The United States Congressional Senatorial Committee on Thursday passed a resolution recognizing Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India.

Senators Jeff Merkley, Bill Hagerty, and John Coryn announced that their bipartisan Senate resolution reaffirming the United States’ recognition of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of the Republic of India has passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, stated an official press release.

The resolution was cosponsored by Senators Tim Kaine and Chris Van Hollen.

The resolution was passed following the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US last month.

The Senators’ resolution was introduced after the biggest clash between India and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in the Eastern Sector along the McMahon Line in six years.

The resolution reaffirms that the United States recognizes the McMahon Line as the international boundary between the People’s Republic of China and the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh thereby refusing China’s claims over Arunachal Pradesh, which is a part of the PRC’s increasingly aggressive and expansionist policies, the press release stated.

According to a previous press release, the Senators’ resolution condemns additional provocations made by China such as 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 and feature in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, and expansion of China’s territorial claims in Bhutan.

Furthermore, the resolution commends the Government of India for taking steps to defend itself against aggression and security threats from China. These efforts include securing India’s telecommunications infrastructure; examining its procurement processes and supply chains; implementing investment screening standards; and expanding its cooperation with Taiwan in public health and other sectors.

This resolution will further help to strengthen the U.S.-India bilateral partnership in the field of defense, technology, economics, and people-to-people ties and promotes enhancing US’s multilateral cooperation with India through the Quad, the East Asia Summit alongside US partners in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and other international fora.