This bill, the Arctic Security and Diplomacy Act, aims to reduce espionage and influence operations by foreign adversaries in the Arctic and in United States waters. It defines key terms such as covered activities (for example seabed mapping and oceanographic surveys), covered vessels, foreign adversary, and United States waters. The Secretary of State must produce a strategy within 180 days, in coordination with the intelligence community and the Department of Homeland Security, to identify and combat espionage and influence operations in the Arctic. The bill requires prior U.S. consent for foreign marine scientific research in U.S. waters. The Secretary of State must not approve research applications for covered vessels except for individual national-interest waivers, which must be reported to certain congressional committees within 5 days. Agencies are required to share information to support review of applications. The Secretary of State must notify Congress within 15 days of any violation of the consent requirement. The bill also requires a report to Congress within 1 year assessing espionage and influence operations, describing U.S. support for covered activities, and offering recommendations. The unclassified report may include a classified annex.
No publicly available information on expected costs, budgetary effects, or authorized funding is included in the bill text.
Supporters of the bill, as reflected in the bill language, say it will limit espionage and foreign influence in the Arctic, protect U.S. sovereignty in U.S. waters, improve interagency information sharing and review of foreign research activities, and use diplomatic tools and allied coordination to address threats.
No publicly available information on opponents' views is included in the bill text.