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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 75 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 75

  Reaffirming the state of Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory and 
condemning the People's Republic of China's provocations in South Asia.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           February 16, 2023

 Mr. Merkley (for himself, Mr. Hagerty, and Mr. Cornyn) submitted the 
 following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign 
                               Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               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;
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;
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 our 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 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
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) unequivocally recognizes the state of Arunachal Pradesh 
        as an integral part of the Republic of India and supports the 
        country's sovereignty and territorial integrity;
            (2) condemns the People's Republic of China's use of 
        military force to change the status quo along the Line of 
        Actual Control, as well as additional provocations including 
        the construction of villages in contested areas, expansion of 
        territorial claims in Bhutan, and publication of maps assigning 
        Mandarin-language names to cities and features in the Indian 
        state of Arunachal Pradesh;
            (3) commends the Government of India for taking steps to 
        defend itself against aggression and security threats from the 
        People's Republic of China, including through securing its 
        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;
            (4) supports, as part of a joint vision for a free and open 
        Indo-Pacific, India's continued defense modernization, 
        including its diversification away from countries that fail to 
        respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other 
        nations;
            (5) applauds the Government of India for increasing its 
        development efforts in Arunachal Pradesh, including for 
        improving border infrastructure, connectivity, and energy 
        security, including renewable energy production;
            (6) commits to deepening United States assistance to the 
        region, including through the Department of State and the 
        United States Agency for International Development using 
        funding mechanisms such as the Countering PRC Influence Fund;
            (7) encourages like-minded international partners and 
        donors to likewise bolster their assistance efforts to 
        Arunachal Pradesh;
            (8) supports further strengthening the United States-India 
        bilateral partnership, including through enhanced defense 
        interoperability and information-sharing especially for early 
        warning systems, the United States-India Initiative on Critical 
        and Emerging Technology, further economic cooperation, and our 
        broad and long-standing people-to-people ties; and
            (9) promotes enhancing our multilateral cooperation with 
        India through the Quad, the East Asia Summit alongside our 
        partners in the Association for Southeast Asian Nations, and 
        other international fora.
                                 <all>
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