The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) strongly rejected references to Jammu and Kashmir and “trans-boundary water cooperation” made in a joint statement issued by China and Pakistan at the end of Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s visit to Beijing.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Tuesday that India’s position on Jammu and Kashmir is “consistent and well-known”, reiterating that the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are an “integral and inalienable part of India,” Hindustan Times reported.
“No other country has the locus standi to comment on the same,” Jaiswal said.
India rejects CPEC remarks
Responding to references to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the MEA said India “resolutely opposes and rejects” any attempt to legitimise what it called Pakistan’s illegal occupation of Indian territory.
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The statement added that some CPEC projects pass through areas under India’s sovereignty. It also said that this position has been conveyed repeatedly to both China and Pakistan, HT reported.
The MEA also rejected references to “trans-boundary water resources cooperation” between China and Pakistan, stating that the two countries do not share a border in a way that makes such cooperation applicable in the claimed context.
It said, “India has never recognised the so-called 1963 boundary agreement between Pakistan and China.”
Context of China-Pakistan joint statement
The joint statement was issued after Shehbaz Sharif visited China from May 23 to 26. He met Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang.
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Pakistan reportedly briefed China on developments in Jammu and Kashmir, while China reiterated that the issue should be resolved in line with the UN Charter. The statement also mentioned cooperation on water resources, without providing details, as reported by HT.
India has consistently opposed the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and has raised objections over the 1963 boundary agreement under which Pakistan is said to have ceded parts of the Shaksgam Valley to China.
