Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning reaffirmed the country’s territorial claims over 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,” she said regarding the border issues and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Chinese Spokesperson rejects India’s objection
The Chinese spokesperson defended Beijing’s infrastructure projects in the region, dismissing India’s objection. She said that China and Pakistan demarcated borders after signing a boundary agreement in the 1960s, adding that Beijing is using its right to carry out development activities there.
Mao stresses border agreement between China and Pakistan
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.
India firmly rejects China’s claims, calls it ‘illegal and invalid’
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. Earlier 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.
Meanwhile, 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.
