McMahon Line: As part of the PRC’s extremely aggressive and expansionist intentions, the resolution also challenges the PRC’s assertions that Arunachal Pradesh is PRC territory.
Arunachal Pradesh is considered an integral part of India, and a bipartisan Senate resolution acknowledges the McMahon Line as the international border between China and that region.
It is crucial for the United States to stand in solidarity with our strategic regional allies, especially India, at a time when China continues to pose serious and increasing threats to the Free and Open Indo-Pacific, according to Senator Bill Hagerty, whose colleague Senator Jeff Merkley introduced a resolution in the Senate.
“This bipartisan resolution expresses the Senate’s support for unambiguously recognizing 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 strengthening the US-India strategic partnership and the Quad in support of the Free and Open Indo-Pacific,” he said.
Reaffirming that the United States accepts the McMahon Line as the international border between China and the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, the resolution follows the largest skirmish between the Republic of India and China along the Line of Actual Control in six years.
The resolution also rejects allegations made by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) that Arunachal Pradesh is PRC territory as a result of the PRC’s expanding and becoming more assertive policies.
“America’s principles upholding freedom and a rules-based order must be at the core of all of our actions and partnerships throughout the world, particularly as the PRC government pushes an alternative vision,” Merkley said.
The resolution, he said, “makes clear that the United States views the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh as belonging to the Republic of India—not the People’s Republic of China—and decides to commit the US to intensifying its assistance and support to the region, alongside like-minded international partners and donors.
The bipartisan Senate resolution denounces further Chinese provocations, including the use of force by the People’s Republic of China to alter the status quo along the Line of Actual Control, the development of villages in disputed areas, the publication of maps with names for cities and other features in Mandarin in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, and the expansion of PRC territorial claims in Bhutan.
Also, the resolution applauds the Indian government for taking action to protect itself against Chinese aggression and security threats. These initiatives include safeguarding India’s telecom infrastructure, investigating its supply chains and procurement procedures, putting investment screening requirements in place, and increasing its collaboration with Taiwan in the public health and other fields.
The resolution encourages expanding our bilateral and multilateral collaboration with India through the Quad, the East Asia Summit with our ASEAN(Association of Southeast Asian Nations) allies, and other international fora. Additionally, it serves to further solidify the US and India’s bilateral collaboration in the fields of economics, technology, and people-to-people ties.
