S. 2669 — A bill to require the Secretary of Defense to develop and implement a strategy to strengthen multilateral deterrence in the Indo-Pacific region.

This section directs the Secretary of Defense to develop and implement a strategy to strengthen multilateral deterrence against regional aggression in the Indo-Pacific region (defined to include the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of responsibility and the Alaska theater of operations) by expanding coordination with allies and partners, particularly Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines, and Australia, through enhanced access and basing agreements, command and control structures, intelligence-sharing, and exercises and operations. The strategy must (1) describe current activities and identify actions over the next five years to leverage reciprocal access agreements for interoperability, prepositioned munitions, and shared facilities; (2) improve command and control via specified structures such as the Combined Coordination Center in the Philippines, U.S. joint force headquarters in Japan, Combined Forces Command in the Republic of Korea, and a potential structure in Australia; (3) expand intelligence-sharing and maritime domain awareness through specified cells; and (4) increase the scope and scale of multilateral exercises, operations, basing, and posture, including more frequent combined maritime operations through the Taiwan Strait, South China Sea, and Aleutian Islands—while addressing strategic contingencies for military and economic routes across the South, Central, and North Indo-Pacific. Not later than 180 days after enactment, the Secretary must submit the strategy to the congressional defense committees, identifying required funding or policy changes and additional resources for specified initiatives; an interim implementation report, including resource or authority gaps, is due by March 15, 2027.