Pakistan-China border pact has riled India

NEW DELHI, Sept 21: Pakistan and China have formalised a joint mechanism to manage their Himalayan frontier, drawing a strong response from India over territory New Delhi claims as its own, the BBC reports.

The two countries signed the Pakistan-China Boundary Joint Commission last week. Pakistan described the move as a significant step towards cooperation on border management, trade and connectivity.

India rejected the agreement, saying it has no legal basis because New Delhi does not recognise any Pakistan-China boundary in territory it claims as Indian.

“There is no boundary between Pakistan and China,” Indian foreign ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said, adding that Pakistan had no right to enter arrangements concerning what India considers territory under its “illegal and forcible occupation.”

The commission covers the Pakistan-China frontier, including the Shaksgam Valley, a roughly 5,180-square-kilometre area that Pakistan ceded to China in 1963. India claims the territory as part of Ladakh and has never recognised the 1963 agreement, considering it illegal and invalid.

Pakistan maintains that Jammu and Kashmir is disputed territory and argues that India therefore has no standing to challenge its boundary agreement with China. Islamabad considers the 1963 agreement valid.

The development comes as India and China are attempting to stabilise relations after years of military tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the disputed line separating their forces across much of their Himalayan frontier. At the same time, China and Pakistan are strengthening cooperation along another section of the frontier claimed by India.

Jabin Jacob, a professor at Delhi’s Shiv Nadar University, said the latest development represents the revival of a mechanism already envisaged under the 1963 Sino-Pakistan agreement rather than an entirely new arrangement.

Jacob told the BBC that the timing could reflect China’s broader efforts to demarcate its borders and institutionalise movement and exchanges along the frontier. He said the development could concern India, particularly because Article 6 of the 1963 agreement provided for its renegotiation after the Kashmir dispute was settled with whichever country ultimately controlled the territory.

The frontier already has extensive infrastructure linking Pakistan and China, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the Karakoram Highway.

Husain Haqqani, a former Pakistani ambassador to the United States, said the commission has both practical and political implications. It could improve border cooperation, prevent illegal crossings and protect strategic infrastructure connected to CPEC. At the same time, he said, it signals that Beijing continues to view the Kashmir issue through Pakistan’s perspective.

Haqqani said the arrangement also has strategic value for China by deepening its partnership with Pakistan and reinforcing India’s concerns about pressure from both China and Pakistan.�" BBC