Beijing: China, which is closely watching India’s moves in scrapping the special status of Kashmir, has said that they are concerned about the situation in Kashmir and that revoking Article 370 undermines its territorial sovereignty referring to Aksai Chin.
However, the Chinese government has granted visas to all the pilgrims to the Kailash Mansarovar Yathra. Earlier, China was delaying issuing the visas to two batches of pilgrims for the Yathra.
Spokesperson of Chinese Foreign Ministry, Hua Chunying asked both countries for restraint. She also said that India should avoid “unilateral” actions that could lead to tensions between the two countries.
She said that the Kashmir issue is a legacy of history between India and Pakistan which is also a consensus of the international community. This statement is in clearly against India’s stand that the Kashmir issue is bilateral and no third party intervention is necessary.
The Chinese diplomat said, “China’s position on the Kashmir issue is clear and consistent. This issue is a legacy of history between India and Pakistan, which is also the consensus of the international community.”
However, the Chinese main concern lies in the region of Aksai Chin which they claim as part of Chinese territory. Amit Shah had recently declared in Parliament that Pakistan occupied Kashmir and Aksai Chin are both part of India.
This might have led alarm bells ringing in the power corridors of Beijing. Hua Chunying touched upon this matter by saying, “China always opposes India’s inclusion of Chinese territory in the western section of the China-India boundary under its administrative jurisdiction. This position is firm and consistent and has never changed. The recent unilateral revision of domestic laws by the Indian side continues to undermine China’s territorial sovereignty, which is unacceptable and will not have any effect.”
China which has border issues with most of its neighbours, including India, might favour its all-weather friend Pakistan in the Kashmir issue. Furthermore, they might use Pakistan to leverage their hold over Aksai Chin.
