The National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) was approved by the Senate with 83-11 votes on Thursday, December 15. The Bill was passed by the House of Representatives with 350-80 votes on December 8.
Washington: The the US Senate has passed a USD 858 billion defence Bill to strengthen defence ties with India, a report in The Tribune, Chandigarh, says.
The key highlights of the bill include to reduce India’s reliance on Russian military equipment and take stepsto address the challenges posed to America’s national security by China,
The National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) was approved by the Senate with 83-11 votes on Thursday. The Bill was passed by the House of Representatives with 350-80 votes on December 8.
Now it remains for President Joe Biden to sign it into law.
The NDAA seeks to strengthen US-India relations by directing the Departments of Defence and State to pursue greater engagement and expanded cooperation with India related to emerging technology, joint Research and development, defence and cyber capabilities.
Provisions in the new bill support an effort by Senator Mark Warner, co-Chair of the Senate India Caucus, to highlight the importance of America’s defence partnership with India. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jack Reed said that the NDAA strengthens key alliances and partnerships to enhance America’s security.
Section 1260 of the NDAA states that, the new areas of expanded defence cooperation with India need to include intelligence collection capabilities, unmanned aerial vehicles, fourth and fifth-generation aircraft, depot-level maintenance, fifth-generation wireless communication, open Radio Access Network technologies, defensive cyber capabilities, cold-weather capabilities and critical and emerging technologies.
Within six months of the bill’s passage, the NDAA has urged the Defence Secretary to provide Congress with a report related to challenges in reducing India’s reliance on Russian-built weapons and defence systems.
In October 2018, India signed a USD 5 billion deal with Russia to buy five units of the S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems to enhance its air defence, despite a warning from the then Trump administration that going ahead with the contract may invite US sanctions.
The US has repeatedly said it discourages India to rely on Russia for its defence needs.
Senator Jim Risch, a ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the passage of the FY2023 NDAA brings one step closer to providing Taiwan with the security authorities and collaborative US-Taiwan defence relationship it needs to effectively deter, and if necessary, defeat, Chinese aggression.
The bill funds billions of dollars to take measures to address the challenges posed to America’s national security by China.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said the NDAA steps up US investments in capabilities that are especially crucial to operations in the Indo-Pacific, from space assets to naval mines.
The Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region, comprising the Indian Ocean and the western and central Pacific Ocean, including the South China Sea.
*********************************************************************
Readers
These are extraordinary times. All of us have to rely on high-impact, trustworthy journalism. And this is especially true of the Indian Diaspora. Members of the Indian community overseas cannot be fed with inaccurate news.
Pravasi Samwad is a venture that has no shareholders. It is the result of an impassioned initiative of a handful of Indian journalists spread around the world. We have taken the small step forward with the pledge to provide news with accuracy, free from political and commercial influence. Our aim is to keep you, our readers, informed about developments at ‘home’ and across the world that affect you.
Please help us to keep our journalism independent and free.
In these difficult times, to run a news website requires finances. While every contribution, big or small, will makes a difference, we request our readers to put us in touch with advertisers worldwide. It will be a great help.
For more information: pravasisamwad00@gmail.com