Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday asserted that Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Aksai Chin are part of Jammu and Kashmir. According to PTI, answering clarifications sought by Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Choudhury in the Lok Sabha, Shah said that BJP leaders will give up their lives to secure PoK and added that whenever he mentions Jammu and Kashmir, it includes the areas held by Pakistan and China.

After the war of 1947 between India and Pakistan, the Kashmir administration was divided into two parts. The first part is a sub-continent of Jammu and Kashmir while the second part is called Pakistan occupied Kashmir, also called as PoK. The PoK is basically a part of the J&K invaded by Pakistan, whose borders touches Pakistan’s area of Punjab, Afghanistan’s Wakhan corridor, China’s Xinjiang region and east of Indian Kashmir.

Aksai Chin is a disputed border area between China and India. The area is claimed by India as the easternmost part of Jammu and Kashmir while China claims it to be a part of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. In 1962, both the countries fought a brief war in Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh. In 1993 and 1996, India and China signed agreements to respect the Line of Actual Control. The area is currently in control of the Chinese. Entry to the area is restricted for tourists for security reasons. However, if permissions are granted from China, the area can be accessed through China National Highway 219. Besides officials from the Chinese military, the inhabitants of Aksai Chin are members of nomadic groups such as Bakarwal. China National High​​way 219 is important for China as it connects Tibet and Xinjiang. The construction of the highway started in 1951 and was completed in 1957. The construction of the highway was one of the many reasons that triggered the Sino-Indian War (1962). The repavement of the highway was taken up in 2013, about 55 years after the completion. </s> The Chinese government has criticized India’s decision to change the status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. In a statement released on Tuesday, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was opposed to the move because Beijing’s claims to part of the disputed territory were included in the Indian-administered region.

“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,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in a statement.

On Monday, the Indian government announced that it would abrogate Article 370 of the Indian constitution, which had guaranteed a special status for the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The government also announced an administrative rearrangement, whereby Indian-administered Kashmir would be divided into two—or bifurcated—into Union Territories governed directly from New Delhi.

In the Indian federal system, Union Territories are distinct from states in that they are governed by the central authority. Delhi, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Chandigarh, Daman and Diu, and Lakshadweep are the other Indian Union Territories.

In the case of Kashmir, one of these union territories would be Jammu and Kashmir, an administrative successor to the former state. The second would be Ladakh, which was part of the old Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir before the abrogation of the constitutional article. Ladakh sits adjacent to the administrative boundary between India and China, which is demarcated by a line known as the Line of Actual Control (LoAC).

“Recently India has continued to undermine China’s territorial sovereignty by unilaterally changing its domestic law,” she added. “Such practice is unacceptable and will not come into force.”

China administers Aksai Chin, a northwestern Kashmiri region, as part of Xinjiang Autonomous Region’s Hotan County. India also claims the territory. India and China have an ongoing border dialogue between special representatives. The dialogue covers the entirety of the nearly 3,500-kilometer-long LoAC, which also extends to the east, where the two countries have a dispute over Arunachal Pradesh, which India administers as a state, but China claims in nearly its entirety as part of Tibet.

In a separate statement, the Chinese Foreign Ministry expressed concern about the general regional situation in Kashmir. “China is seriously concerned about the current situation in Jammu Kashmir,” Hua noted.

India and Pakistan “should refrain from taking actions that will unilaterally change the status quo and escalate tensions.” She added that China calls “on both India and Pakistan to peacefully resolve the relevant disputes through dialogue and consultation and safeguard peace and stability in the region.” </s> Beijing China said on Tuesday that India should avoid “unilateral actions” in Jammu and Kashmir that could spark tensions in the region even as it described New Delhi’s decision to make Ladakh a union territory as “unacceptable”.

In a swift response, India’s external affairs ministry rejected the Chinese criticism and said the proposal for a new union territory of Ladkah was an “internal matter”. It pointed out the two sides have agreed to maintain peace along their disputed border until a mutually acceptable solution is found.

