- China reiterates territorial claims over Shaksgam Valley in Jammu and Kashmir
- India rejects China's claims and calls the 1963 China-Pakistan agreement illegal
- India states Shaksgam Valley is part of Indian territory under occupation
China has once again reignited tensions with India by reiterating its unfounded cartographical claims over Shaksgam Valley in Jammu and Kashmir, stressing that the Chinese infrastructure projects in the area are "beyond reproach". The provocation came days after Delhi criticised Beijing's infrastructure projects in the valley, saying it reserves the right to take necessary measures to safeguard its interests, as it is an Indian territory.
Located in a sensitive spot bordering China's Xinjiang province, the high-altitude Shaksgam Valley, or the Trans Karakoram Tract, lies north of the Karakoram range, close to the disputed Siachen/Aksai Chin area. It is part of the Hunza-Gilgit Region of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK).
Pakistan illegally ceded 5,180 sq km of Indian territory in the Shaksgam Valley to China in 1963 from areas illegally occupied by it, under the Sino-Pakistan Border Agreement. New Delhi has resolutely rejected this action as unlawful and illegitimate, asserting India's rightful claim to the territory.
China's Claims
When asked about India's position on Shaksgam, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a media briefing in Beijing that "first of all, the territory you mentioned is part of China's territory."
"China's infrastructure activities in its own territory are beyond reproach," she said while responding to a question on India's criticism.
Referring to its illegal pact with Islamabad, Mao claimed China and Pakistan have signed a border agreement and determined the border between the two countries since the 1960s.
"These are the rights of Pakistan and China as sovereign states," she said.
Despite China's claims, Article 6 of its 1963 agreement with Pakistan clearly stated that “the two Parties have agreed that after the settlement of the Kashmir dispute between Pakistan and India, the sovereign authority concerned will reopen negotiations with the Government of the People's Republic of China on the boundary as described in Article Two of the present Agreement so as to sign a formal Boundary Treaty to replace the present agreement.”
On India's criticism of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), Mao repeated Beijing's narrative that it is an economic initiative aimed at local economic and social development and improving people's livelihoods.
"Such agreement and CPEC will not affect China's position on the Kashmir issue, and China's position remains unchanged in this regard," Mao said.
India's Stand
India on Friday rejected China's infrastructure work in the Shaksgam Valley. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "Shaksgam Valley is Indian territory. We have never recognised the so-called China-Pakistan 'boundary agreement' signed in 1963. We have consistently maintained that the agreement is illegal and invalid."
"We also do not recognise the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which passes through Indian territory that is under forcible and illegal occupation of Pakistan," he said.
He added that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral part of India, and that New Delhi has consistently conveyed this position to both China and Pakistan.
"We further reserve the right to take necessary measures to safeguard our interests," the Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.
China's Illegal Activities In Shaksgam
China has reportedly started the construction of an all-weather road through Shaksgam, despite New Delhi's consistent objection to Chinese movement in the area. Beijing's construction activity in Shaksgam has gained pace after the 2017 standoff in Bhutan's Doklam.
The new road is said to be less than 49 km from Siachen Glacier, the world's highest battlefield, and is unlikely to impact India's defence positions in the area.
In 2021, the South China Morning Post reported that Pakistan was looking to build new overland border crossings with China that would potentially boost both their military interoperability against Indian forces in Ladakh and the rest of Kashmir.
