(TibetanReview.net, Jan10’26) – India has reacted sharply to an announcement by Beijing and Islamabad of an expansion of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) to include areas across Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Chinese-ruled Shaksgam valley of Ladakh. The Shaksgam valley is claimed by India but was ceded by Pakistan – which took control of it during the first India-Pak war of 1947-48 – to China in 1963.
The development is a stark reminder that despite significant improvement in bilateral economic ties in recent times that led to major reopening decisions after the violent Galwan Valley border clash of mid-2020, New Delhi continues to have to contend with a festering, often eruptive territorial and boundary disputes with an obdurate China which maintains closest of all-round ties with India’s arch-enemy Pakistan.
“Shaksgam Valley is Indian territory. We have never recognised the so-called China-Pakistan boundary agreement that happened in 1963. We have consistently maintained that the agreement is illegal and invalid,” Indian news outlets, including timesofindia.com, Jan 9 quoted External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal as saying.
Jaiswal has said India has “consistently protested with the Chinese side against attempts to alter the ground reality in Shaksgam Valley” and “further reserve the right to take necessary measures to safeguard our interests”.
“The entire union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral and inalienable part of India”, a position New Delhi has conveyed repeatedly to both Pakistan and China, Jaiswal has added.
Jaiswal’s remarks came as Pakistan announced the creation of a Special Protection Unit (SPU) to secure thousands of Chinese nationals working on CPEC projects under Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The announcement was made by Pakistan’s interior minister Mohsin Naqvi during meetings in Beijing with China’s Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong on Jan 7, as previously reported by the PTI news agency.
The SPU will be set up in Islamabad to protect Chinese citizens; but it is unclear whether the move would involve Chinese security personnel operating on Pakistani soil, something Islamabad has reportedly resisted due to domestic sensitivities, noted the timesofindia.com report.
The flagship USD 60 billion CPEC covers Chinese ruled East Turkestan (Xinjiang) region to Pakistan’s Gwadar sea port and runs through a network of roads, railways and energy projects.
India has refused to join the BRI and opposes CPEC because key sections of it pass through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, which New Delhi considers its sovereign territory. India has repeatedly warned that involving third countries in CPEC “directly infringe[s] on India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”, the report noted.
Around 20,000 Chinese personnel are stated to be currently involved in CPEC projects, with the Pakistan Army already deploying two corps for their protection. Groups such as the Baloch Liberation Army, which opposes CPEC, have repeatedly targeted Chinese interests.