Arunachal Pradesh an integral part of India: US Council on Foreign Relations | World news

The United States Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) has approved, on a bipartisan basis, a resolution confirming the status of Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India. SFRC approval clears the way for the resolution to be introduced on the floor of the Senate and possible passage by the full chamber.

The resolution was drafted by Oregon’s Jeff Merkley and Bill Haggerty of Tennessee, and was sponsored by Texas’s John Cornyn, Tim Kaine of Virginia, and Maryland’s Chris Van Hollen.

The resolution, as first reported by HT in February when it was revealed, praised the Indian government for the steps it has taken to “defend itself” against “threats and security threats” from China. It supports India’s defense modernization and diversification; welcomes India’s development efforts in Arunachal Pradesh, including steps taken to improve border infrastructure; and decided to deepen US aid in the region including through its aid agencies. In addition, he encouraged interested partners to support their own aid to Arunachal Pradesh and expressed strong support for the US-India bilateral partnership, including the initiative on critical and emerging technologies. out (ICET).

The SFRC’s approval of the resolution is one more sign that the Senate is emerging as a strong source of corporate support for India, including by considering deepening defense and security ties and enhancing high-level engagement with India’s political leadership. This is expected to help in the future when the US leadership seeks India-specific exemptions from the US Congress across sensitive security and technology areas to deepen bilateral relations.

Decisions and their importance

In fact, successive US administrations have, since 1962, recognized Arunachal as part of India. But the formal legislative stamp on recognition adds to the legitimacy of India’s position in the wake of increasing tensions with China, which continues to deny India’s legitimacy. It is the first statement of its kind in the United States Congress that not only condemns China but also publicly supports India’s actions to oppose China, and has the support of political actors from the progressive end of the Democratic Party to the conservative end of the Republican Party.

In a statement after the SFRC’s approval, Merkley, who is also the chairman of the Congressional Committee on China, said, “The committee’s decision confirms that the US views the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh as part of the Republic. India – not the People’s Republic of China (PRC) – and made the US to deepen support and aid to the region, alongside similar international partners. ” He added that American values ​​“supporting freedom and rule-based order must be at the center of all our actions and relationships” around the world, even as the PRC has “an alternative vision”.

Haggerty, who is also the US ambassador to Japan and is a key voice on Indo-Pacific affairs, said he was happy to lead a resolution that affirmed India’s regional stability and pushed back against China’s “aggressions”.

“At a time when China continues to pose grave and concerted threats to a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, it is important for the US to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our strategic partners in the region – especially India and other countries. Another Quad – and push back against the CCP’s (Chinese Communist Party) broad strategy of territorial aggrandizement that has been pursued in the South and East China Seas, the Himalayas, and the southern Pacific,” said Haggerty.

Cornyn, who is also the chairman of the committee of the Indian Senate, said that as the tensions between India and China on the border are increasing, the US must remain strong in its support for democracy and freedom and the opening of the Indo-Pacific, and urged . colleagues in the Senate to make a decision without delay.

The SFRC is chaired by Bob Menendez, a Democratic senator from New Jersey, and the board member is James Risch, a Republican from Idaho. Both are heavily involved in foreign policy making in the US, and their support for India’s position is seen as important enablers for future cooperation.

The Senate rose as a friend of India

As the co-equal branch of the US government, Congress has traditionally played an important role in formulating foreign policy. On Capitol Hill, this year, the growing support of the US Congress for India is reflected in many actions.

Earlier this week, the Senate Armed Services Committee, in its version of the National Security Succession Act, directed the Pentagon to deepen defense cooperation with India in several areas including artificial intelligence, undersea spatial awareness, air and combat support, weapons, transportation, joint operations, and asked the Secretary of Defense to explore the possibility of Indian companies bidding for contracts for the repair of US defense equipment located outside America.

While House Speaker Kevin McCarthy played an important role in inviting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the joint session of the US Congress during his city visit, a formal invitation letter was also signed by both the Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, a New York. Democrat, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican.

At the end of Modi’s visit, SFRC chairman Menendez and the chairmen of the Indian Senate caucus, Mark Warner and Cornyn, also presented a resolution celebrating India-US relations. The resolution recognized the US-India global strategic partnership as “vital for regional and global prosperity”, praised India’s participation in the Quad and the Indo-Pacific Economic Cooperation and its leadership of the G20, supported ICET, and praised the role of citizens India. It also supports trade, security, investment, and people-to-people relations.

In a rare foreign visit, the Senate majority leader, Schumer, also led the most powerful diplomat to visit India earlier this year. The delegation met Modi.