers
- State Department
- Department of Defense
- Countries hosting PRC bases (Djibouti, Cambodia)
- China/PRC
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_director"
- → Director of National Intelligence
- "the_secretary_state"
- → Secretary of State
- "the_secretary_defense"
- → Secretary of Defense
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Physical locations outside PRC where China maintains PLA, intelligence, or security forces or supporting infrastructure for potential power projection
People's Liberation Army of the PRC
Foreign Relations, Armed Services, Intelligence, and Appropriations committees of both chambers
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology