US Defence Spending Bill Requires List of Academic Institutions in China, Russia

18:47 GMT, 23 May 2019

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The latest version of the US defence spending bill for the fiscal year 2020 requires compiling a list of academic institutions in China and Russia that are engaged in military research in an effort to protect US national security according to a summary of the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA).

Sputnik

"[The NDAA] requires the Secretary of Defense to develop a list of academic institutions in China and Russia associated with defense programs of those countries, in order to identify any university heavily engaged in military research as part of an effort to protect American national security academic researchers from undue influence and other security threats", the summary of the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) released by the US Senate Armed Services Committee said.

The summary comes after six Republican senators introduced on 15 May a bill that would prohibit Chinese scientists with any ties to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) from entering the United States.

China Denies Agreeing to ‘Extravagant’ US Trade Deal Demands – Report

20 May 2019, 23:05 GMT

The senators said in a release that they want to prevent China’s military from extracting scientific research from US laboratories. The PLA has sent estimated 2,500 military engineers and scientists to study abroad in the past decade, but the scientists have not always disclosed their ties with the Chinese military.

The Senate Armed Services Committee passed their version of the NDAA on Wednesday in a closed-door 25-2 vote, sending the legislation to the full Senate. The House of Representatives is expected to finalise its own version of the NDAA. The two versions of the measure must be reconciled and approved by both chambers of Congress.