Key amendment by Sen. John McCain to recognize India as ‘global strategic & defense partner’ fails to muster majority support

WASHINGTON (Diya TV) — In what some are calling a snub against Indian Prime Minster Narendra Modi, the U.S. Senate failed to pass a key amendment to a bill to modify its export control regulations, an amendment that would have recognized the South Asian nation as a “global strategic and defense partner.”

The news comes a week following Modi’s visit to the country, in which he delivered a speech to a joint session of congress.

One day after Modi’s address to Congress, Sen. John McCain had proposed the amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. In a joint statement, the U.S. had already recognized India as a “major defense partner,” and supported defense-related trade and technology transfer to the country which would now be treated on par with America’s closest allies.

McCain expressed disappointment that many key amendments could not see the light of day.

“I regret that the Senate was unable to debate and vote on several matters critical to our national security, many of which enjoyed broad bipartisan support,” McCain said in a statement.

“Too often throughout this process, a single senator was able to bring the Senate’s work on our national defense to a halt. This was a breakdown in the decorum of the Senate, and one that will have serious consequences,” McCain said.

McCain’s amendment also asked the president to approve and facilitate the transfer of advanced technology in the context of, and in order to satisfy, combined military planning with the Indian military for missions such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, counter piracy, and maritime domain awareness.