; and (2) the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff should also consider training and exercises that enhance the effectiveness of the joint force, and partnered forces, to deter and respond to operational activities conducted below the threshold of conventional war. (b) Availability of funds There is authorized to be appropriated to the Department of Defense for fiscal year 2018 $100,000,000 for the enhancement of joint training and exercises through the Combatant Commanders Exercise Engagement and Training Transformation Program. III Matters relating to foreign nations 301. Assessment of freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea (a) Findings Congress finds the following: (1) The United States has a national interest in maintaining freedom of navigation, freedom of the seas, respect for international law, and unimpeded lawful commerce, in the South China Sea. (2) On February 4, 2017, Secretary of Defense James Mattis stated, Freedom of navigation is absolute, and whether it be commercial shipping of our U.S. Navy, we will practice in international waters and transit international waters as appropriate. . (3) In February 24, 2016, Admiral Harry Harris, Jr., Commander of the United States Pacific Command, stated that Chinese coercion, artificial island construction, and militarization in the South China Sea threaten the most fundamental aspect of global prosperity—freedom of navigation. . (4) In July 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration of the Hague ruled that China’s claims to historic rights across a vast expanse of the South China Sea were not valid under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. (5) The Permanent Court also said that none of the land formations in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea—regardless of the party in control—are large enough to warrant an extension of the exclusive maritime zones beyond the existing boundary of 12 miles from disputed features in the South China Sea. (6) The United States Navy has routinely conducted freedom of navigation operations