India on Monday strongly rejected references to the Union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh in the recent joint statement issued by China and Pakistan, asserting that the regions “have been, are and will always remain” integral and inalienable parts of India.
Responding to media queries, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India categorically rejects the “unwarranted references” made in the China-Pakistan joint statement regarding Jammu & Kashmir.
The statement was issued at the end of Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's official visit to China from May 23-26 at the invitation of Premier Li Qiang. It said the Pakistani side briefed the Chinese side on the latest developments on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
China, for its part, reiterated that the Jammu & Kashmir dispute is left over from history, and should be properly and peacefully resolved in accordance with the UN Charter, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements.
Jaiswal said ,“India's position is consistent and well known to the concerned parties. The Union territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh have been, are and will always remain integral and inalienable parts of India. No other country has the locus standi to comment on the same.”
India also reiterated its opposition to the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects being carried out in territories that New Delhi says are under Pakistan’s illegal occupation.
“As regards the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects, some of which are in India’s sovereign territory, we resolutely oppose and reject any moves by other countries to reinforce or legitimise Pakistan’s illegal and forcible occupation of these territories, impinging on India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Jaiswal said, adding that India has conveyed its concerns to both Pakistani and Chinese authorities on multiple occasions.
The MEA spokesperson also dismissed references in the joint statement to “trans-boundary water resources cooperation” between China and Pakistan, stating that the two countries do not share a boundary.
China and Pakistan had expressed readiness to conduct trans-boundary water resources cooperation under the principle of equality and mutual benefit, it said, without specifying any details of collaboration as the rivers emanating from China that flow to Pakistan pass through India.
“We have also seen references to the so-called ‘trans-boundary water resources cooperation’ between China and Pakistan. As the two countries do not share any boundary, the question of so-called ‘trans-boundary water resources cooperation’ does not arise,” he said.
India further reiterated that it has never recognised the so-called 1963 boundary agreement between China and Pakistan.