NEW DELHI – A release by the Ministry of External Affairs of India on Indiaand China Foreign Ministers Jaishankar-Wang meet said it was India’s”internal matter” to remove the special status for erstwhile state of Jammuand Kashmir “aimed at promoting better governance and socio-economicdevelopment”.

The release further said, “There was no implication for either the externalboundaries of India or the LAC with China. India was not raising anyadditional territorial claims. The Chinese concerns in this regard weretherefore misplaced”

Line of Actual Control or LAC is the demarcation line between India in theunion territory of Ladakh and China-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

The Chinese Foreign Minister had raised the issue publicly at media forum,saying, “There are some differences between our two countries, we don’t shyaway from those differences.

We exchanged view on those matters in a candid manner. Regarding recenttensions between India and Pakistan, we made clear concerns and issuesregarding China’s sovereignty, we stated China’s principled position.”