New Delhi: The fate of a non-binding resolution introduced in the US Senate reaffirming Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India lies in the hands of a senator who once threatened sanctions against New Delhi, and strongly opposed its S-400 air defence missile deal with Russia.
Democrat Senator Bob Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), will take a call on whether the resolution will be voted upon, and if so, when.
The resolution — not a law but rather an expression of the Senate’s sentiment — was introduced on 16 February with bipartisan support. Titled ‘Reaffirming the state of Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory and condemning the People’s Republic of China’s provocations in South Asia’, it calls China’s claim over Arunachal Pradesh a part of its “increasingly aggressive and expansionist policies”.
It also pledges to further strengthen the two countries’ defence interoperability and information sharing for “early warning systems”. This comes two months after Indian and Chinese troops clashed in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang sector. Earlier in June 2020, in the first major conflict in Ladakh since the 1962 war, troops clashed in the Galwan Valley.
The resolution in the Senate has now been referred to the SFRC where Menendez has the power to set up a vote on it or not. If approved, the resolution may go to the Senate floor as either a formal resolution or as a part of a larger bill.
Experts say Menendez is “not well-disposed towards India”, but because the resolution is non-binding and has bipartisan support, it is likely to be taken forward.
It is also significant that such a resolution has come about despite India’s “neutrality” on the Ukraine conflict and its large oil purchases from Russia, they added.
ThePrint emailed Menendez’s office but did not receive a response. This report will be updated if it is received.
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A ‘sanctionable’ transaction
Senator Menendez, who is serving his second stint as chair of the SFRC, has in the past taken notice of China’s aggression towards India.
However, he has also called for sanctions against India under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) over its arms deals with Russia.
In March 2021, ahead of US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s visit to India, Menendez wrote to him saying that if India plans to go ahead with its purchase of the Russian S-400 system, it will invite sanctions under Section 231 of CAATSA.
The 2017 CAATSA imposed sanctions on Iran, North Korea, and Russia, but Section 231 has to do with sanctions against “persons engaging in transactions with the intelligence or defence sectors” of Russia.
The sanctions under the Act are mostly economical such as freezing of loans from American financial institutions among others.
“If India chooses to go forward with its purchase of the S-400, that act will clearly constitute a significant, and therefore sanctionable transaction with the Russian defence sector under Section 231 of CAATSA,” said Menendez in his letter to Austin.
“It will also limit India’s ability to work with the U.S. on development and procurement of sensitive military technology. I expect you to make all of these challenges clear in conversations with your Indian counterparts,” he further wrote.
In 2018, India signed a deal for five squadrons of S-400 air defence missiles, two of which have already been received and deployed in various parts of India.
In July 2022, a standalone bill was introduced in the US House of Representatives to give India a specific waiver under CAATSA.
Experts, however, point out that the recent resolution on Arunachal Pradesh introduced in the Senate supports India’s “diversification” of military purchases — a point that is sure to catch the eyes of those disappointed by New Delhi’s S-400 deal with Russia.
“There is a sentence in the resolution supporting India’s diversification of military purchases away from countries that fail to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of other nations,” which is a reference to Russia “without naming it”, said Lisa Curtis, director of the Indo-Pacific Security Program at US-based think tank Center for a New American Security (CNAS).
“That line would be important to any congressional member who is disappointed by India’s purchase of the S-400 [air defence systems],” she added.
Resolution a ‘political message’
Experts agreed that despite Menendez’s previous remarks about India, he is likely to take up the resolution on Arunachal Pradesh because of three factors — 1) the resolution is non-binding 2) it carries bipartisan support and 3) it’s mostly a political message.
“The draft resolution is a political message,” Former ambassador to the US, Arun Singh, told ThePrint. He added that it reflects the mood in a section of the US Congress supportive of “consolidation” of the US-India relationship and concerns over China’s assertive postures.
Meanwhile, talking to ThePrint, former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal argued that it is significant for such a resolution to be introduced despite India’s neutrality on the Ukraine conflict and the huge growth of its oil purchases from Russia.
Since the start of the Russian invasion into Ukraine, India has bought large amounts of Russian crude, clocking in at 1.2 million barrels per day last December.
“Bob Menendez is not well-disposed towards India. However, since this would be a non-binding resolution, more an expression of the sentiment in the Senate, given the growing anti-China mood in the US Congress he could let it be passed,” he said.
He also predicted that if such a resolution were to be approved by the SFRC — essentially paving its way to the Senate floor — it would “further muddy US-China ties”.
Relations between Washington and Beijing hit new lows amid the recent spy balloon controversy, which prompted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to cancel his visit to China that was initially scheduled for 5-6 February.
Blinken’s visit was meant to be a test of prior assurances between leaders of the two countries to keep the lines of communications open.
Last year, US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali, where they expressed commitment to “keeping the lines of communications open”. This sentiment was echoed during US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu in Zurich last month.
(Edited by Geethalakshmi Ramanathan)
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