China Rejects India’s Claim on Kashmir's Shaksgam Valley

“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).

She added that China and Pakistan had signed a boundary agreement in the 1960s and demarcated borders between the two countries, describing the settlement as an exercise of the rights of two sovereign states.

According to a Global Times report, Mao further stated that the CPEC is an economic cooperation project intended to promote local economic and social development and improve people’s livelihoods.

She stressed that the China–Pakistan boundary agreement and the CPEC do not affect China’s position on the Kashmir issue, adding that Beijing’s stance on the matter has not changed.

The Shaksgam Valley borders China’s Xinjiang Province to the north, the Northern Areas of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir to the south and west, and the Siachen Glacier region to the east.

Earlier, on January 9, India firmly rejected China’s infrastructure activities under the CPEC in the Shaksgam Valley, terming them “illegal and invalid,” and asserting 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 India has never recognised the “so-called” China–Pakistan boundary agreement of 1963 or the 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 under the 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, adding that New Delhi has consistently protested to China over attempts to alter the ground reality in the Shaksgam Valley.

“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 said.