Washington DC, United States

The United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), on a bipartisan basis, gave approval to a resolution which reaffirmed the status of Arunachal Pradesh as an 'integral part' of India.

The approval of SFRC clears the way for the introduction of the resolution on the floor of the Senate and its chances of getting adopted by the full chamber.

Oregon’s Jeff Merkley and Tennessee’s Bill Haggerty introduced the resolution and it was co-sponsored by Texas’s John Cornyn, Virginia’s Tim Kaine, and Maryland’s Chris Van Hollen.

The resolution appreciates the Indian government for the steps taken to “defend itself” against the “aggression and security threats” from China.

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It has supported the defence modernisation and diversification of India and applauded the development efforts of India in Arunachal Pradesh, which includes the steps to improve border infrastructure. The resolution has been committed to increasing assistance of the US in the region, which includes through its aid agencies.

US deepening support to Arunachal Pradesh

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The resolution further encourages like-minded partners to increase their own respective assistance to Arunachal Pradesh and extend their strong support towards the US-India bilateral partnership, which includes the initiative on critical and emerging technologies (ICET).

After the approval of SFRC, Merkley, who is also the co-chair of the Congressional executive commission on China, in a statement said, “Committee passage of this resolution affirms that the US views the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh as part of the Republic of India—not the People’s Republic of China (PRC) — and commits the US to deepening support and assistance to the region, alongside like-minded international partners.”

He stated that American values “supporting freedom and a rules-based order must be at the centre of all of our actions and relationships” around the world.

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Haggerty, who is seen as an important voice on Indo-Pacific issues, said that he was happy to co-lead the resolution which reaffirmed the territorial integrity of India and pushed back against China’s “provocations”.

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

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