Final Up to date:January 13, 2026, 16:43 IST
Shaksgam in Jammu and Kashmir: India says Pakistan illegally ceded it to Beijing in 1963; China is engaged on infrastructure within the valley as a part of CPEC
The Shaksgam Valley, also referred to as the Trans Karakoram Tract, lies excessive within the Karakoram mountains, north of the Siachen Glacier within the area of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. (News18 Hindi)
A 12 months after India and China reached a deal to finish a protracted army standoff in jap Ladakh, a brand new flashpoint has emerged – Shaksgam Valley in Jammu and Kashmir.
India and China just lately had a pointy trade over the strategic 5,000 sq km space. Whereas New Delhi holds Islamabad illegally ceded it to Beijing in 1963, China has began to construct infrastructure within the valley as a part of the China-Pakistan Financial Hall (CPEC).
Shaksgam Valley is essential for India
The Shaksgam Valley, also referred to as the Trans Karakoram Tract, lies excessive within the Karakoram mountains, north of the Siachen Glacier within the area of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. It borders China’s Xinjiang area to the north and Pakistan-controlled Gilgit-Baltistan to the south and west.
Siachen is essential for India to watch the actions of Pakistan, whereas the Karakoram Cross issues for Chinese language actions.
How did Pakistan get to cede it to China?
As Jammu and Kashmir acceded to India in October 1947, the Valley legally grew to become part of India. Nonetheless, Pakistan continued to occupy it forcibly. Quickly, China began getting into the territories in jap Hunza. Ignoring India’s considerations, in 1963, Pakistan formally ceded the Yarkand River and Shaksgam Valley to China, ignoring India’s considerations.
What’s China-Pakistan settlement?
The China-Pakistan Boundary settlement on the Shaksgam Valley refers to a 1963 border association, by which Pakistan and China outlined their border within the Trans-Karakoram tract, together with the Shaksgam Valley. Beneath this settlement, Pakistan ceded management of the Shaksgam Valley space to China
It demarcated the boundary between China and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan).
The settlement additionally has a clause that stipulates that after the settlement of Kashmir dispute between Pakistan and India, the sovereign authority will reopen negotiations with the federal government of China to signal a proper boundary treaty.
India doesn’t recognise this settlement.
What’s China doing within the Shaksgam Valley?
Studies point out that China has been constructing a protracted all-weather highway by means of the Shaksgam Valley, extending connectivity from its facet of the Karakoram vary and enhancing entry towards Pakistan-controlled areas.
China has reportedly accomplished building of a75-km all-weather highway within the valley.
‘Shaksgam Valley is Indian territory’: What New Delhi says
“Shaksgam Valley is Indian territory. We’ve got by no means recognised the so-called China-Pakistan ‘boundary settlement’ signed in 1963. We’ve got constantly maintained that the settlement is prohibited and invalid,” Exterior Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal mentioned on January 9.
“We additionally don’t recognise the so-called China-Pakistan Financial Hall, which passes by means of Indian territory that’s below forcible and unlawful occupation of Pakistan,” he mentioned.
Jaiswal mentioned that all the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral and inalienable a part of India. “This has been clearly conveyed to Pakistani and Chinese language authorities a number of occasions,” he added.
India on Tuesday once more rejected China’s renewed claims over the Shaksgam Valley, with Chief of Military Employees Common Upendra Dwivedi declaring the 1963 boundary settlement between Pakistan and China unlawful and reiterating that New Delhi doesn’t recognise any exercise carried out within the area.
Talking on the difficulty, Common Dwivedi mentioned India considers the 1963 settlement, below which Pakistan ceded territory within the Shaksgam Valley to China, to be invalid.
‘We’re absolutely justified’: What China says
Reacting to Jaiswal’s feedback, Chinese language International Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning informed a media briefing on Monday that “the territory you talked about belongs to China”.
“It’s absolutely justified for China to conduct infrastructure building by itself territory. China and Pakistan within the Sixties signed a boundary settlement and delimited the boundary between the 2 nations, which is the proper of China and Pakistan as sovereign nations,” she mentioned.
On India’s criticism of the CPEC, Mao repeated Beijing’s narrative that it’s an financial cooperation initiative, aimed toward selling native socioeconomic growth and enhancing individuals’s livelihood.
“The China-Pakistan boundary settlement and CPEC don’t have an effect on China’s place on the Kashmir situation and the place stays unchanged,” she mentioned.
Furthermore, China’s official stand on the Kashmir situation, as usually reiterated by Beijing, is that “Jammu and Kashmir dispute is left over from historical past, and needs to be correctly and peacefully resolved in accordance with the UN Constitution, related UN Safety Council resolutions and bilateral agreements”.
With Company Inputs
January 13, 2026, 16:35 IST
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