A leading U.S. senator has proposed that the United States provide hundreds of millions of dollars to help train and equip the armed forces of Southeast Asian countries faced with Chinese territorial challenges.
Republican Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, made the proposal in an amendment to the 2016 U.S. Defense Authorization Act expected to be passed later this year, entitled the South China Sea Initiative.
It allows for the provision of up to $425 million over five years to countries including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam for "equipment, supplies, training and small-scale military construction."