China on Monday reiterated its territorial claims on the Shaksgam Valley, saying that the infrastructure projects undertaken by its government in the region were “beyond reproach”, PTI reported.
This came two days after New Delhi stated that it reserved the right to take necessary measures to safeguard its interests in the Shaksgam Valley. India’s Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Friday that the region was Indian territory.
The Shaksgam Valley is a disputed territory historically part of Jammu and Kashmir, which Pakistan ceded to China in 1963. India has not recognised this agreement.
New Delhi has also repeatedly objected to the infrastructure projects undertaken by Beijing there.
On Friday, Jaiswal said that New Delhi has “never recognised the so-called China-Pakistan boundary agreement signed in 1963” and consistently maintained that the agreement was “illegal and invalid”.
“We do not recognise the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor either, which passes through Indian territory that is under forcible and illegal occupation of Pakistan,” Jaiswal said.
He added that the entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh were an “integral and inalienable” part of India.
Noting that this had been “clearly conveyed” to Pakistani and the Chinese authorities several times, the spokesperson added: “We further reserve the right to take necessary measures to safeguard our interests.”
The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a major infrastructure project in Pakistan, launched in 2015 as part of China’s Belt and Road Initiative. It aims to enhance economic connectivity between China and Pakistan by developing a network of roads, railways, pipelines and energy projects.
Responding to Jaiswal’s remarks at a press briefing in Beijing on Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said that the area mentioned by New Delhi was part of “China’s territory”, PTI reported.
“China’s infrastructure activities in its own territory are beyond reproach,” the news agency quoted Mao as saying.
She noted that China and Pakistan had signed an agreement that has determined the border between the two countries since the 1960s. These are the rights of Pakistan and China as sovereign states, she said.
Mao also reiterated that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was an economic initiative aimed at local economic and social development that will improve livelihoods, PTI reported.
“Such agreement and CPEC will not affect China’s position on the Kashmir issue and China’s position remains unchanged in this regard,” the news agency quoted the spokesperson as saying.
China has repeatedly maintained that the “Jammu and Kashmir dispute is left over from history, and should be properly and peacefully resolved in accordance with the UN Charter, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements”.
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