India rejects the Pakistan-China Boundary Joint Commission, calling it legally baseless and warning that any boundary cooperation involving Indian territories is completely unacceptable, while reiterating its position on Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and the 1963 China-Pakistan Boundary Agreement.
India on Wednesday rejected the so-called Pakistan-China Boundary Joint Commission, describing the mechanism as having no legal basis and reiterating that any boundary cooperation between China and Pakistan involving territories claimed by India would be completely unacceptable. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said New Delhi’s position on the issue remains clear and consistent.
The response came after the first meeting of the Pakistan-China Boundary Joint Commission was held in Islamabad. Pakistan described the operationalisation of the commission as a significant milestone in bilateral relations, saying the mechanism would provide a framework for greater cooperation in areas including border management, joint border surveys, trade flows and people-to-people connectivity.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, responding to questions about the commission, said India rejects the body and does not recognise any boundary arrangement between Pakistan and China concerning territories that India considers part of its sovereign territory.
“Our position on this matter is clear and consistent. There is no boundary between Pakistan and China. We reject the so-called Joint Commission, which is without any legal basis,” Jaiswal said.
He reiterated India’s position that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral and inalienable parts of India. According to the MEA, Pakistan cannot enter into arrangements with another country concerning territory that India regards as being under illegal and forcible occupation.
Jaiswal also restated New Delhi’s longstanding position on the China-Pakistan Boundary Agreement of 1963. India has consistently maintained that it never recognised the agreement and considers it illegal and invalid. The agreement involved Pakistan ceding territory in the region, including the Shaksgam Valley, to China, a move India has repeatedly opposed.
The MEA said India would oppose any effort aimed at changing the status of territories it claims or providing legitimacy to what it describes as illegal occupation. Jaiswal said such steps would impinge on India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“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,” he said.
The Indian government has also repeatedly objected to Chinese and Pakistani activities in areas of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. New Delhi has specifically opposed the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor because portions of the project pass through territory claimed by India.
The latest development therefore adds another point of contention to the long-running territorial dispute involving India, Pakistan and China. While Pakistan and China have described their joint boundary mechanism as a platform for practical cooperation, India maintains that neither country can determine the status of territories that New Delhi regards as part of India through bilateral arrangements.
Jaiswal further called on Pakistan to vacate areas that India describes as being under illegal and forcible occupation. The MEA’s statement reflects New Delhi’s longstanding position that Pakistan does not have the authority to enter into territorial arrangements concerning Jammu and Kashmir without India’s consent.
India has also previously urged foreign governments, media organisations and other stakeholders to use what it considers the correct nomenclature while referring to Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. New Delhi has maintained that Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral parts of India and has objected when international reporting uses terminology that it considers inconsistent with its position.
The Indian Embassy in the United States also objected in July to a headline published by The New York Times concerning the region, describing the wording as misleading and incorrect. The embassy reiterated India’s position that Pakistan has illegally occupied parts of the territories claimed by India.
The dispute over the 1963 China-Pakistan boundary agreement has a long history. Official Indian records have for decades stated that Pakistan’s presence in parts of Jammu and Kashmir does not give Islamabad the authority to negotiate or conclude boundary arrangements concerning the region with another country.
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With the Pakistan-China Boundary Joint Commission now operational, India’s latest statement makes clear that any bilateral mechanism dealing with territories claimed by New Delhi will not alter India’s stated position on sovereignty, territorial integrity or the status of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
