Ajay Banerjee
New Delhi, July 26
In a departure from the US statements expressing disappointment at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Moscow visit, a US lawmaker has moved an Act in the US Senate seeking that India be treated like allies Japan, South Korea and NATO for sharing technology.
He also sought a ban on Pakistan from getting US aid if it is found to be promoting, aiding and abetting any form of terrorism in India, especially in Jammu and Kashmir.
It also sought exemption for New Delhi from sanctions for using Russian military equipment.
Called the US-India Defence Cooperation Act, it aims to expand bilateral cooperation as India faces increased aggression from Beijing. It was introduced by Marco Rubio, Representative from Florida, on Thursday.
The Act proposes that in order to strengthen the partnership, it is essential to enhance the US's strategic diplomatic, economic and military relationship with New Delhi.
In a direct hint on threats India faces from China, the Act proposes "to support India in its response to growing threats to its internationally recognised land and maritime borders".
It goes on to say that the US should "provide necessary security assistance to India to deter actions by foreign actors that violate India's land and maritime borders".
The Act says there is need to cooperate with India with respect to defence, civil space, technology, medicine and economic investments.
The Act goes on to propose that Pakistan be asked to account for the weapons and equipment supplied by the US, that these are not used to promote terrorism against India. It suggests that the US list "all instances in which Pakistan has used offensive force, including the use of proxies, against India".
Also, the US should list all instances when Pakistan provided safe haven to terrorist groups and determine and describe assistance Pakistan has provided to militants in Jammu and Kashmir.
The Act seeks exemptions for India against sanctions under the Countering America Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). It proposes to amend CAATSA saying "it shall not apply with respect to currently used military capabilities of India".
CAATSA is invoked against countries that have dealing with Russia.
Marco Rubio later put out a statement to explain why he moved the Act, saying, "Communist China continues to aggressively expand its domain in the Indo-Pacific region, and all the while it seeks to impede the sovereignty and autonomy of our regional partners."
The legislation wants to lay down a policy that the US will support India.
It seeks to have expeditious certifications for military articles and military equipment and treat "India as if it were of the same status as US allies such as Japan, Israel, Korea and NATO allies regarding technology transfers".