Highlights:
- US recognises McMahon Line as the international boundary between Arunachal Pradesh and China
- Resolution commends the Indian government for the steps taken to defend itself against security threats and aggression from PRC
- Resolution is co-sponsored by Senator John Cornyn.
The United States of America has recognised the McMahon Line to be the international boundary between Arunachal Pradesh and China as per the bipartisan Senate resolution claiming Arunachal Pradesh to be an integral part of India.
Bill Hagerty said, “At a time when China continues to pose grave and gathering threats to the Free and Open Indo-Pacific, it is critical for the United States to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our strategic partners in the region, especially India,” who introduced the resolution in the Senate with Senator Jeff Merkley.
On Tuesday he said, “This bipartisan resolution expresses the Senate’s support for unequivocally recognising the state of Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India, condemning China’s military aggression to change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control, and further enhancing the U.S.-India strategic partnership and the Quad in support of the Free and Open Indo-Pacific”.
The resolution camed after the biggest clash between China and the Republic of India in the Eastern Sector along the Line of Actual Control in six years only reaffirms that the US recognises the McMahon Line as the international boundary between China and the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.
This resolution also comes as a blow to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) which has been claiming Arunachal Pradesh belongs in the PRC territory, which has been a part of the PRC’s increasingly aggressive and expansionist policies.
Merkley said, “America’s values supporting freedom and a rules-based order must be at the center of all of our actions and relationships around the world, especially as the PRC government pushes an alternative vision.
“This resolution makes clear that the United States views the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh as part of the Republic of India—not the People’s Republic of China—and commits the U.S. to deepening support and assistance to the region, alongside like-minded international partners and donors”.
This bipartisan Senators’ resolution condemns additional provocations from China which includes the PRC’s use of military force to change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), construction of villages in contested areas, publication of maps with Mandarin-language names for cities and features in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, and expansion of PRC territorial claims in Bhutan.
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The resolution, co-sponsored by Senator John Cornyn, went on to commend the steps taken by the Indian government to defend itself against the security threats and aggression from the PRC. Efforts that include securing India’s telecommunications infrastructure; examining its procurement processes and supply chains; implementing investment screening standards; and expanding its cooperation with Taiwan in public health and other sectors.
This resolution will potentially further strengthen the bilateral partnership between India and the US in terms of economics, defence, technology and people-to-people ties along with enhancement of US’ multilateral cooperation with India through the Quad, the East Asia Summit alongside our partners in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and other international fora.
