India Rejects Pakistan–China Boundary Commission, Reaffirms Position on Shaksgam Valley
India has rejected the newly operationalised Pakistan–China Boundary Joint Commission, stating that the mechanism has no legal basis to make arrangements concerning territories that India considers part of its sovereign territory. The response came after Pakistan and China held the commission’s first meeting in Islamabad, with discussions reportedly focusing on border management, joint surveys, trade and connectivity.
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reiterated that India’s position remains clear and consistent. New Delhi maintains that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral and inalienable parts of India and that Pakistan cannot enter into arrangements with another country concerning territories that India says are under its illegal occupation.
The Dispute Over the 1963 China–Pakistan Agreement
The latest development is closely connected to the China–Pakistan Boundary Agreement signed on March 2, 1963. Under that agreement, Pakistan and China demarcated a boundary between China's Xinjiang region and areas then under Pakistan's control. India has never recognised the agreement because it maintains that the territory involved forms part of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
A key area associated with the agreement is the Shaksgam Valley, also known as the Trans-Karakoram Tract. According to India's Ministry of External Affairs, Pakistan ceded around 5,180 square kilometres of Indian territory in the Shaksgam Valley to China through the 1963 arrangement. The Indian government has consistently described the agreement as illegal and invalid and has stated that it does not recognise any territorial changes resulting from it.
What the Joint Commission Will Address
Pakistan and China have described the new commission as a mechanism for managing matters along their claimed common frontier. Its areas of cooperation include border administration, joint boundary surveys, trade facilitation and cross-border connectivity. The first meeting in Islamabad marks the formal operationalisation of the mechanism between the two countries.
For India, however, the issue is not simply about administrative cooperation between two neighbouring countries. New Delhi's objection stems from its position that the areas covered by the Pakistan–China boundary arrangement include Indian territory. Consequently, India maintains that bilateral arrangements between Islamabad and Beijing cannot determine the status of those territories or affect India's claims over them.
Connection With the Wider Regional Dispute
The boundary issue also has a wider strategic dimension because of China's infrastructure and economic cooperation with Pakistan. India has repeatedly objected to the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) because parts of the project pass through areas of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. New Delhi has maintained that development projects in these areas cannot alter their status or prejudice India's territorial claims.
The development also comes against the backdrop of India's broader and separate engagement with China. India and China continue to manage their unresolved boundary differences through diplomatic and military channels, while economic and bilateral exchanges have also continued. Reuters reported earlier this month that relations have moved toward cautious stabilisation since the 2020 Galwan clash, including the implementation of a 2024 disengagement agreement, although several disputes remain unresolved.
India Reaffirms Its Territorial Position
India's latest response therefore reinforces a position it has maintained for decades: arrangements between Pakistan and China concerning territories claimed by India will not be recognised by New Delhi. The government has specifically rejected the 1963 agreement and maintained that subsequent mechanisms based on that arrangement cannot affect India's sovereignty claims.
The issue highlights the continuing complexity of territorial disputes across the Karakoram and Himalayan region, where historical agreements, competing territorial claims and strategic infrastructure projects intersect. The operationalisation of the Pakistan–China commission adds another institutional dimension to a dispute that remains contested by the countries involved.
The MGMM Outlook
The operationalisation of the Pakistan–China Boundary Joint Commission has once again brought attention to the longstanding territorial issue involving Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and the Shaksgam Valley. India has consistently maintained that the 1963 China–Pakistan Boundary Agreement cannot determine the status of territories that India considers part of its sovereign territory. New Delhi’s latest response therefore reiterates its established position that arrangements between Pakistan and China cannot alter India’s territorial claims or create legal consequences for the areas concerned.
The development also highlights the broader strategic importance of the Karakoram region, where territorial claims, connectivity projects and China–Pakistan cooperation intersect. At the same time, India continues to address its boundary-related concerns through diplomatic and other established channels. The latest statement reinforces India’s long-standing position while underlining that questions concerning its territorial integrity remain a matter of national sovereignty and cannot be settled through agreements involving third countries.
(Sources: The Indian Express, OpIndia, Hindustan Times)
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