US recognizes McMahon Line as international border

The US formally recognized the McMahon Line as the international boundary between India’s Arunachal Pradesh and China, and rejected Beijing’s claim that the northeastern state falls under Chinese territory. A bipartisan resolution, which was first introduced in the US Senate last month, on Tuesday acknowledged Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India and also supported India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

 

Apart from recognising the McMahon Line, the resolution also condemned Chinese provocations in the region, including China’s use of military force to change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control, construction of villages in contested areas, publication of maps with



Mandarin-language names for cities featuring Arunachal Pradesh, and expansion of Beijing’s territorial claims over Bhutan.

 

Former US ambassador to Japan and Senator Bill Hagerty said that this bipartisan resolution expresses the Senate’s support for unequivocally recognising the state of Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India.

The resolution, titled ‘Reaffirming the state of Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory and condemning the People’s Republic of China’s provocations in South Asia’, came after one of the biggest clashes that took place in December last year between Indian and Chinese forces in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh.