India on Tuesday strongly objected to the reference made by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang to Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh in his address at the UN General Assembly.
India said that it expected other countries to respect India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Wang Yi, in his address, had said that the Kashmir issue is a “dispute left from the past, and should be properly and peacefully resolved based in accordance with the UN Charter, UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements”.
He further stressed that no actions should be taken that would unilaterally change the status quo.
“As a neighbour of both India and Pakistan, China hopes to see the dispute effectively managed and stability restored to the relations between the two sides,” he added.
Taking a strong note of the remarks, the Ministry of External Affairs reiterated New Delhi’s stand that the Jammu and Kashmir issue was “entirely India’s internal matter”.
MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said that Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral part of India, and that the recent developments relating to the region were “entirely a matter internal” to the country.
“The Chinese side is well aware of India’s position that Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral part of India, and that the recent developments are entirely a matter internal to us,” he said.
Kumar said India expected other countries to respect India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
“We expect that other countries will respect India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and desist from efforts to change the status quo through the illegal so-called China Pakistan Economic Corridor in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir,” he said.
India sternly opposes the CPEC, a key artery of the Belt and Road project that cuts through PoK, New Delhi’s raison d’etre for staying away from the trillion-dollar connectivity scheme.
India not approving the corridor has become a sticky point in its relations with China. Beijing maintains that the project is purely economic in nature and won’t impact Beijing’s neutral stance on the Kashmir issue.
China, an all-weather ally of Pakistan, had reaffirmed its support to Islamabad on the Kashmir issue during a meeting between Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Prime Minister Imran Khan on the sidelines of the UNGA.
Wang Yi had on Monday reiterated commitment of the Chinese leadership to support Pakistan “on all issues of its core national interest”.
India on August 5, withdrew special status of Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated the state into Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, which will come into being on October 31.