China provokes India again! New Delhi lodges protest after Beijing builds road through Shaksgam Valley
03 May 2024 11:43:18
New Delhi, May 3: As China is busy finding new ways to provoke India, New Delhi lodged a protest with Beijing over its road construction in Shaksgam Valley, a part of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) ceded to Beijing in 1963, that can connect Muzaffarabad through the Mustagh Pass to Yarkahnd in Xinjiang.
Notably, satellite pictures surfaced about the construction of a road in the Shaksgam Valley. The images were captured by the European Space Agency. The infra development by China could have serious security implications for India as it is a strategically key region that is part of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Besides, such satellite images also surfaced in April by a satellite imagery watcher on X, formerly Twitter, who goes by the handle @natureDesai.
The images indicated that the road was breaching the Indian border at Aghil Pass and entered the lower Shaksgam valley of Kashmir - a place which is less than 30 miles away from Siachen.
The construction work reportedly resumed this month, which advanced towards areas north of Siachen Glacier. The Chinese road was also seen approaching Aghil Pass.
"Shaksgam Valley is a part of the territory of India. 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,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told the media.
“We have registered our 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”.
New Delhi has in the past, too, objected to Chinese construction activity in the Shaksgam Valley, the pace of which gathered steam after the 2017 stand-off in Bhutan’s Doklam. By lodging at least two protests in the past two years on road construction in Shaksgam Valley, India has made it clear to China that it has the right to protect its territory and will take measures to ensure that road construction is halted in the illegally occupied territory.
What happened?
Notably, satellite pictures surfaced about the construction of a road in the Shaksgam Valley. The images were captured by the European Space Agency. The infra development by China could have serious security implications for India as it is a strategically key region that is part of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Besides, such satellite images also surfaced in April by a satellite imagery watcher on X, formerly Twitter, who goes by the handle @natureDesai.
The images indicated that the road was breaching the Indian border at Aghil Pass and entered the lower Shaksgam valley of Kashmir - a place which is less than 30 miles away from Siachen.
The construction work reportedly resumed this month, which advanced towards areas north of Siachen Glacier. The Chinese road was also seen approaching Aghil Pass.
India lodges protest
"Shaksgam Valley is a part of the territory of India. 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,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told the media.
“We have registered our 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”.
New Delhi has in the past, too, objected to Chinese construction activity in the Shaksgam Valley, the pace of which gathered steam after the 2017 stand-off in Bhutan’s Doklam. By lodging at least two protests in the past two years on road construction in Shaksgam Valley, India has made it clear to China that it has the right to protect its territory and will take measures to ensure that road construction is halted in the illegally occupied territory.