A new bill presented in the United States Senate seeks to cut off Pakistan from receiving aid in the event it takes any steps against India.
This bill is tagged the “US-India Defense Cooperation Act,” and was introduced by Senator Marco Rubio of Florida.
The goal of this bill is to deepen defence ties with New Delhi, putting India on equal footing with other key U.S. allies like Japan, Israel, South Korea, and even NATO members as far as technology transfer, and security assistance is concerned. Should India face any threats, the US will provide the necessary support.
Senator Rubio emphasized the need to expedite the delivery of excess defence articles to India for the next two years.
He also called for granting India the same status as other major US allies and expanding International Military Education and Training Cooperation with New Delhi.
The bill also seeks to provide India with a limited exemption from CAATSA sanctions for purchasing Russian equipment currently in use by the Indian military.
India has long relied on Russia for cheap oil and arms supplies. Nonetheless, Moscow’s increasing rapprochement with Beijing and decreasing links with western capitals have affected Indian relationship.
In recent years Western powers have improved relations with India to counterbalance China’s growing influence across Asia-Pacific region while also pressurizing India not to stick too close to Russia.
Besides this plea for Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India to make a strong point directly to Russian leader Vladimir Putin that “The UN Charter must be carefully followed at all times when resolving the conflict in Ukraine, particularly with regard to respecting the territorial integrity of Ukraine.”
