NEW DELHI – India on Saturday released a new political map of India showingthe administrative boundaries of the newly formed Union Territories ofJammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
“New Map showing the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, asthese exist after 31st October, 2019 (sic),” India’s Minister of State inPrime Minister Office Jitendra Singh tweeted along with map.
The home ministry also issued a separate notification with the details ofboundaries which shows Aksai Chin, which is currently administered byChina, as part India’s Ladakh.
The Chinese foreign ministry strongly objected to New Delhi’s move onKashmir.
“India unilaterally changes its domestic laws and administrative divisionschallenging China’s sovereignty. This is unlawful and void and this is noteffective in any way and will not change the fact that the area is underactual Chinese control,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuangsaid.
The Indian foreign ministry, in reply, termed China’s statement aninterference in India’s internal affairs.
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“We do not expect other countries including China to comment on the matterwhich is internal to India; just as India refrains from commenting oninternal issues of other countries,” said ministry spokesperson RaveeshKumar.
The administrative status of the state changed after the Indian Parliamentabrogated Article 370, providing special status to the former state.
India, for its part, has accused China of the “illegal occupation of largetracts of areas in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh”claiming that “it has illegally acquired Indian territories fromPakistan-administered Kashmir under the China-Pakistan Boundary Agreementof 1963.”
Aksai Chin was ceded to China by Pakistan in 1963 when both countriessigned a boundary agreement to settle their border differences in Pakistanadministered Kashmir and Xinjiang, Sputnik has reported.
