The Pakistan-China Boundary Joint Commission

#GS-2 #Current Events #International #National #India-China Relations #Border Management

Key takeaways

India rejected the Pakistan-China Boundary Joint Commission formed under the illegal Sino-Pakistan Boundary Agreement of March 2, 1963.
Through the 1963 agreement, Pakistan illegally gave away 5,180 sq km of Indian territory in the Shaksgam Valley to China.
The commission was operationalised shortly after the 18th BRICS Summit held in New Delhi.
India maintains that Pakistan has no legal standing as Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh are integral parts of India, meaning Pakistan and China do not share a common border.

India has strongly rejected the newly started Pakistan-China Boundary Joint Commission after its first meeting in Islamabad.
The Indian government stated that this joint bilateral group has no legal authority to exist.

This is a joint official group created by Pakistan and China.
They want to manage border security and trade along the boundary between Xinjiang and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
This area includes Gilgit-Baltistan and the Trans-Karakoram Tract which Pakistan gave to China.

The commission gets its base from the controversial Sino-Pakistan Boundary Agreement of March 2, 1963.
Under this illegal pact, Pakistan gave away about 5,180 sq km of Indian land in the Shaksgam Valley to China.
The two countries started this commission just days after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited New Delhi for the 18th BRICS Summit.
During that summit, India and China had agreed to keep peace along the Line of Actual Control.

The main goal of this commission is to improve cooperation on border security.
It will conduct joint land surveys and control trade routes.
The group also aims to build better roads and transport links in the border areas.

Senior diplomats from both nations lead the commission.
The co-chairs are Li Ya from China and Bilal Mahmood Chaudhary from Pakistan.
The team has the power to carry out regular physical checks of the border.
They will mark boundary lines and verify border pillars near the Karakoram passes.
The group aims to improve customs rules and check-posts like the Khunjerab Pass.
This will help secure trade routes connected to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
It plans to simplify travel permits for local people and manage seasonal trade.
It will also handle emergencies along the shared border area.

India maintains that Pakistan and China do not share any direct international border.
The Indian territories of Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh actually separate the two nations.
The government strongly states that the entire region of Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh is an inseparable part of India.
This has always been the case and will not change.
India asserts that Pakistan has no legal right or standing to make border deals.
Pakistan cannot sign agreements about Indian lands that it occupies illegally.
India completely rejects the Sino-Pakistan Boundary Agreement of 1963.
The government declares that neither this old pact nor any new joint commission can affect India's legal ownership of these lands.