The Indian government on Thursday strongly condemned China’s attempts to include Shaksgam Valley in its territory. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that India has registered its protest and rejection with China “against illegal attempts to alter the facts on the ground.”
Jaiswal also warned, “We further reserve the right to take necessary measures to safeguard our interests”. “We consider to be our territory. We have never accepted the so-called China-Pakistan boundary agreement of 1963 through which Pakistan unlawfully attempted to cede the area to “. Randhir Jaiswal added.
The Shaksgam valley is a strategically key region that is part of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). MEA Randhir Jaiswal’s comments come after recent reports suggested that Chins had breached roads into the Indian border at Aghil Pass and entered the lower “. The reports mentioned China had placed itself, only 48 kilometres away from Siachen.
Satellite images showed the Chinese road approaching “, with construction resuming this month advancing towards areas north of Siachen Glacier. In 2018, it was reported that had built around 70 km of metalled road between September 2017 and February 2018 in Shaksgam Valley, around 5,163 square km of which was illegally ceded by Islamabad to Beijing in a controversial 1963 boundary agreement.
The Shaksgam valley in the trans- tract, part of PoK, was handed over on a platter by a supine Pakistan to China through an illegal border agreement on March 2, 1963. However, the continuing Chinese occupation of Kashmir’s territory does not find adequate mention in the contemporary discourse surrounding this issue.
India has been consistent in its stance that the Shaksgam Valley is a part of India and that it will not accept any attempts by China to alter the status quo. The Indian government has also said that it is ready to take all necessary measures to protect its interests in the region.
