New Delhi: China Reasserts Territorial Claim Over Shaksgam Valley, India Rejects 1963 Pakistan Boundary Pact as Illegal
China on Monday, January 12, reasserted its territorial claim over the Shaksgam Valley, a region India maintains is an integral and inalienable part of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. The latest statement came days after New Delhi strongly criticised the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) for passing through Indian territory under the “forcible and illegal occupation of Pakistan.”
WHAT DID CHINA CLAIM ABOUT THE SHAKSGAM VALLEY?
Responding to a question on the India–China border issue, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning claimed that the Shaksgam Valley belongs to China. She argued that Beijing was within its sovereign rights to undertake infrastructure development in the region.
Breaking: China rejects India's claim to Shaksgam Valley in Kashmir
"The territory you mentioned belongs to China. It’s fully justified for China to conduct infrastructure construction on its own territory," says China's Foreign Ministry pic.twitter.com/CMmyWvK4z5— Shashank Mattoo (@MattooShashank) January 13, 2026
Mao referenced the 1963 China-Pakistan boundary agreement, asserting that the settlement between “two sovereign states” had already demarcated the border. She insisted that both the boundary agreement and CPEC were legitimate cooperation mechanisms that did not alter China’s long-standing position on Kashmir.
China’s state-run Global Times quoted Mao as defending CPEC as an economic project intended to promote development and livelihood improvement in the region.
WHO DOES THE SHAKSGAM VALLEY BELONG TO? INDIA RESPONDS
India firmly disagreed.
“Shaksgam Valley is Indian territory,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on January 9. New Delhi denounced China’s infrastructure activities in the region, calling them “illegal, invalid,” and reiterating that the Shaksgam Valley is an integral part of India.
Jaiswal stressed that India has never recognised the so-called 1963 China-Pakistan boundary agreement, declaring it “illegal and invalid.”
He added:
“We do not recognise the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor either, which passes through Indian territory under the forcible and illegal occupation of Pakistan.”
The MEA said India has repeatedly conveyed to both China and Pakistan that the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh remain integral and inalienable parts of India. New Delhi also condemned attempts by China to “alter facts on the ground” in the disputed region.
WHERE IS THE SHAKSGAM VALLEY LOCATED?
The Shaksgam Valley lies north of the Siachen Glacier, bordering China’s Xinjiang region to the north and Pakistan-occupied Jammu & Kashmir (PoJK) to the south and west. The area was illegally ceded by Pakistan to China under the 1963 boundary agreement, which India has rejected for decades.
The region remains a key flashpoint in the broader Shaksgam Valley dispute, influencing both the India-China boundary talks and India’s objections to CPEC.