English/Español: Rubio Introduces Bill to Further Limit Joint Military Operations and Exercises Between U.S. and China

Statement

U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Rick Scott (R-FL), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Mike Braun (R-IN), Ted Cruz (R-TX), and Bill Hagerty (R-TN) introduced the No PLA Loopholes Act, a bill 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 People's Liberation Army (PLA). Specifically, the No PLA Loopholes Act would strike the blanket exception, provided by Section 1201 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2000, that has allowed joint military operations and exercises with the PLA for humanitarian and disaster relief. The bill would further amend Section 1201 by specifying that all logistical operations and exercises with the PLA should be prohibited, as opposed to just those that are considered "advanced."

Rubio is the Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and a senior member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

"It is past time we limit our military's interactions with the PLA," Rubio said. "Any cooperation provides an opening for the PLA to gain insight into how we operate. This is incredibly dangerous, as the CCP uses all available information and technology to further their own interests and undermine our nation. My bill would ensure that U.S. law reflects this threat and mitigates Beijing's ability to exploit this loophole."

"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," Scott said. "Communist China is not our friend or partner, it is our enemy and must be treated as such. This common sense bill puts our national security interests first and I urge all my colleagues to support the No PLA Loopholes Act."

"It boggles the mind that the United States is still providing military training to the People's Liberation Army," Hawley said. "It is time to put an end to this arrangement and focus on maintaining our own ability to deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific."

"China is the greatest geopolitical threat facing America for the coming decades," Cruz said. "The Chinese Communist Party takes a whole of government approach to advancing its national security and compromising ours, including through pervasive espionage. The United States should absolutely not be cooperating with the People's Liberation Army in joint projects or missions of any sort."

"The Chinese Communist Party and China's military are seeking to gain every advantage that they can over the United States and our allies, so it is critical to do everything we can to safeguard our military, our intel, and our technology from these threats," Hagerty said. "I strongly support closing remaining loopholes in longstanding restrictions under U.S. law to the U.S. military's operations and exercises with China's military forces."