The United States expressed “significant concern” over Chinese aggression along the Indian border in a defense policy bill passed by the Senate on Friday, completing a congressional override of President Donald Trump’s veto of legislation.
“The continued military aggression by the Chinese government along the border with India is a major concern,” says the $ 740 billion National Defense Authorization Act 2021 (NDAA).
Calls on Beijing to resolve all disputes using existing diplomatic mechanisms.
The legislation became law after the Republican-controlled Senate voted 81-13 to pass it, with more than two-thirds of the votes required to override a presidential veto. The Democrat-led House of Representatives approved the override last week with equally overwhelming support: 322 to 87.
Trump had vetoed legislation previously passed by both houses, but his reasons had nothing to do with the section on Chinese aggression on the border with India.
He had demanded that liability protection for social media platforms be repealed, remove sections renaming military facilities after Confederate military figures, and reduce US military deployments.
It was the first congressional override of Trump’s presidential veto, whose term ends on January 20, when President-elect Joe Biden will be sworn in as the 46th president of the United States.
The NDAA conveys bicameral and bipartisan support for India in its border confrontation with China. Although it is neither a lawsuit nor an enforceable threat with consequences, it is a significant show of support for India.
In Section 1206 titled “Congressional Sense on China’s Government Aggression Along the Border with India and Increasing Territorial Claims,” the law reads: “The continued military aggression by the Chinese government along the border with India is a major concern. “
The “government of China should work with the government of India to reduce the situation along the Royal Line of Control through existing diplomatic mechanisms and refrain from attempting to resolve disputes through coercion or force,” it adds, and goes on to point to other aggressive actions by China in the region.
It says the US Congress believes that “attempts by the Chinese government to promote unsubstantiated territorial claims, including those in the South China Sea, the East China Sea and with respect to Bhutan, are destabilizing and incompatible with international law.”
Raja Krishnamoorthi, the Democratic lawmaker who proposed this language in the law, said after its passage: “Through today’s New Year’s Day vote in the Senate, Congress has signed the National Defense Authorization Act into law. , including elements of my resolution calling on China to end its military aggression against India and others in the Indo-Pacific region generally. “
He added: “The violent aggression by the Chinese Army along the Royal Line of Control with India and elsewhere is unacceptable, and the passage of this legislation sends a clear message of support and solidarity to India and our other partners around the world. when we enter the New Year. “
The bicameral, bipartisan snub of Trump came amid his efforts to reverse his defeat to Biden in the presidential election.
By failing to convince the courts and state legislatures with allegations of electoral irregularities, he is seeking to get Congress to overturn it when it meets Wednesday to certify Biden’s victory, the final stage of the presidential election.
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