China Protests Creation Of Two New Union Territories By India, Must Vacate Tibet Forthwith
China has again played the same old tune by making a statement on creation of UT of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladhak. They say it is “unlawful and void” and it affects Beijing’s sovereignty.
India has now hit back saying China should avoid commenting on matters that are internal for India and Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir are integral parts of the country.
Apart from this China forgets that it has forcefully occupied Tibet and which the Tibetan people, the people of India and the Indian Parliament have not accepted. Tibetans will keep fighting for their freedom and Indians will back them.
Indian MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar responded by “We expect other countries to respect India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. China continues to be in occupation of a large tract of area in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
It has illegally acquired Indian territories from PoK under so called China-Pakistan boundary agreement of 1963. We do not expect other countries, including China, to comment on the matters which are internal to India just as India refrains from commenting on internal issues of other countries. The Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh are integral part of India.”
Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated on Thursday into two union territories — Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh — in accordance with the Indian government’s August 5 announcement revoking the state’s special status under Article 370.
The functioning of the two UTs at a bureaucratic level came into effect even as normal life remained unaffected across most of the Kashmir valley. Girish Chandra Murmu was sworn in as the first Lieutenant Governor of the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
China had earlier objected to the Indian government’s August 5 order of the revocation of Article 370 and the formation of Ladakh as Union Territory, saying that some of the area involved Chinese territory.
China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told the media in Beijing on Thursday, “The Indian government officially announced the establishment of so-called Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh Union Territories which included some of China’s territory into its administrative jurisdiction.
China deplores and firmly opposes that. India unilaterally changed its domestic laws and administrative division challenging China’s sovereignty. This is unlawful and void and this is not effective in any way and will not change that fact that the area is under Chinese actual control.”
Geng forgot that making such statements will not cut any ice with India. The sovereign actions of India cannot be held hostage to such ludicrous comments from any source. India too can issue such comments on Hong Kong, Xhinjiang, Taiwan, South China Sea etc.
Geng further urged India to “earnestly respect Chinese territorial sovereignty, abide by our treaties and uphold peace and tranquillity in the border areas and create favourable conditions for proper settlement of boundary question.”
“I believe this includes cooperation in people-to -people exchanges. Cooperation between China and India grew fast in the past years. And we have mechanism for people-to-people exchange. In many areas we have fruitful outcomes.
I believe this contributes to our mutual understanding and trust and we will work with the Indian side under the people-to-people exchange mechanisms to work for greater mutual understanding and trust between our peoples,” he said.
India has rightly hit back and said that China continues to be in occupation of a large tract of area in the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Asserting that the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are integral part of India, the MEA spokesperson said India expects other countries to respect its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Geng has shown cleverness by urging India to “earnestly respect Chinese territorial sovereignty, abide by our treaties and uphold peace and tranquillity in the border areas and create favourable conditions for proper settlement of boundary question. He also reiterated China’s old tune on the Kashmir issue.
“It is a dispute left from history and it should be properly and peacefully resolved based on the UN charter, the relevant UNSC resolutions and other bilateral treaties and relevant side should resolve dispute through dialogue and consultations and uphold regional peace and stability,” Geng said.
To a question on Pakistani media reports noting a trust deficit between China and India in light of President Xi Jinping’s recent visit to Chennai, Geng said, “Regarding President Xi and Prime Minister Modi’s meeting in Chennai, I believe both sides have released statements and press releases and both sides exchanged views on the global, regional, long term and strategy issues in a friendly atmosphere and agreed to develop closer partnerships.”
Geng forgets that such statements as issued by him are quite counterproductive and negate all the work of his boss Xi Jinping.
