'China does not recognise Union Territory of Ladakh'

Responding to a question about India building roads along the border, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Tuesday said that China does not recognise the so-called Union Territory of Ladakh illegally established by India. He said that China opposes infrastructure construction in disputed border areas for military control purposes.

New Delhi: In yet another attempt to provoke India and in a shocking response to a question on the recent India-China standoff, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Tuesday said, "China does not recognise the so-called Union Territory of Ladakh illegally established by India, and opposes infrastructure construction in disputed border areas for military control purposes".

The report by Chinese state-affiliated media Global Times quoting Wang Wenbin further stated that according to the recent consensus reached between China and India, neither side should take any actions in border areas that would complicate the situation, so as not to affect the efforts of both sides to ease the situation.

Currently, the two nuclear-armed neighbours are in dangerous border tussle over the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the eastern Ladakh after a violent clash broke out at the Galway valley killing at least 20 soldiers from Indian sides and unconfirmed numbers from the Chinese side.

Earlier, in a joint statement issued on the 6th round of senior Commanders' Meeting between India and China, both the sides agreed to stop sending troops to the frontline, refrain from unilaterally changing the situation on the ground, and avoid taking any actions that may complicate the situation.

The two sides had candid and in-depth exchanges of views on stabilising the situation along the LAC in the India-China border areas. They agreed to earnestly implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, strengthen communication on the ground, avoid misunderstanding misjudgements, stop sending more troops to the frontline, refrain from unilaterally changing the situation on the ground, and avoid taking any actions that may complicate the situation, it stated.

According to sources, in 2019, Beijing has stated that the “unilateral” changes India made to the status of the former state of Jammu and Kashmir by splitting it into two separate union territories were illegal and invalid.

Responding to a query on the impact of Indian decision one year later, Wenbin had stated that Beijing has been closely following the situation in Kashmir.

“China follows closely the situation in the Kashmir region. China’s position on the Kashmir issue is clear and consistent. This issue is a dispute leftover from history between Pakistan and India. That is an objective fact as laid out by the UN Charter, UN Security Council resolutions and the bilateral agreements between Pakistan and India.”

“Any unilateral change to the status quo is illegal and invalid. This issue should be properly resolved peacefully through dialogue and consultations between the parties concerned,” Wang said.

He had stated that Pakistan and India are neighbours “…that cannot be moved away. Co-existence serves the fundamental interests of both and the common aspiration of the international community",