Indian-American Congressman Ro Khana has proposed the amendment is important to counter Chinese influence in the region.
WASHINGTON: (UrduPoint/Pakistan Point News-July 16th, 2022) The US House of Representatives through amajority of voice votes passed an India-specific legislative law— proposed by Indian-American Congressman Ro Khana — giving an expemtion to India over its missile purchase from Moscow.
The latest reports suggested that India under the proposed amendment would be protected from punitive actions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
The US House of Representatives passed the amendment on Thursday as part of en-bloc (all together as a single unit) amendment during floor consideration of the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA).
CAATSA — a tough US law — provided authority to the US administration to impose sanctions on countries that purchase major defence hardware from Russia in response to Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014.
Earlier, New Delhi inked a deal to secure the S-400 missile defence system from Moscow, in the midst of the Russia-Ukraine war.
India has also violated US sanctions on buying oil from Russia.
However, Khanna’s proposition argued that the amendment was important to counter China’s influence in the region.
"The United States must stand with India in the face of escalating aggression from China. As vice chair of the India Caucus, I have been working to strengthen the partnership between our countries and ensure that India can defend itself along the Indian-Chinese border," said Khanna, the US representative from California's 17th congressional district.
"This amendment is of the utmost importance, and I am proud to see it pass the House on a bipartisan basis," he added.
