China provokes again, claims Shaksgam Valley based on illegal 1963 deal with Pakistan: Know why this Himalayan territory was always a part of India

Even as efforts are being made to improve bilateral relations between India and China, territorial claims continue to cause friction between the two countries. The fresh tensions are triggered by China’s construction of infrastructure, including a new road, in the Shaksgam Valley. While China is asserting that the region is a part of its ‘sovereign territory’, India has called this a blatant violation of its territorial integrity.

India and China engage in a war of words over territorial claims on the Shaksgam Valley

Days after China made a delusional claim that the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh is a Chinese territory named ‘Zangnan’, China provoked India again by asserting its illegal claim over the Shaksgam Valley, which is a part of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir (PoK) illegally ceded to China in 1963.

In response to a question during a press meet on 12th January, Mao Ning, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said, “First of all, the territory you mentioned is part of China’s territory. The Chinese side has been implementing infrastructure and construction activities in its own territory. China signed a border agreement with Pakistan in the 1960s, which determined the borders between the two countries as an authority for Central Asia as their sovereign state in the 1970s.”

Regarding India’s objections to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which passes through the Indian territory illegally occupied by Pakistan, Ning said, “You mentioned China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, as an initiative to promote local economic development and improvement. The border agreement between China does affect its position on Kashmir, and China’s position remains unchanged in this regard.”

#BREAKING: China provoked India yet again, claiming Indian territory as their own. Chinese Foreign Minister Spokesperson has rejected India's claim to the Shaksgam Valley in Jammu & Kashmir.

"The territory you mentioned belongs to China. It’s fully justified for China to conduct… pic.twitter.com/HY2yBekBZ7

— Aditya Raj Kaul (@AdityaRajKaul) January 13, 2026

China’s provocative remarks come after India rejected China’s “efforts to change the ground reality in the Shaksgam Valley”. New Delhi stated that it reserves the right to take requisite measures to protect its interests in the region.

During a press conference on January 9, Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, stated that India has never recognised the illegal and invalid 1963 Sino-Pakistan Agreement, under which Pakistan ceded the Shaksgam Valley to China. He added that India has also rejected the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which passes through territory that is “forcibly and illegally occupied” by Pakistan.

“Regarding Chinese infrastructure buildup via CPEC, as also in the Shaksgam Valley, which is Indian territory. We have never recognised the so-called China-Pakistan boundary agreement of 1963. We have consistently maintained that the agreement is illegal and invalid. We do not recognise the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) either, which passes through Indian territory that is under forcible and illegal occupation of Pakistan,” the MEA spokesperson said.

#MEABriefing ||

The Ministry of External Affairs (@MEAIndia) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal expresses concerns over Chinese infra development in the Shaksgam Valley.

He says, 'Shaksgam valley is Indian territory' & 'We have consistently protested with the Chinese side against… pic.twitter.com/T3ZAmF7Pty

— All India Radio News (@airnewsalerts) January 9, 2026

The MEA spokesperson reiterated India’s position that the entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are “an integral and inalienable part of India.”

“We have consistently protested with the Chinese side against attempts to alter the ground reality in the Shaksgam Valley. We further reserve the right to take necessary measures to safeguard our interests,” he said.

China has been building infrastructure in the Shaksgam Valley over the years

Various media reports claim that around 75 kilometres of a 10-meter-wide road has already been constructed by China in the Shaksgam Valley, while further construction continues. Earlier, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) built a 36-kilometre stretch of the road. With the continuous construction of this road, China is inching closer to India’s Siachen.

Satellite Imagery shows that this road is connected to two Chinese military posts outside the Shaksgam Valley. One of the could be the headquarters of the PLA unit operating in the area. The road holds significance as it lies in the Trans-Karakoram Tract region, which is historically a part of Kashmir, and the entire Jammu and Kashmir, including the PoK and the Shaksgam Valley, ceded illegally by Pakistan to China, belongs to India.

Back in 2021, the illegal authorities in the Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan announced plans for constructing a new road connecting Muzaffarabad to Mustagh Pass, which sits on the Pakistan border with the Shaksgam Valley. It was reported that this road would be connected with Yarkand in Xinjiang, meaning that the road would likely pass through the Shaksgam Valley to link with China’s national highway G219.

While the road may have been constructed for the transportation of minerals like Uranium mined in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan, China and Pakistan can use the road for military manoeuvres in the face of a full-fledged conflict with India.

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