NEW DELHI: The government on Friday reiterated in Parliament that the bridge China is constructing on Pangong Lake is located in areas that have continued to be under China’s illegal occupation since 1962 and that India has never accepted this illegal occupation.
Replying to a written question in Lok Sabhajunior minister for external affairs V Muraleedharan also said India’s approach to the eastern Ladakh LAC disengagement talks will continue to be guided by three key principles – both sides strictly respect and observe the LAC, neither side attempts to alter the status quo unilaterally and that both fully abide by all bilateral agreements in their entirety.
“The government has made it clear on several occasions that the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral part of India and we expect other countries to respect India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said the minister, responding to a query on China’s bridge construction.
As regards disengagement in the remaining areas along the LAC in eastern Ladakh, he said India and China have maintained dialogue through both diplomatic and military channels. He said India’s approach in these talks has been and will continue to be guided by the stated principles.
The minister also said the government had noted reports of renaming of some places by China in Arunachal Pradesh and that this was a futile exercise that will not alter the fact that the state had always been, is and will always be an integral part of India.
In a response to another question, the minister recalled that China continued to be in illegal occupation of approximately 38,000 sq km of Indian territory in the Union Territory of Ladakh For the past six decades and that under the so-called China-Pakistan ‘Boundary Agreement’ signed in 1963, Pakistan illegally ceded 5,180 sq km of Indian territory in Shaksgam Valley from areas illegally occupied by Pakistan in Ladakh to China.
“Government of India has never recognized the so-called China-Pakistan “Boundary Agreement” of 1963 and has consistently maintained that it is illegal and invalid. The fact that the entire Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral and inalienable part of India has been clearly conveyed to Pakistani and Chinese authorities several times,” he said.
According to the minister, the government is giving “careful and specific” attention to the improvement of infrastructure for the development of border areas in order to facilitate the economic development of these areas as also to meet India’s strategic and security requirements.
“The government also keeps a constant watch on all developments having a bearing on India’s security and takes all necessary steps to ensure that our security interests are fully protected,” he said.
Replying to a written question in Lok Sabhajunior minister for external affairs V Muraleedharan also said India’s approach to the eastern Ladakh LAC disengagement talks will continue to be guided by three key principles – both sides strictly respect and observe the LAC, neither side attempts to alter the status quo unilaterally and that both fully abide by all bilateral agreements in their entirety.
“The government has made it clear on several occasions that the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral part of India and we expect other countries to respect India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” said the minister, responding to a query on China’s bridge construction.
As regards disengagement in the remaining areas along the LAC in eastern Ladakh, he said India and China have maintained dialogue through both diplomatic and military channels. He said India’s approach in these talks has been and will continue to be guided by the stated principles.
The minister also said the government had noted reports of renaming of some places by China in Arunachal Pradesh and that this was a futile exercise that will not alter the fact that the state had always been, is and will always be an integral part of India.
In a response to another question, the minister recalled that China continued to be in illegal occupation of approximately 38,000 sq km of Indian territory in the Union Territory of Ladakh For the past six decades and that under the so-called China-Pakistan ‘Boundary Agreement’ signed in 1963, Pakistan illegally ceded 5,180 sq km of Indian territory in Shaksgam Valley from areas illegally occupied by Pakistan in Ladakh to China.
“Government of India has never recognized the so-called China-Pakistan “Boundary Agreement” of 1963 and has consistently maintained that it is illegal and invalid. The fact that the entire Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral and inalienable part of India has been clearly conveyed to Pakistani and Chinese authorities several times,” he said.
According to the minister, the government is giving “careful and specific” attention to the improvement of infrastructure for the development of border areas in order to facilitate the economic development of these areas as also to meet India’s strategic and security requirements.
“The government also keeps a constant watch on all developments having a bearing on India’s security and takes all necessary steps to ensure that our security interests are fully protected,” he said.
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