No legal basis: India rejects Pakistan-China boundary Joint Commission

NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday rejected the so-called Pakistan-China Boundary Joint Commission, saying it had no legal basis and that any boundary cooperation between the two countries concerning Indian territories was completely unacceptable.

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India’s position on the matter was “clear and consistent” and maintained that there was no boundary between Pakistan and China in the area concerned. He was responding to questions about the Pakistan-China Boundary Joint Commission, which held its inaugural meeting in Islamabad on Wednesday.

Jaiswal said the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh “have been, are and will always remain integral and inalienable parts of India”. He added that Pakistan had no locus standi to enter into arrangements concerning Indian territory under what India describes as its illegal and forcible occupation.
India has never recognised the so-called China-Pakistan Boundary Agreement of 1963 and has consistently maintained that it is illegal and invalid, Jaiswal said.

India also opposes and rejects any attempts to alter the status of the occupied territories or legitimise what it describes as illegal occupation, saying such attempts would impinge on its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“Any so-called boundary cooperation between China and Pakistan concerning Indian territories would be completely unacceptable,” Jaiswal said, adding that such arrangements would have no bearing on India’s sovereignty over those territories.

Instead of engaging in “such theatrics”, India called on Pakistan to immediately vacate areas under what it describes as its illegal and forcible occupation, Jaiswal said.