WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) has cosponsored the No People’s Liberation Army in Logistical Operations and Other Pertinent Humanitarian Operations Leading to Endangered Security (NO PLA LOOPHOLES) Act to close a loophole in U.S. law that allows the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) access to vital U.S. military training and expertise.
“The Chinese military is more than happy to take advantage of American altruism to boost its combat abilities, and we can’t allow Beijing’s ruthless regime to do that. The NO PLA LOOPHOLES Act would help ensure Communist China can’t exploit American military strengths to advance its oppressive, genocidal agenda,” said Kennedy.
The NO PLA LOOPHOLES Act would prevent China from using a legal loophole to improve the PLA’s combat abilities. Under current law, the U.S. military cannot engage in military-to-military exchanges with the PLA in any way that would give the PLA access to vital U.S. military training and expertise. The law, however, permits U.S.-Chinese military cooperation on search-and-rescue and humanitarian missions and exercises. The PLA has gained access to traditional U.S. military training under the guise of engaging in these humanitarian exercises.
The bill would ban this form of cooperation.
