The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has firmly reiterated India's longstanding position on the Shaksgam Valley, dismissing China's activities under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) as illegal and invalid.

This statement emerged during a weekly press briefing on 16 January 2026, where spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal referred journalists to prior clarifications, underscoring New Delhi's unwavering stance.

Just days earlier, on 9 January, Jaiswal had explicitly rejected the 1963 China-Pakistan boundary agreement as illegitimate. He emphasised that Shaksgam Valley constitutes Indian territory, never recognised by India as having been legitimately transferred by Pakistan, which holds it under forcible occupation.

India has consistently protested CPEC projects traversing this region, viewing them as encroachments on sovereign soil. Jaiswal reaffirmed that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, including Ladakh, remain integral and inalienable parts of India, with New Delhi reserving the right to safeguard its interests through necessary measures.

Shaksgam Valley, also termed the Trans-Karakoram Tract, spans over 5,000 square kilometres in the harsh, inhospitable terrain of the Hunza-Gilgit region. Situated north of the Siachen Glacier, it borders China's Xinjiang to the north and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to the south and west, rendering it a linchpin in India's northern security architecture.

Its strategic value cannot be overstated. Proximity to Siachen—the world's highest battlefield—allows India to monitor Pakistani movements closely, while the nearby Karakoram Pass offers oversight of Chinese activities. Any developments here ripple across both the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China and the Line of Control (LoC) with Pakistan.

Historically, Pakistan controlled the area until 1963, when it ceded Shaksgam—along with the Yarkand River region—to China via a boundary agreement. India has always contested this, arguing that Pakistan lacked any legal authority to alienate territory belonging to Jammu and Kashmir, then under illegal occupation.

China, in response, has brushed aside India's objections. On Monday preceding the MEA briefing, spokesperson Mao Ning asserted that the territory belongs unequivocally to China, justifying infrastructure builds as sovereign rights. She cited the 1960s boundary pact with Pakistan as a legitimate demarcation between two sovereign states.

This position lays bare a glaring contradiction in Beijing's rhetoric. China routinely frames the Kashmir dispute as a bilateral India-Pakistan matter, yet pursues aggressive development in Pakistan-occupied segments of Kashmir, including Shaksgam, through CPEC.

Geostrategic analysts highlight China's "salami-slicing" tactics—incremental encroachments that cumulatively erode status quo without triggering outright conflict. By mid-2024, China had reportedly paved a road over the 4,805-metre Aghil Pass into lower Shaksgam, positioning construction crews and possible patrols within 50 kilometres of India-held Indira Col on Siachen.

Such advances heighten vulnerabilities along India's northern frontiers. Enhanced Chinese connectivity could facilitate rapid troop deployments, threatening Siachen's flanks and complicating logistics for Indian forces already contending with extreme altitudes.

CPEC itself, a flagship Belt and Road Initiative project, snakes through Gilgit-Baltistan—another Pakistan-administered area India claims as its own. Shaksgam infrastructure bolsters this corridor, linking Xinjiang to Pakistan's Gwadar port and amplifying Sino-Pak strategic depth against India.

India's non-recognition of the 1963 agreement aligns with its broader territorial assertions. New Delhi views the entire princely state of Jammu and Kashmir, acceded in 1947, as indivisible, rejecting all unilateral alterations by Pakistan or China.

Past diplomatic notes underscore this resolve. India has lodged protests with Beijing over Shaksgam alterations, from road-building to potential military outposts, demanding cessation to preserve pre-1963 realities.

China's rebuttals remain formulaic, often pivoting to calls for bilateral talks while advancing faits accomplis on the ground. Mao Ning's recent remarks exemplify this, prioritising "legitimate" development over India's sovereignty claims.

The timing of MEA's reiteration is telling, coinciding with escalated CPEC activity amid thawing India-China border tensions post-Galwan. It signals New Delhi's intent to deter further salami slices, particularly as winter thaws could usher renewed patrolling seasons.

For India's defence posture, Shaksgam implications extend to high-altitude warfare capabilities. Proximity demands bolstered surveillance via UAVs, satellites, and possibly indigenous hypersonic assets to counter dual threats from China and Pakistan.

Indigenous production ramps up in response—think DRDO's Pinaka rockets, Akash missiles, and Project Kusha for long-range interception—tailored to secure Siachen and Karakoram vantage points against CPEC-enabled incursions.

Geopolitically, this impasse strains the trilateral dynamic. Pakistan's cession locked in anti-India alignment with China, while India's protests isolate CPEC's legitimacy on global forums, from the UN to Quad dialogues.

Experts warn of a tipping point. Continued Chinese consolidation risks altering Siachen's tactical equilibrium, potentially forcing India into pre-emptive postures or multilateral escalations.

India's reserved rights to "necessary measures" evoke quiet deterrence—diplomatic, military, or otherwise. Historical precedents, like Operation Meghdoot securing Siachen in 1984, illustrate resolve to hold high ground.

As CPEC evolves into a militarised artery, New Delhi must calibrate responses: ramping border infrastructure via BRO projects, enhancing QUAD interoperability, and leveraging economic statecraft against Belt and Road overreach.

Shaksgam embodies unresolved post-colonial cartography, where India's claims clash with Sino-Pak revisionism. MEA's firm line reaffirms that New Delhi will not cede ground—literally or figuratively—in this high-stakes Himalayan chessboard.

Based On ANI Report