Editor
On June 21, a powerful senatorial committee will review a bipartisan resolution aimed at recognizing Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India. The resolution serves as a response to China's military aggression in attempting to change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will discuss the resolution on the same day that Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives in the city for a three-day official state visit to the United States.
The resolution strongly condemns China's continued provocations, including the use of military force to alter the status quo along the Line of Actual Control. It also criticizes China for constructing villages in disputed areas, publishing maps with Mandarin-language names for cities and landmarks in Arunachal Pradesh, and expanding territorial claims in Bhutan.
Introduced in February this year by Senator Jeff Merkley, a Democrat, and Bill Hagerty, a Republican, the bipartisan resolution has received co-sponsorship from Senator John Cornyn, Co-Chair of the India Caucus.
The resolution acknowledges India's efforts to defend itself against China's aggression and security threats, including securing its telecommunications infrastructure and implementing investment screening. It unequivocally recognizes Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India and supports the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Furthermore, the resolution condemns China's use of military force to alter the status quo along the Line of Actual Control. It also denounces additional provocations such as the construction of villages in disputed areas, expansion of territorial claims in Bhutan, and the publication of maps assigning Mandarin-language names to cities and landmarks in Arunachal Pradesh. China refers to Arunachal Pradesh as Zangnan and claims it as part of South Tibet, a claim that India firmly rejects.
China regularly protests visits by top Indian leaders and officials to Arunachal Pradesh in an attempt to assert its claim.
The resolution commends India for its efforts to defend itself against China's aggression and security threats, including securing telecommunications infrastructure, reviewing procurement processes and supply chains, implementing investment screening standards, and expanding cooperation with Taiwan in public health and other sectors.
It also supports India's ongoing defense modernization and diversification efforts away from countries that do not respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other nations. Additionally, it applauds India's increased development efforts in Arunachal Pradesh, including improvements in border infrastructure, connectivity, and energy security, particularly in renewable energy production.
The bipartisan resolution pledges to enhance US assistance to the region through the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development, utilizing funding mechanisms such as the Countering Chinese Influence Fund.
Furthermore, the resolution encourages like-minded international partners and donors to strengthen their assistance efforts to Arunachal Pradesh.
It also supports the further strengthening of the US-India bilateral partnership, including enhanced defense interoperability, information-sharing for early warning systems, the United States-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology, expanded economic cooperation, and the maintenance of longstanding people-to-people ties.
Additionally, the resolution promotes increased multilateral cooperation with India through initiatives like the Quad, the East Asia Summit, and collaboration with partners in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, among other international efforts.