Ahead of PM Modi’s visit, US House panel suggests Nato Plus status for India

A US Congressional Committee has recommended strengthening Nato Plus by including India in the five-member grouping to win the “strategic competition with the Chinese Communist Party”.

The House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) overwhelmingly adopted a policy proposal to enhance Taiwan’s deterrence, including through strengthening Nato Plus to include India, at a meeting on May 24.

The committee is led by chairman Mike Gallagher and ranking member Raja Krishnamoorthi.

“Winning the strategic competition with the Chinese Communist Party and ensuring the security of Taiwan demands the United States strengthen ties to our allies and security partners, including India. Including India in Nato Plus security arrangements would build upon the US and India’s close partnership to strengthen global security and deter the aggression of the CCP across the Indo-Pacific region,” the Select Committee said in the recommendations released on Wednesday.

While the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, or Nato, is a 31-member alliance, with 29 European nations, and two American, the Nato Plus, currently Nato Plus 5, is a security arrangement that brings together Nato and five aligned nations — Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Israel, and South Korea — to boost global defence cooperation.