Two United States (US) Senators- Jeff Merkley (Democratic Senator from Oregon) and Bill Hagerty (Republican Senator from Tennessee) teamed up to introduce a bipartisan Senate resolution reaffirming America’s recognition 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 (LAC).
In a statement on Thursday (February 16), Senator Merkley said that US’s values supporting freedom and a rules-based order must be at the centre of all its actions and relationships around the world- especially as the Chinese 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 (PRC)—and commits the US to deepening support and assistance to the region, alongside like-minded international partners and donors,” Merkley added.
Senator Bill Hagerty, meanwhile, said on Thursday that at a time when China continued to pose grave and gathering threats to the free and open Indo-Pacific, it was critical for the US to “stand shoulder-to-shoulder” with its partners in the region, especially India. “This bipartisan resolution expresses the Senate’s support for unequivocally 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 enhancing the US-India strategic partnership and the Quad in support of the Free and Open Indo-Pacific,” Senator Hagerty added.
Thursday’s resolution comes after Indian and Chinese troops engaged in a skirmish in Arunachal Pradesh along the LAC in December 2022, the biggest clash in the Eastern Sector in six years. The statement by Senator Merkley said the resolution reaffirmed that the US recognised the McMahon Line as the international boundary between China and Arunachal Pradesh, and pushes back against Beijing’s claims that Arunachal is PRC territory, which is a part of the PRC’s increasingly aggressive and expansionist policies.
“The Senators’ resolution condemns additional PRC provocations, including the People’s Republic of China’s use of military force to change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control, construction of villages in contested areas, publication of maps with Mandarin-language names for cities and feature in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, and expansion of PRC territorial claims in Bhutan,” the statement added.
The resolution also commended the Indian government for taking steps to defend itself from China’s aggression and security threats. These efforts included securing India’s telecommunications infrastructure; examining its procurement processes and supply chains and expanding cooperation with Taiwan in public health and other sectors.
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