India calls China's claims on Shaksgam Valley illegal, says it will take steps to protect its interests

News Topical, Digital Desk : Despite India's objections, China on Monday once again reiterated its territorial claims over the Shaksgam Valley, insisting that its infrastructure projects in the area are perfectly justified.

India on Friday criticized China's infrastructure development projects in the Shaksgam Valley, saying that since it is Indian territory, China has the right to take necessary steps to protect its interests. “We have never recognized the so-called China-Pakistan border agreement.”

It is worth noting that the Trans-Karakoram region, or Shaksgam Valley, is an area of ​​approximately 5,200 square kilometers stretching along both sides of the Shaksgam River in the northern Karakoram Mountains of Kashmir. It used to be part of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan illegally ceded 5,180 square kilometers of Shaksgam Valley to China in 1963, part of the illegally occupied Indian territory.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "The Shaksgam Valley is Indian territory. We have never recognized the so-called China-Pakistan 'Boundary Agreement' of 1963. We have consistently maintained that this agreement is illegal and invalid. We also do not recognize the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) because it passes through Indian territory, which is illegally and forcibly occupied by Pakistan."

Infrastructure activity in one's own region is beyond criticism: Mao

Reacting to Jaiswal's comments, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a media briefing here, "First of all, the area you mentioned is part of China." Responding to a question on India's criticism, she said, "The infrastructure activities being carried out by China in its territory are beyond criticism."

Mao said that China and Pakistan had concluded a border agreement since the 1960s, and the border between the two countries had been determined. He said that this was the right of China and Pakistan as sovereign nations.

'CPEC will have no impact on China's stand on Kashmir issue'

Responding to India's criticism of CPEC, Mao reiterated Beijing's long-standing stance that it is an economic initiative aimed at local economic and social development and improving people's living standards.

He said, “Such agreements and CPEC will not have any impact on China's position on the Kashmir issue and China's position in this regard remains unchanged.”

China's official position on the Kashmir issue, which Beijing frequently reiterates, is that "the Jammu and Kashmir dispute is part of history and should be resolved through a fair and peaceful means in accordance with the UN Charter, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements."

Responding to a question about China's infrastructure development in the Shaksgam Valley, Jaiswal said, "Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral and inalienable parts of India. This has been clearly conveyed to Pakistani and Chinese officials several times."

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