How Chinese claims on Shaksgam Valley are illegal and farce

Shaksgam Valley, historically part of India’s Baltistan/Ladakh region, is illegally occupied by China following a 1963 agreement with Pakistan, which India has never recognized. Recent Chinese road construction in the valley aims to connect Xinjiang with the Karakoram and Western Highways, expanding access to strategically important areas near Siachen. India maintains that the territory is an integral part of its union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The 1963 China-Pakistan agreement is illegal under international law and UN resolutions, and occupying land by force does not confer sovereignty. The historical wrong is highlighted in India’s updated 2019 maps.