Page 14 - The Indian EYE 112720

OPINION
THe FOrGOTTen FacT OF
“cHina-OccuPied KaSHmir”
Sujan r. cHinOy
ollowing the abrogation
of Article 370 and reor-
Fganisation of the State of
Jammu & Kashmir in August
2019, China strongly criticised
the Indian Home Minister’s
statement in Parliament, in
which he had reiterated India’s
long-standing position that the
state of Jammu & Kashmir in-
cludes Pakistan Occupied Kash-
mir (POK) as well as Aksai Chin.
the fact of the matter is
that the map of india has
always included these ter-
ritories as part of Jammu obfuscated because the inter- China has usurped Kashmir’s played an opportunistic his-
& Kashmir, along with PoK,
including the trans-Kara- between India and Pakistan. of Chinese perfidy and unscru- which should be brought to light
koram tract of shaksgam
which was illegally ceded unnoticed,
by Pakistan to china.
China has become increas-
ingly assertive in backing Pa-
kistan’s moves to agitate the
issue at the international level.
It has tried to trigger discus-
sions in the United Nations
Security Council (UNSC) on
four occasions since then. Si-
multaneously, it has continued
to designate the issue as a bi-
lateral legacy dispute between
India and Pakistan. It has called
upon “both India and Paki-
stan to peaacefully resolve the
relevant disputes through di-
alogue and consultation and
safeguard peace and stability
in the region”. Despite being a
party to the territorial dispute
in Kashmir, China has endeav-
oured to play down the fact.
China’s role as an interested
party and its status as a dispu-
tant in the territorial issue of
Jammu & Kashmir has been
NOVEMBER 27, 2020 | The Indian Eye 14
rial dispute in Jammu & Kash-
mir, it was naturally inclined
towards settlement of the issue
in favour of Pakistan, in order
to preserve its territorial gains
from the 1963 agreement.
Unfortunately, China’s en-
tanglement in the Kashmir is-
sue has not received adequate
attention of the strategic ana-
lysts and commentators, both
in India and externally. China
has had a free run so far and
feels comfortable raising the
issue precisely because its own
status as an occupier of territo-
ry in Jammu & Kashmir has not
indian Army maintains a good position at siachen which is located at a been adequately publicised.
That China is an interested
strategic position in Kashmir. (ANi) party to the dispute and has
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
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
under-reported reptitiously acquiring land that other international fora when-
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
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
China’s growing interest in the is a part of India. China. This would be consistent
Kashmir issue. Former Chief It is a historical fact that the with India’s position on Jammu
Minister of Jammu & Kash- dispute in Kashmir goes beyond & Kashmir in terms of its car-
mir Farooq Abdullah has made the territory that is still under the tographic depictions as well as
an outrageous statement that illegal occupation of Pakistan, statements and resolutions in
Kashmiris would much rather and includes both the territory the Parliament over the years.
measuring 5,180 square kilo-
be under Chinese rule!
In order to understand the metres (sq kms) in the Shaks- Amb. Sujan R. Chinoy is Direc-
Chinese game-plan and its op- gam Valley in the trans-Kara- tor General, Manohar Parrikar
portunistic involvement in the koram tract ceded by Pakistan Institute for Defence Studies and
Kashmir issue, one must revisit to China under their so-called Analyses, New Delhi
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
illegal occupier of Kashmir’s 38,000 sq kms of the territory the author and do not necessarily
territory. There is a need to of the erstwhile state of Jam- reflect the views of the Manohar
Parrikar IDSA or of the Govern-
widely disseminate the facts mu & Kashmir in Aksai Chin ment of India.
about Chinese territorial grab illegally occupied by China.
in the trans-Karakoram tract China’s actions in occupying This is the abridged version of
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
and at the international level. in 1963, did have a direct bear- website (www.idsa.in) of Mano-
Above all, Kashmiris, including ing on the territory of Jammu & har Parrikar Institute for Defense
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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