New Delhi says bifurcation internal matter, accuses Beijing of occupying Indian territories in POK
India on Thursday launched a strong counter to China’s objection to the bifurcation of Jammu & Kashmir into two Union Territories, which came into existence at midnight.
Asking China to refrain from commenting on matters internal to India, New Delhi charged Beijing with illegally acquiring Indian territories from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) under the so-called China-Pakistan boundary agreement of 1963.
New Delhi’s rebuff came after Beijing on Thursday expressed reservations about creation of Union Territory of Ladakh saying it was “unlawful and void”, “includes” some of China’s territory into its administrative jurisdiction and “challenges” Beijing’s sovereignty.
China had earlier objected to the revocation of special status to the State of Jammu & Kashmir and formation of Ladakh as UT, saying some of the area involved Chinese territory. Moreover, the latest round of objection by Beijing came even though the Kashmir issue did not figure in the second informal summit in Chennai between Chinese President Xi Jinping’s and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 11-12.
Taking exception to the Chinese objection, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the J&K reorganisation is entirely India’s internal affair and the nation does not expect other countries to comment on such matters.
India also said China continues to be in occupation of a large tract of area in the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir, and Ladakh.
“It (China) has also illegally acquired Indian territories from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK) under the so-called China-Pakistan Boundary Agreement of 1963,” he said.
Kumar said China is well aware of India’s consistent and clear position on this issue. “The matter of reorganisation of the erstwhile State of Jammu & Kashmir into the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh is entirely an internal affair of India,” he said.
“We do not expect other countries, including China, to comment on the matters which are internal to India, just as India refrains from commenting on internal issues of other countries,” Kumar said.
Asserting that the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are integral part of India, he said India expects other countries to respect its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The latest round of objection from Beijing came despite External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who visited China in August after the revocation of Article 370 giving special status to Jammu & Kashmir, and informed his Chinese counterpart the abrogation of special status was an internal matter and sole prerogative of India. He also made it clear this has no implication for either boundaries of India or the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
“The Indian Government officially announced the establishment of so-called Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh Union Territories which included some of China’s territory into its administrative jurisdiction,” China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told the media here on Thursday.
“China deplores and firmly opposes that. India unilaterally changed its domestic laws and administrative division challenging China’s sovereignty,” he said replying to a question.
“This is unlawful and void and this is not effective in any way and will not change the fact that the area is under Chinese actual control,” he said adding “China urges the Indian side to earnestly respect Chinese territorial sovereignty, abide by our treaties and uphold peace and tranquillity in the border areas and create favourable conditions for proper settlement of boundary question.”
On the Kashmir issue, Geng said, “China’s position on the Kashmir issue is consistent and clear, this is a dispute left from history and it should be properly and peacefully resolved based on the UN charter, the relevant UNSC resolutions and other bilateral treaties and relevant sides should resolve the dispute through dialogue and consultations and uphold regional peace and stability.”
Since the revocation of Article 370, China, which in the past stated that Kashmir issue should be resolved between India and Pakistan, started referring to the UN charter and UNSC resolutions for a settlement.
China has backed its all-weather ally, Pakistan’s attempts to call for an informal meeting of the UN Security Council. However, the informal UNSC meeting, in a rebuff to Beijing and Islamabad, ended without passing a resolution or statement.
A joint statement, issued at the end of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Beijing on October 9, said, “The Chinese side responded that it was paying close attention to the current situation in Jammu & Kashmir and reiterated that the Kashmir issue is a dispute left from history, and should be properly and peacefully resolved based on the UN Charter, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements”.
Khan’s visit took place ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Chennai on October 11-12, where he held his second informal summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In his visit to Beijing in August, Jaishankar defended the Government’s decision during talks with his Chinese counterpart Wang and said the reason for the change is for better governance and social and economic development in Jammu & Kashmir.
“It has no implications for anybody else. The issue related to changes is a temporary provision of the Constitution of India and was the sole prerogative of the country,” Jaishankar had said.
“The legislative measures were aimed at promoting better governance and socio-economic development. There was no implication for either the external boundaries of India or the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China. India was not raising any additional territorial claims,” Jaishankar said.
“The Chinese concerns in this regard were therefore misplaced,” the Minister had said, adding that as far as the India-China boundary question was concerned the two sides had agreed to a fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement on the basis of the 2005 Political Parameters and Guiding Principles.