The USD 740 billion defence policy bill has officially been passed by the United States Congress which, among other things, include calling out Chinese aggression against India along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh.
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which was passed on Tuesday by the US House of Representatives and the Senate, include key components of Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi’s resolution language urging the Chinese government to end its military aggression against India along the LAC.
The House and Senate versions of the bill were reconciled by a bipartisan Congressional conference committee earlier in December.
The inclusion of this provision, which Krishnamoorthi led as an amendment when the bill passed the House, reflects the US government’s support for its allies and partners like India in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.
Raja Krishnamoorthi’s measure, which passed each chamber with overwhelming bipartisan support, will become law if President Donald Trump signs it.
Donald Trump has threatened to veto the bill as it lacks a repeal of legal protections for social media companies. However, the NDAA has been passed by Congress for the last 59 years.
“Violent aggression is seldom the answer, and this is especially true for the Line of Actual Control, which is the disputed border region that separates the People’s Republic of China from India,” Raja Krishnamoorthi said.
“By including my resolution language in the NDAA and signing that legislation into law, the United States government will send a clear message that China’s military provocations of India will not be tolerated,” he said. “The United States is committed to standing with our allies and partners like India in resolving the border standoff using diplomatic means.”
The NDAA says that it is the sense of the Congress on the aggression of China along the border with India and its growing territorial claims. The Senate agreed to include the provisions of the bill that was passed by the House in its version of the bill.
The House bill contained provisions that would express the sense of Congress on cross-border violence between China and India and the growing territorial claims of Beijing.
Expressing “significant concern” over the continued military aggression by China along the border with India, the NDAA says that China “should work with” India toward de-escalating the situation along the Line of Actual Control through existing diplomatic mechanisms and refrain from attempting to settle disputes through coercion or force.
Attempts by China to advance baseless territorial claims, including those in the South China Sea, the East China Sea, and with respect to Bhutan, are destabilising and inconsistent with international law, says the bill.