India has never accepted the so-called China-Pakistan Boundary Agreement of 1963, says MEA
India has lodged a strong protest against China for carrying out construction activity in the Shaksgam Valley, close to the strategic Siachen Glacier, describing it as an "illegal attempt to alter facts on the ground".

Responding to news reports about China building infrastructure in the area, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) maintained that Shaksgam Valley is a part of India. India reserves the right to take necessary steps to safeguard its interests, the ministry stated.

The Valley, located in occupied Kashmir, was ceded to China by Pakistan in 1963. This pact has not been recognised by India, which has consistently rejected it over the years.

"As far as the Shaksgam valley is concerned, we consider it as our own territory, our own area," MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said while responding to questions at the weekly media briefing on Thursday (May 2, 2024).

"We have registered a protest with the Chinese side against illegal attempts to alter facts on the ground. We further reserve the right to take necessary measures to safeguard our interests," he added.

"We have never accepted the so-called China-Pakistan Boundary Agreement of 1963 through which Pakistan unlawfully attempted to cede the area to China, and have consistently conveyed our rejection of the same," he pointed out.

Reports of the latest provocation by China have come even as it is engaged in talks with India at the military as well as diplomatic level to ensure disengagement at the remaining friction points along the border (Line of Actual Control) in Eastern Ladakh.