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 terri-
tory 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 inter-
national 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 quali-
fied 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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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 Man-
darin-language names to 15 geographic features, includ-
ing 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 lo-
cated; 
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 provoca-
tive moves in the Western Sector along the Line of Ac-
tual Control starting in April 2020, including increasing 
troop deployments, building new infrastructure in con-
tested 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 ulti-
mately 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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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 resi-
dents 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 popu-
lation lives in multidimensional poverty according to In-
dia’s 2021 National Multidimensional Poverty Index, 
leading many international donors to be cautious of pro-
viding 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 decentral-
ized 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 Peo-
ple’s Republic of China, including through securing its 
telecommunications infrastructure and conducting invest-
ment 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 ambi-
tions for building an advanced and comprehensive defense 
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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 House of Representatives— 
(1) unequivocally recognizes the state of 
Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of the Repub-
lic 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 Man-
darin-language names to cities and features in the 
Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh; 
(3) commends the Government of India for tak-
ing steps to defend itself against aggression and se-
curity threats from the People’s Republic of China, 
including through securing its telecommunications 
infrastructure, examining its procurement processes 
and supply chains, implementing investment screen-
ing standards, and expanding its cooperation with 
Taiwan in public health and other sectors; 
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(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 countries; 
(5) applauds the Government of India for in-
creasing its development efforts in Arunachal 
Pradesh, including for improving border infrastruc-
ture, connectivity, and energy security, including re-
newable energy production; 
(6) commits to deepening United States assist-
ance to the region, including through the Depart-
ment of State and the United States Agency for 
International Development using funding mecha-
nisms such as the Countering PRC Influence Fund; 
(7) encourages like-minded international part-
ners 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, 
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and broad and long-standing people-to-people ties; 
and 
(9) promotes enhancing multilateral cooperation 
with India through the Quad, the East Asia Summit 
alongside United States partners in the Association 
for Southeast Asian Nations, and other international 
fora. 
Æ 
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