India rejects Pakistan-China’s ‘so-called’ boundary commission—‘no boundary between them’
India's Ministry of External Affairs rejected a proposed Pakistan-China "joint boundary commission," stating there is no legitimate boundary between the two countries in the areas concerned since the territory in question lies in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
The Ministry reiterated that Pakistan has no locus standi (legal authority) to enter into agreements affecting Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, which it maintains are integral and inalienable parts of India.
India reaffirmed that it does not recognise the 1963 Pakistan-China Boundary Agreement, under which Pakistan ceded the Shaksgam Valley (Trans-Karakoram Tract) to China, calling that agreement illegal and invalid.
India called on Pakistan to vacate all areas under what it terms illegal and forcible occupation.
The 1963 Sino-Pakistan Boundary Agreement and the Shaksgam Valley
Under an agreement signed on 2 March 1963, Pakistan provisionally ceded control of the Shaksgam Valley (also called the Trans-Karakoram Tract), a high-altitude region north of the Siachen Glacier, to China, pending final resolution of the Kashmir dispute. India has consistently rejected this agreement because it concerns territory India claims as part of the former princely state of Jammu & Kashmir.
Key Details
- Approximate area ceded: about 5,180 sq km of the Shaksgam Valley/Trans-Karakoram Tract.
- Article 6 of the 1963 agreement itself describes the boundary as provisional, to be renegotiated once the "sovereign authority" (i.e., the Kashmir dispute) is settled — a clause India cites to argue the agreement has no permanent legal validity.
- India's objection rests on the position that Pakistan's occupation of PoK/Gilgit-Baltistan itself being illegal, it had no sovereign right to transfer any part of that territory to a third country.
- The region borders China's Xinjiang to the north and Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan to the south/west, making it strategically significant for connectivity projects such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The proposed "boundary commission" is the latest instance of Pakistan-China cooperation over this contested territory; India's rejection is consistent with its five-decade-old refusal to recognise the underlying 1963 agreement or any follow-on arrangements built on it.
India's Territorial Position on Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh and PoK
India's official position, reiterated regularly in Parliament and MEA statements, is that the entire former princely state of Jammu & Kashmir (including present-day Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, and the Shaksgam Valley) acceded to India via the Instrument of Accession signed by Maharaja Hari Singh on 26 October 1947, making these areas integral parts of India regardless of current physical control.
Key Details
- India distinguishes between the Line of Control (LoC) — the de facto military ceasefire line with Pakistan formalised under the Simla Agreement of 1972 — and the international boundary; the LoC is not a legally recognised international border.
- Parliament has passed unanimous resolutions (e.g., 1994) asserting that PoK, including Gilgit-Baltistan, is an integral part of India and that Pakistan must vacate the areas under its occupation.
- India routinely objects to third-country infrastructure or connectivity projects (e.g., CPEC, and any Pakistan-China boundary arrangements) that pass through or reference PoK/Gilgit-Baltistan/Shaksgam, framing them as violations of India's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
The rejection of the "boundary commission" is grounded in this consistent legal position: since India considers PoK (and by extension Shaksgam) as its own sovereign territory, no bilateral Pakistan-China mechanism over it can have any standing in India's view.
- 1963 Sino-Pakistan Boundary Agreement signed: 2 March 1963.
- Area of Shaksgam Valley/Trans-Karakoram Tract ceded by Pakistan to China: approximately 5,180 sq km.
- Instrument of Accession (J&K to India): signed 26 October 1947.
- Simla Agreement establishing the Line of Control with Pakistan: signed 2 July 1972.
- Shaksgam Valley lies north of the Siachen Glacier, bordered by China's Xinjiang region and Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan.