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OPINION                                                               NOVEMBER 27, 2020  |        The Indian Eye                          14




                       THe FOrGOTTen FacT OF



          “cHina-OccuPied KaSHmir”






        Sujan r. cHinOy                                                                                               rial dispute in Jammu & Kash-
                                                                                                                      mir,  it was naturally  inclined
               ollowing  the  abrogation                                                                              towards settlement of the issue
               of  Article  370 and reor-                                                                             in favour of Pakistan, in order
        Fganisation of the State of                                                                                   to preserve its territorial gains
        Jammu & Kashmir in August                                                                                     from the 1963 agreement.
        2019, China strongly criticised                                                                                  Unfortunately, China’s en-
        the Indian Home Minister’s                                                                                    tanglement in the Kashmir is-
        statement in Parliament, in                                                                                   sue has not received adequate
        which he had reiterated India’s                                                                               attention of the strategic ana-
        long-standing position that the                                                                               lysts and commentators, both
        state of Jammu & Kashmir in-                                                                                  in  India  and externally. China
        cludes Pakistan Occupied Kash-                                                                                has had a free run so far and
        mir (POK) as well as Aksai Chin.                                                                              feels comfortable raising the
                                                                                                                      issue precisely because its own
                                                                                                                      status as an occupier of territo-
        the fact of the matter is                                                                                     ry in Jammu & Kashmir has not
        that the map of india has              indian Army maintains a good position at siachen which is located at a   been adequately publicised.
                                                                                                                         That China is an interested
        always included these ter-                              strategic position in Kashmir. (ANi)                  party to the dispute and has

        ritories as part of Jammu  obfuscated because the inter- China has usurped Kashmir’s  played an opportunistic his-

        & Kashmir, along with PoK,           national narrative has been  territory. This special feature  torical  role  in  adding  to  the
                                             limited to the bilateral dispute  provides a historical account  complexity of the issue is a fact
        including the trans-Kara- between India and Pakistan.  of Chinese perfidy and unscru- which should be brought to light
        koram tract of shaksgam              Even in Kashmir, the Chinese  pulous  manoeuvres  since  the  in scholarly writings as well as
                                             subterfuge has largely gone  colonial days, aimed at sur- in statements at the UN or any
        which was illegally ceded  unnoticed,                 under-reported reptitiously acquiring land that  other international fora when-

        by Pakistan to china.                and under-analysed. Following  rightfully belonged to the erst- ever the occasion presents itself
                                             China’s interference in India’s  while princely state of Jammu  in response to Pakistan raking

            China has become increas-        internal affairs,  some Kashmi- & Kashmir, and, following its  up the issue of Jammu & Kash-
                                             ri leaders have even welcomed  accession on October 26, 1947,  mir, singly or in tandem with
        ingly assertive in backing Pa-       China’s growing interest in the  is a part of India.                     China. This would be consistent
        kistan’s moves to agitate the        Kashmir issue. Former Chief             It is a historical fact that the  with India’s position on Jammu
        issue at the international level.    Minister of Jammu & Kash- dispute in Kashmir goes beyond  & Kashmir in terms of its car-
        It has tried to trigger discus-
        sions  in  the  United  Nations      mir Farooq Abdullah has made  the territory that is still under the  tographic depictions as well as
        Security Council (UNSC) on           an outrageous statement that  illegal occupation of Pakistan,  statements and resolutions in
        four occasions since then. Si-       Kashmiris would much rather  and includes both the territory  the Parliament over the years.
                                                                                 measuring 5,180 square kilo-
                                             be under Chinese rule!
        multaneously, it has continued          In order to understand the  metres (sq kms) in the Shaks-              Amb. Sujan R. Chinoy is Direc-
        to designate the issue as a bi-      Chinese game-plan and its op- gam Valley in the trans-Kara-               tor General, Manohar Parrikar
        lateral legacy dispute between
        India and Pakistan. It has called    portunistic involvement in the  koram tract ceded by Pakistan  Institute for Defence Studies and
        upon “both India and Paki-           Kashmir issue, one must revisit  to China under their so-called                Analyses, New Delhi
        stan to peaacefully resolve the      history to assess the full extent  border agreement of March 02,               Views expressed are of
                                             of China’s insidious role as an  1963, as well as approximately
        relevant disputes through di-        illegal occupier of Kashmir’s  38,000 sq kms of the territory            the author and do not necessarily
        alogue and consultation and          territory. There is a need to  of the erstwhile state of Jam-             reflect the views of the Manohar
        safeguard peace and stability                                                                                  Parrikar IDSA or of the Govern-
        in the region”. Despite being a      widely  disseminate  the  facts  mu & Kashmir in Aksai Chin                        ment of India.
        party to the territorial dispute     about  Chinese territorial  grab  illegally occupied by China.
        in Kashmir, China has endeav-        in the trans-Karakoram tract            China’s actions in occupying       This is the abridged version of
        oured to play down the fact.         in order to raise public aware- Aksai Chin, and subsequently,              the article which appeared first
                                                                                                                        in the Comment section of the
                                             ness of the issue, both in India  in usurping the Shaksgam tract
            China’s role as an interested    and at the international level.  in 1963, did have a direct bear-         website (www.idsa.in) of Mano-
        party and its status as a dispu-     Above all, Kashmiris, including  ing on the territory of Jammu &  har Parrikar Institute for Defense
        tant in the territorial issue of
        Jammu & Kashmir has been             those in POK, should be made  Kashmir. Given that China had  Studies and Analyses, New Delhi
                                             aware of the manner in which  become a party to the territo-                  on November 20, 2020


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