IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 540 

Reaffirming the state of Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory and 

condemning the People’s Republic of China’s provocations in South Asia. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 22, 2023 

Mr. MCCORMICK (for himself and Mr. MOSKOWITZ) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Reaffirming the state of Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory and condemning the People’s Republic of China’s 

provocations in South Asia. 

Whereas, since the Sino-Indian war of 1962, the United 

States has recognized the McMahon Line as the international boundary between the People’s Republic of 

China and the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh; 

Whereas the United States recognizes the state of Arunachal 

Pradesh not as disputed territory but as an integral part 

of the Republic of India, and this recognition is not qualified in any way; 

Whereas the Government of the People’s Republic of China 

claims Arunachal Pradesh as its own territory, which it 

calls ‘‘South Tibet’’, and has invoked these claims as part 

of its increasingly aggressive and expansionist policies; 


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•HRES 540 IH 

Whereas, in December 2021, the People’s Republic of China’s 

Ministry of Civil Affairs published a detailed map of the 

Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh which assigned Mandarin-language names to 15 geographic features, including eight residential settlements, four mountain peaks, 

two rivers, and one mountain pass, as well as the names 

of the administrative regions where each of these are located; 

Whereas, in December 2022, People’s Republic of China and 

Indian troops engaged in a skirmish in Arunachal 

Pradesh along the Line of Actual Control, the biggest 

clash in the Eastern Sector in six years; 

Whereas the People’s Liberation Army engaged in provocative moves in the Western Sector along the Line of Actual Control starting in April 2020, including increasing 

troop deployments, building new infrastructure in contested areas, and harassing Indian patrols, particularly 

around the Depsang Plains, Galwan Valley, Hot Springs, 

and Pangong Lake; 

Whereas these provocations by the People’s Republic of China 

upended then-improving India-China relations and ultimately led to the Galwan Valley clash in June 2020, 

which resulted in the death of 20 Indian soldiers; 

Whereas the People’s Republic of China has constructed two 

Chinese villages close to the Line of Actual Control near 

Arunachal Pradesh and expanded its territorial claims in 

Bhutanese territory in the Eastern Sector; 

Whereas Arunachal Pradesh contains the Buddhist town of 

Tawang, home to the revered Tawang Monastery and is 

the birthplace of the sixth Dalai Lama, Tsangyang 

Gyatso; 


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•HRES 540 IH 

Whereas the People’s Republic of China has raised diplomatic 

objections to visits to Arunachal Pradesh by the Dalai 

Lama and other leaders and has refused to grant residents of the Indian state visas for travel to China; 

Whereas the provocations by the People’s Republic of China 

impede poverty alleviation and economic development in 

Arunachal Pradesh, where nearly 25 percent of the population lives in multidimensional poverty according to India’s 2021 National Multidimensional Poverty Index, 

leading many international donors to be cautious of providing assistance due to the state’s perceived status as 

disputed territory; 

Whereas the Government of India has increased its funding 

for border infrastructure to improve accessibility in 

Arunachal Pradesh, as well as for village infrastructure, 

housing, tourist centers, road connectivity, and decentralized renewable energy production through India’s Vibrant 

Villages program; 

Whereas the Government of India has taken steps to defend 

itself from aggression and security threats from the People’s Republic of China, including through securing its 

telecommunications infrastructure and conducting investment screening; 

Whereas it is in the interest of the United States to work 

both bilaterally with India through the Comprehensive 

Global Strategic Partnership, as well as multilaterally 

through the Quad with Japan and Australia, and through 

the I2U2 with Israel and the United Arab Emirates; 

Whereas there is significant and continuing progress in the 

U.S.-India Major Defense Partnership, including ambitions for building an advanced and comprehensive defense 


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•HRES 540 IH 

partnership in which the Armed Forces of the United 

States and India coordinate across all domains; and 

Whereas the Government of India is playing a significant 

leadership role on the global stage, including as part of 

its G20 presidency in 2023: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) unequivocally recognizes the state of 

3 Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of the Repub4 lic of India and supports the country’s sovereignty 

5 and territorial integrity; 

6 (2) condemns the People’s Republic of China’s 

7 use of military force to change the status quo along 

8 the Line of Actual Control, as well as additional 

9 provocations including the construction of villages in 

10 contested areas, expansion of territorial claims in 

11 Bhutan, and publication of maps assigning Man12 darin-language names to cities and features in the 

13 Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh; 

14 (3) commends the Government of India for tak15 ing steps to defend itself against aggression and se16 curity threats from the People’s Republic of China, 

17 including through securing its telecommunications 

18 infrastructure, examining its procurement processes 

19 and supply chains, implementing investment screen20 ing standards, and expanding its cooperation with 

21 Taiwan in public health and other sectors; 


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•HRES 540 IH 

1 (4) supports, as part of a joint vision for a free 

2 and open Indo-Pacific, India’s continued defense 

3 modernization, including its diversification away 

4 from countries that fail to respect the sovereignty 

5 and territorial integrity of other countries; 

6 (5) applauds the Government of India for in7 creasing its development efforts in Arunachal 

8 Pradesh, including for improving border infrastruc9 ture, connectivity, and energy security, including re10 newable energy production; 

11 (6) commits to deepening United States assist12 ance to the region, including through the Depart13 ment of State and the United States Agency for 

14 International Development using funding mecha15 nisms such as the Countering PRC Influence Fund; 

16 (7) encourages like-minded international part17 ners and donors to likewise bolster their assistance 

18 efforts to Arunachal Pradesh; 

19 (8) supports further strengthening the United 

20 States-India bilateral partnership, including through 

21 enhanced defense interoperability and information22 sharing especially for early warning systems, the 

23 United States-India Initiative on Critical and 

24 Emerging Technology, further economic cooperation, 


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•HRES 540 IH 

1 and broad and long-standing people-to-people ties; 

2 and 

3 (9) promotes enhancing multilateral cooperation 

4 with India through the Quad, the East Asia Summit 

5 alongside United States partners in the Association 

6 for Southeast Asian Nations, and other international 

7 fora. 

Æ 


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