China on Thursday called on India and Pakistan to settle the Kashmir issue “through dialogue and consultation” and “avoid unilateral moves” that could “complicate” the situation.
Beijing was asked to comment on its stand on the issue on Thursday by official media from Pakistan, which has recently launched an international campaign to mark the date, claiming India invaded Kashmir on October 27, 1949, although it was Pakistan that had, five days prior, sent in both troops and irregulars, sparking the dispute.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry, however, appeared to only broadly reiterate China’s stated view that “the Kashmir issue, a dispute left from the past, needs to be resolved peacefully and appropriately in accordance with the U.N. Charter, Security Council resolutions and relevant bilateral agreements”.
The Ministry’s spokesperson Mao Ning said, “Parties concerned need to avoid unilateral moves that may complicate the situation.
“Efforts should be made to settle the dispute through dialogue and consultation so as to maintain regional peace and stability.”
While Beijing had, until recently, largely avoided involving itself in the dispute despite its “all-weather” ties with ally Pakistan, Indian officials have seen a shift in Beijing’s stand particularly in the wake of the launch in 2013 of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) which includes projects in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
Beijing also responded strongly to India’s move in August 2019 to revoke statehood and create two Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. “China is always opposed to India’s inclusion of the Chinese territory in the western sector of the China-India boundary into its administrative jurisdiction,” the Foreign Ministry said then, adding that “India continued to undermine China’s territorial sovereignty by unilaterally changing its domestic law.”
India in March reacted sharply to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi telling a meeting of the OIC in Islamabad that Beijing “on Kashmir, heard…the calls of many of our Islamic friends and China shares the same hope”.
India termed his remarks “an uncalled for reference” and said China “has no locus standi to comment”. “They should note that India refrains from public judgement of their internal issues,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said then.
