Rep. Mike Lawler has introduced the Indo-Pacific Treaty Organization Act, which would create a task force to determine the viability of creating a NATO-style coalition between the United States and Indo-Pacific nations.
“Earlier this year, I joined Chairman McCaul and other members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee for a bipartisan congressional delegation trip to South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan,” said Lawler, a Republican who presents New York’s 17th Congressional District. “Our meetings with partners and allies underscored the growing concern over China’s aggression throughout the region. Our adversaries – China, Russia, Iran and North Korea – have forged an unholy alliance to disrupt and destabilize the globe,” Congressman Lawler continued. “It’s crucial that the democracies of the region and world work in unison to combat this rising threat.”
A NATO-style coalition known as the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was created in 1954 with the goal of preventing the spread of communism in the region. Despite its name, SEATO mostly included countries located outside of the region but with an interest either in the region or the organization itself. However, relatively few countries were involved in SEATO – the U.S. was joined by Australia, France, New Zealand, Pakistan (until 1971, after East Pakistan gained independence as Bangladesh), the Philippines, Thailand, and the United Kingdom – and the organization was shut down in 1977.
