New Delhi: After Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed showing sensitivity to each other’s concerns during a meeting with President Xi Jinping, Beijing joined Islamabad in ‘operationalising’ a boundary commission o…

New Delhi: After Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed showing sensitivity to each other’s concerns during a meeting with President Xi Jinping, Beijing joined Islamabad in ‘operationalising’ a boundary commission on Wednesday, tacitly undermining New Delhi’s claim that the entire Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh were an integral part of India, and that China had no common border with Pakistan. Islamabad stated that the inaugural meeting of the China-Pakistan Joint Boundary Commission set the stage for “enhanced cooperation” between the two nations “in border management, joint border surveys, trade flows and people-to-people connect”.President Xi and PM Modi reached most important consensus that India-China should be partners: Wang YiNew Delhi dismissed the creation of the China-Pakistan boundary commission, saying it lacked any legal basis. “Our position on this matter is clear and consistent. There is no boundary between Pakistan and China,” Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said in New Delhi. Beijing’s subtle move to join Islamabad in negating India’s claim over territory under illegal occupation of Pakistan and ceded by Pakistan to China came just days after Modi and Xi had a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi last Saturday. Beijing claimed that Modi had promised Xi during the meeting that no forces would be allowed to engage in activities against China from the territory of India and that India’s position on Tibet and Taiwan remained unchanged. New Delhi later claimed that Modi had told Xi that both sides should show sensitivity to each other’s core concerns. New Delhi maintains that where Beijing and Islamabad claim the boundary between China and Pakistan lies is actually a part of the territory of India but illegally occupied by Pakistan and illegally ceded by Pakistan to China.    “The entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have been, are and will always remain integral and inalienable parts of India,” Jaiswal added, articulating New Delhi’s position. He made it clear that Islamabad had no locus standi to enter into arrangements with China or any other country concerning the territory of India under illegal and forcible occupation of Pakistan. “We have never recognised the so-called China-Pakistan Boundary Agreement of 1963 and have consistently maintained that it is illegal and invalid,” Jaiswal, the MEA spokesperson, said in New Delhi. Islamabad illegally ceded 5,180 sq. kms. of India’s territory in Shaksgam Valley to China in 1963. New Delhi maintains that Shaksgam Valley is a part of India’s Union Territory of Ladakh but is currently under illegal occupation of Pakistan. Beijing’s move to join Islamabad in operationalising the joint boundary commission signalled its intent to strengthen its claim to Shaksgam Valley. Earlier, China and Pakistan    New Delhi on Wednesday said that it resolutely opposed and rejected any attempts to alter the status of the occupied territories or legitimise illegal occupation. It noted that any such attempt impinged on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India. “Any so-called boundary cooperation between China and Pakistan concerning Indian territories would be completely unacceptable and would have no bearing whatsoever on India’s sovereignty over these territories,” the MEA stated after the China-Pakistan joint boundary commission had its first meeting in Islamabad. New Delhi has also been opposing the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), alleging that it has violated the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of India. The 3000-km-long CPEC, a flagship component of Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative, linked China’s Xinjiang Autonomous Region to the port city of Gwadar in southern Pakistan. It covered the J&K areas claimed by India as its own but illegally occupied by Pakistan. Beijing claims Modi told Xi anti-China activities will not be allowed in India; no change in stand on Tibet and TaiwanLi Ya, a diplomat from the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Bilal Mahmood Chaudhary, Director General (China) of the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led their respective delegations at the inaugural meeting of the joint boundary commission in Islamabad on Wednesday. Beijing’s move to operationalise a boundary commission with Islamabad came at a critical stage in India-China boundary negotiations. India has recently accepted China’s proposal to discuss an early harvest deal to prioritise delimitation of the less contentious stretches of the boundary and has given its nod for the constitution of a joint expert group to advance negotiations on such an arrangement – giving up its insistence on a comprehensive resolution of the bilateral territorial dispute covering all sectors.

Source: Deccan Herald