Washington: The US Congress on Friday passed a nearly $700 billion defence budget for 2018 which imposes tougher conditions on Pakistan for military and security assistance while seeking advancement in military cooperation with major defence partner India.
The 2018 National Defence Authorisation Act sailed through both the chambers of the Congress House of Representatives and the Senate by a voice vote.
It now heads to the White House for President Donald Trump to sign it into law, which he is expected to do before the Thanksgiving holidays. The budget also accommodates the last minute additional White House’s financial request implementing its new South Asia strategy.
The NDAA-2018 asked the secretary of state and the defence secretary to come out with a common definition that recognises India’s status as a “Major Defence Partner”.
Welcoming the move, top Republican Senator Ted Cruz said only a few few partnerships in the 21st century carried more strategic significance than the US-India partnership.
Mr Cruz said that the current bilateral cooperation and joint development need to be more closely aligned with the shared interests of maritime domain awareness and anti- submarine warfare. During the legislative process, Mr Cruz secured an amendment that calls on the Department of Defence to reassess its approach to partnering with India and to appoint an individual to oversee this process.
The NDAA-2018 also asks the Pentagon to develop a “forward-looking” strategy for defence ties with India that would build upon current objectives and goals, underlining a mutual desire to develop an enduring defence relationship with India.
The NDAA-2018 also makes $350 million available to Pakistan under coalition support fund contingent upon certification that Pakistan is taking demonstrable steps against the Haqqani Network.
An accompanying conference report passed by the House and the Senate note that action on the part of Pakistan against LeT, as well as other terrorist groups operating within the borders of Pakistan, remains a priority for the US.
It urged the Department of Defense to closely monitor US security assistance to Pakistan, to ensure that Pakistan is not using such assistance to support terrorist groups.
