Beijing/New Delhi, Jan 12 (.) China on Monday reiterated its claim on the Shaksgam valley in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK), saying the territory belongs to China and China is fully justified to conduct infrastructure construction on its own territory.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said China and Pakistan had in 1960s signed a boundary agreement and delimited the boundary between the two countries, which is the right of China and Pakistan as sovereign countries.
The China-Pakistan boundary agreement and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) do not affect Beijing’s position on Kashmir, which remains unchanged, she said.
The Shaksgam Valley, or Trans Karakoram Tract, is part of the Hunza-Gilgit region of POK and is Indian territory controlled by Pakistan. It borders China’s Xinjiang Province to the north, the Northern Areas of POK to the south and west, and the Siachen Glacier region to the east. It was ceded to China by Pakistan in 1963 when both countries signed a boundary agreement. The agreement laid the foundation of the Karakoram highway, which was built jointly by Chinese and Pakistani engineers in the 1970s.
China is reportedly constructing a road in the Shaksgam Valley. Reports say that the 75 km road has already been constructed. India had on January 10 strongly objected to the road construction activity, saying the strategically sensitive region is Indian territory.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Friday that India has never recognised the 1963 so-called China–Pakistan “Boundary Agreement,” under which Pakistan illegally ceded the Shaksgam Valley to China.
“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,” Jaiswal said.
The Chinese spokesperson was commenting on India’s objections to the construction of the road.
‘’The territory belongs to China. It’s fully justified for China to conduct infrastructure construction on its own territory,’’ Mao Ning said.
The CPEC, as an economic cooperation initiative, aims at promoting local socio-economic development and improving people’s livelihood. The China-Pakistan boundary agreement and CPEC do not affect China’s position on the Kashmir issue, and the position remains unchanged, she said.
. RB 2048