(TibetanReview.net, Dec15’23) – For the second day on Dec 13, China has attacked the Indian Supreme Court’s Dec 11 decision on the status of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, while laying claim over the “western section of the China-India border” on the basis of its armed invasion and illegal annexation of Tibet over 1949-51.
Earlier, on Dec 12 Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular press briefing that China’s position on Kashmir has been “consistent and clear-cut, “that it needs to be resolved peacefully and appropriately in accordance with the UN Charter, Security Council resolutions and relevant bilateral agreement”. She did not explicitly refer to Ladakh.
Now on Dec 13, when asked about the union territory of Ladakh at the daily briefing, she has said, “China has never recognized the so-called union territory of Ladakh set up unilaterally and illegally by India. India’s domestic judicial verdict does not change the fact that the western section of the China-India border has always belonged to China.”
Earlier, in Aug 2019, China said India’s “reorganization” of Jammu and Kashmir was “unacceptable”, particularly the separation of Ladakh into a union territory. At the time, India’s home minister Amit Shah told parliament that both Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and Aksai Chin were integral parts of Jammu and Kashmir.
In the year after J&K’s autonomy was revoked, China convened three closed meetings of the UN Security Council to discuss the matter, noted thewire.in Dec 12.
The report also said that ever since India signed the Shimla agreement with Pakistan, New Delhi had refused to accept any third-party’s role in Kashmir, asserting that it is solely a bilateral matter.
China greatly escalated the border trouble in mid-2020, when its troops went beyond the traditional patrolling points in eastern Ladakh, which resulted in intense hand-to-hand fighting at Galwan Valley and the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers and at least four Chinese troops.
While the armies have de-escalated at multiple friction points after multiple rounds of talks, the stand-off continues at two strategic points. India has not mentioned Aksai Chin in any public statements in recent years, the report noted.