USA Senate finally passed the NDAA 2024, which included the Somaliland Partnership Act

The USA Senate finally passed the NDAA 2024, which included the Somaliland Partnership Act.

The Partnership Act stipulates that Somaliland and the United States cooperate in countering Chinese influence in the region.

Various issues of cooperation between the two countries include preventing China’s influence in the conflict in the Sool region.

The NDAA includes the following clauses on Somaliland;

SEC. 12__. REPORT ON UNITED STATES PRESENCE IN THE HORN OF

AFRICA AND RED SEA REGION.

(a) Sense of Congress.–It is the sense of Congress that–

(1) increased United States engagement in the Horn of Africa and Red Sea region has presented an opportunity to  build and strengthen security cooperation with key partners  in that region;

(2) the Red Sea region includes a strategic maritime choke point, the Bab-al-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea  to the Gulf of Aden, and is essential to support United  States national security interests, including countering the flows of Iranian lethal aid to Yemen and facilitating the  free flow of commerce;

(3) security cooperation in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden  region is critical–

(A) to maintaining a de facto ceasefire in Yemen; and (B) to furthering a political resolution to the Yemeni conflict.

(4) Somaliland, which has a port and an airfield in

Berbera–

(A) occupies a pivotal geographic location in the Horn of Africa;

(B) is adjacent to strategic maritime routes in the Red Sea  and Gulf of Aden; and

(C) could contribute to United States military objectives

given the evolving security situation in the region; and  (5) utilizing the port of Berbera as an access point to the

Horn of Africa would provide flexibility with regards to the delivery of humanitarian assistance in the Horn of Africa region and beyond.

(b) Defined Term.–In this section, the term “appropriate congressional committees” means–

(1) the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate;

(2) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate;

(3) the Committee on Armed Services of th House of Representatives; and (4) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of

Representatives. (c) Report.–Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the heads of

other relevant Federal departments and agencies, shall submit  a classified report, along with an unclassified summary, to the appropriate congressional committees containing an

assessment of the extent to which a sustained United States  Government presence in Somaliland would–

(1) support United States policy focused on the Red Sea  corridor, the Indo-Pacific region, and the Horn of Africa,  including the promotion of conflict avoidance and resolution;  (2) improve cooperation on counterterrorism and  intelligence sharing, including by–

(A) degrading and ultimately defeating the terrorist threat  posed by Al-Shabaab, the Islamic State in Somalia, and other terrorist groups operating in Somalia; and  (B) countering the malign influence of the Iranian regime and its terror proxies;

(3) enhance cooperation on counter-trafficking, including  the trafficking of humans, wildlife, weapons, and illicit goods;

(4) support trade and development in the region;

(5) facilitate the distribution of humanitarian assistance in the Horn of Africa; and

(6) counter the presence of the People’s Republic of China  (PRC) in the region, including by detailing–

(A) the PRC’s interest in access to port facilities in

Djibouti, Mombasa, Massawa, and Assab;

(B) the PRC’s role in fomenting unrest in the Sool region of Somaliland; and

(C) the role played by the Republic of China(Taiwan) in checking the PRC’s engagement with Somaliland.