; (5) improving cooperation on and coordination of humanitarian and disaster relief responses; (6) conducting additional joint exercises with India in the Persian Gulf, the Indian Ocean region, and the Western Pacific; and (7) furthering cooperative efforts to promote security and stability in Afghanistan. 1248. Sense of Senate on strategic importance of maintaining commitments under Compacts of Free Association (a) Findings The Senate makes the following findings: (1) The Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau are sovereign countries in free association with the United States under the Compacts of Free Association (in this section referred to as the Compacts ), which provide for the exclusive right of the United States Armed Forces to operate in the areas covered by the Compacts. (2) Such exclusive right allows the United States to curtail the potential expansion of foreign militaries into areas covered by the Compacts. (3) Under the Compacts, eligible citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau may— (A) reside, work, and study in the United States without a visa