Indian army chief rejects China’s Shaksgam Valley claim, calls 1963 pact illegal

Chief of Army Staff General Upendra Dwivedi on Tuesday (January 13) rejected China’s claims over the Shaksgam Valley, stating that India does not recognise the 1963 boundary agreement between Pakistan and China.

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Addressing a press conference, General Dwivedi said India considers the agreement illegal.

India calls CPEC illegal

He said India does not accept any activity in the area and reiterated New Delhi’s opposition to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which it regards as an illegal project undertaken by the two countries.

India’s remarks came after Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning asserted that the Shaksgam Valley “belongs to China”.

Responding to questions on border issues and the CPEC, Mao said the territory belongs to China and that it was fully justified for China to undertake infrastructure construction on what it considers its own territory.

The spokesperson added that China and Pakistan had signed a boundary agreement in the 1960s to demarcate their borders, describing it as an exercise of the rights of two sovereign states.

Shaksgam Valley dispute

According to a Global Times report, Mao stressed that the China-Pakistan boundary agreement and the CPEC do not affect Beijing’s position on the Kashmir issue, adding that China’s stance on the matter remains unchanged.

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The Shaksgam Valley borders China’s Xinjiang region to the north, Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) to the south and west, and the Siachen Glacier region to the east.

Earlier, on January 9, India had rejected China’s infrastructure build-up through the CPEC in the Shaksgam Valley, calling it “illegal and invalid”.

India has consistently maintained that the Shaksgam Valley is an integral part of its territory.

MEA rejects 1963 agreement

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the Shaksgam Valley is Indian territory and that India has never recognised the so-called China-Pakistan boundary agreement of 1963, which it has consistently described as illegal and invalid.

He added that India does not recognise the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor either, as it passes through Indian territory under Pakistan’s forcible and illegal occupation.

“The entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral and inalienable part of India. This position has been conveyed to the Chinese and Pakistani authorities on several occasions,” Jaiswal said.

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He added that India has consistently protested against China’s attempts to alter the ground reality in the Shaksgam Valley and reserves the right to take necessary measures to safeguard its interests.