Six US Senators Seek To End Future Military Exercises With China - Statement

Six US Senators Seek to End Future Military Exercises With China - Statement

Six US senators have introduced legislation to prohibit the US Defense Department from participating in any future joint military exercises with China, Senator Marco Rubio said in a press release on Thursday

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd February, 2022) Six US senators have introduced legislation to prohibit the US Defense Department from participating in any future joint military exercises with China, Senator Marco Rubio said in a press release on Thursday.

"Senators Marco Rubio, Rick Scott, Josh Hawley, Mike Braun, Ted Cruz and Bill Hagerty introduced the 'No PLA Loopholes Act'... to close a loophole in existing law in order to limit joint military operations and exercises between the United States and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the PLA," the release said, referring to the People's Liberation Army.

Specifically, the legislation would strike the blanket exception, provided by Section 1201 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 that has allowed joint military operations and exercises with the PLA for humanitarian and disaster relief, the release said.

"The genocidal regime in Communist China has a clear track record of undermining the United States and could easily use joint training exercises to gather intelligence to use against us. Communist China is not our friend or partner, it is our enemy and must be treated as such," Scott said in the release.

The bill would amend existing legislation by specifying that all logistical operations and exercises with the PLA should be prohibited, as opposed to just those that are considered advanced, according to the release.