China on Monday dismissed India’s assertion over the Shaksgam Valley in Jammu and Kashmir, saying the area belongs to China and that it has the right to carry out infrastructure work there. The remarks underline the fresh diplomatic friction between New Delhi and Beijing over territory and connectivity projects in the region.
Speaking at a regular briefing in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said China’s activities in the area were legitimate. “The territory you mentioned belongs to China. It’s fully justified for China to conduct infrastructure construction on its own territory,” she said when asked about border issues and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The response comes days after India objected strongly to China-backed projects in the Shaksgam Valley, calling them illegal.
China cites 1960s border pact, calls CPEC a development project
Mao said China and Pakistan had signed a boundary agreement in the 1960s, with borders demarcated as an exercise of the rights of two sovereign nations. Referring to CPEC, she described it as an economic cooperation initiative aimed at boosting local development and improving livelihoods.
According to a Global Times report, Mao stressed that neither the China-Pakistan border agreement nor CPEC alters China’s stated position on the Kashmir issue. She added that Beijing’s stand on Kashmir remains unchanged.
The Shaksgam Valley lies north of Jammu and Kashmir. It borders China’s Xinjiang region to the north and the Siachen Glacier region to the east.
India reiterates Shaksgam Valley is its territory
Earlier this month, India rejected China’s infrastructure activity in the Shaksgam Valley, calling it “illegal and invalid” and asserting that the region is an integral part of the country.
At a weekly briefing on January 9, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi has never recognised the 1963 China-Pakistan boundary agreement or the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
“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 added that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral part of India. He said New Delhi has repeatedly conveyed this position to both China and Pakistan and has protested against attempts to change the situation on the ground in the Shaksgam Valley.
“We further reserve the right to take necessary measures to safeguard our interests,” the MEA spokesperson said.