EXCLUSIVE: A bipartisan pair of senators is introducing a new bill on the fourth anniversary of the Abraham Accords to deepen cooperation between U.S. and Middle East partners. 

The LINK Act, brought forth by Sens. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., co-chairs of the Abraham Accords Caucus, would establish a "military subject matter exchange program" to deepen cultural ties and strategic cooperation between American troops and allies in the Middle East. 

"In the face of emboldened Iranian aggression, I’m deepening the historic partnerships created through the Abraham Accords four years ago today," said Ernst.

"More cooperation among our Middle East partners is what Tehran fears. The LINK Act accomplishes this by coordinating military planning and creating a permanent and effective defense alliance. By working hand-in-hand with our partners, the strength and security of our nations grows."

The pair of senators had three of their previous Middle East-related bills signed into law. 

The Gulf States of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain signed a normalization deal with Israel in 2020, brokered by the U.S., known as the Abraham Accords.

As part of the agreements, UAE and Bahrain recognized Israel’s sovereignty and established full diplomatic relations. It was the first time Israel had established peace with an Arab country since 1994 with the Israel-Jordan peace treaty. 

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In the months that followed, Sudan and Morocco signed deals to normalize relations with Israel. 

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The bill comes at a time of sky-high tensions between Israel and its Arab neighbors. Israel and Saudi Arabia had been nearing a deal that included the U.S. and would have normalized relations when Hamas launched its Oct. 7 attack on Israel. 

The U.S. has been bolstering its relations with nations in the Middle East to counter the growing threat of a potential nuclear Iran – even ones with mixed human rights records like Egypt and Saudi Arabia. 

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The Biden administration recently lifted a hold on $320 million in military aid to Egypt that it had frozen in response to human rights concerns, bringing the total amount up to $1.3 billion transferred from Washington to Cairo this year. 

Egypt is playing a central role in the talks between Hamas and Israel about a cease-fire agreement.

The Philippines said it was sending a vessel to Sabina Shoal to replace a coast guard ship that returned to port on Sunday after a five-month deployment at the contested feature in the South China Sea, in a swap that would likely irk China.

Beijing had demanded the Philippines withdraw the 318-foot coast guard vessel Teresa Magbanua it claimed was "illegally stranded" at the atoll, which it asserts it owns as part of its broader claim to nearly the entire South China Sea.

"The Philippine side's actions have seriously infringed on China's territorial sovereignty," Liu Dejun, a spokesperson for China's coast guard said in a statement on Sunday about what it referred to as Manila's "withdrawal" of its ship.

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Teresa Magbanua, which was deployed at Sabina Shoal to monitor what Manila suspects to be China's small-scale land reclamation activities in the area, has returned to port as its mission has been accomplished, the Philippine Coast Guard and National Maritime Council (NMC) said. "Another will immediately take over," NMC spokesperson Alexander Lopez said, citing an order from the Philippine Coast Guard chief. "Definitely, we will keep our presence there."

Sabina Shoal, which China refers to as Xianbin Reef and the Philippines as the Escoda Shoal, lies 93 miles west of the Philippine province of Palawan, well within the country's exclusive economic zone.

Teresa Magbanua's presence there has angered Beijing, turning the shoal into the latest flashpoint in the contested waterway.

Manila and Beijing have traded accusations of intentional ramming of each others' vessels near Sabina last month, just after reaching a pact on resupply missions to a beached Filipino naval ship in the Second Thomas Shoal.

Teresa Magbanua's return was necessary for the medical needs of its crew and to undergo repairs, and once it has been resupplied and repaired, it will resume its mission, along with other coast guard and military assets "as defenders of our sovereignty," Lucas Bersamin, executive secretary and NMC chairman said in a statement.

The move followed high-level talks between Manila and Beijing in China last week when the Philippines reaffirmed its position on Sabina and China reiterated its demand that the vessel be withdrawn.

China's coast guard said it would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in the waters under Beijing's jurisdiction in accordance with the law and safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.

China claims sovereignty over most of the South China Sea, overlapping into maritime zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

In 2016, the Hague arbitration tribunal voided China's expansive and historical claims, a decision Beijing rejects.