China lays claim to Kashmir’s Shaksgam Valley, says infrastructure construction justified

BEIJING: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning on Monday rejected India’s claim to the Shaksgam Valley in Jammu and Kashmir.

“The territory you mentioned belongs to China. It’s fully justified for China to conduct infrastructure construction on its own territory,” Mao said when asked about border issues and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The spokesperson further said that China and Pakistan had signed a boundary agreement in the 1960s and demarcated borders between the two countries and that the settlement was an exercise of the rights of two sovereign states.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning has declared that the Shaksgam Valley belongs to China and that Beijing is entitled to undertake development there. This constitutes a formal and unambiguous claim over Indian territory in Jammu and Kashmir.

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According to a Global Times report, the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson further said the CPEC is an economic cooperation project intended to promote local economic and social development and improve people’s livelihoods. Mao stressed that the border agreement between China and Pakistan, and the CPEC do not affect China’s position on the Kashmir issue, adding that China’s position on this matter has not changed.

The Shaksgam Valley, borders Xinjiang Provinceof the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to the north, the Northern Areas of POJK to the south and west, and the Siachen Glacier region to the east.

On January 9, India firmly rejected China’s infrastructure buildup through the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in the Shaksgam Valley, terming it “illegal and invalid”, while noting that the region is an “integral and inalienable part” of India.

During a weekly press briefing, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that India has never recognised the “so-called” China-Pakistan boundary agreement of 1963 or the “so-called” CPEC.

“Shaksgam Valley is an Indian territory. We have never recognised the so-called China-Pakistan boundary agreement of 1963. We have consistently maintained that the agreement is illegal and invalid. We do not recognise the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor either, which passes through Indian territory, which is under forcible and illegal occupation of Pakistan”, Jaiswal said.

He reaffirmed that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral and inalienable part of India, noting that New Delhi has “consistently protested” to the Chinese side on the matter and has further reserved the right to safeguard its interests.

“The entire UTs of J&K and Ladakh are an integral and inalienable part of India. This has been clearly conveyed to the Chinese and Pakistani authorities several times. We have consistently protested with the Chinese side for its attempts to alter the ground reality in the Shaksgam Valley. We further reserve the right to take necessary measures to safeguard our interests”, the MEA spokesperson added. (ANI)