Beijing’s strong response came a day after the Indian government revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir and proposed splitting the state into two separate union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

China hadn’t immediately responded to the move on Monday, though it was expected to do so for two reasons – its close ally Pakistan is deeply invested in Kashmir, and part of the disputed Sino-India boundary in Aksai Chin lies in Ladakh. The Chinese foreign ministry issued two statements in Mandarin on the issue on Tuesday.

“We urge India to be cautious in its words and deeds on the border issue, strictly abide by the relevant agreements reached between the two sides, and avoid taking actions that further complicate the border issue,” said a statement published on the foreign ministry’s website, referring to protracted negotiations between the two sides on the disputed border.

“China has always opposed India’s inclusion of Chinese territory in India’s administrative jurisdiction in the western part of the Sino-Indian border. This position is firm, consistent and has never changed,” the statement added in a reference to the area in Ladakh that New Delhi claims but is controlled by Beijing.

“In recent days, the Indian side has continued to undermine China’s territorial sovereignty by unilaterally amending its domestic laws. This practice is unacceptable and will not produce any effect,” the statement said.

In a separate statement on India revoking Kashmir’s special status and exchanges of fire between Indian and Pakistani troops on the Line of Control, the foreign ministry described the situation as very tense.

The statement also referred to India despatching a large number of troops to the region and said: “China is seriously concerned about the current situation in Kashmir. China’s position on the Kashmir issue is clear and consistent. This issue is a legacy of history between India and Pakistan, which is also the consensus of the international community.”

It added, “The parties concerned should exercise restraint and act with caution, especially to avoid actions that unilaterally change the status quo and exacerbate the tension. We call on the two sides to peacefully resolve relevant disputes through dialogue and consultation and safeguard regional peace and stability.”

Responding to China’s criticism, external affairs ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the bill introduced in India’s Parliament for creating a new union territory of Ladakh was “an internal matter concerning the territory of India”.

“India does not comment on the internal affairs of other countries and similarly expects other countries to do likewise,” he said.

Kumar noted New Delhi and Beijing had agreed to find a “fair, reasonable and mutually acceptable settlement” of the border dispute on the basis of “Political Parameters and Guiding Principles for the Settlement of India-China Boundary Question”. He added both sides had agreed to maintain peace and tranquillity in border areas till such a settlement is reached.

Home minister Amit Shah told the Lok Sabha that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Aksai Chin too are part of Jammu and Kashmir and that “we are ready to give our lives for it”. Moving a resolution for revoking provisions of Article 370, Shah said there was a long-standing demand for giving union territory status to Ladakh.

“Kashmir is an integral part of India, there is no doubt about it. When I say Jammu and Kashmir, I include PoK and Aksai Chin, both are included in the territorial boundaries of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said. “Ladakh, including Aksai Chin, will be a union territory.”

Responding to a query whether the new provisions would include PoK, Shah said, “We will give our lives for it.”

Aksai Chin is a vast area of Ladakh currently under Chinese occupation.

Hu Shisheng, a leading Chinese expert on India, said one reason behind New Delhi’s decision to divide Kashmir into two union territories was to separate two major disputes – one with Pakistan and another with China.

The director of the Institute of South and Southeast Asian and Oceania Studies at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations said the move was aimed at separating “the two most ticklish disputes in the world from each other” and “to try to settle the Kashmir dispute unilaterally”.

Late on Tuesday, two groups of 85 Indian pilgrims set to travel to Kailash Mansarovar said they were yet to be issued visas by the Chinese embassy. However, a senior Chinese official described the reports as a “rumour”. People familiar with developments said the visas were being processed and the pilgrims would leave once they were granted. </s> China said on Tuesday that India’s move to change the status of Jammu and Kashmir undermines its sovereignty, particularly with reference to strategically located Ladakh region.

India repealed on Monday articles 35A and 370 of its constitution, revoking special status granted to Indian-administered Kashmir. It also bifurcated the state into two union territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. The former will have a legislature while the latter won’t.

Beijing was critical of the decision to turn Kashmir’s mostly Buddhist region of Ladakh into an administrative territory directly ruled by New Delhi.

Hua Chunying, a spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry, said that 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.

“Recently India has continued to undermine China’s territorial sovereignty by unilaterally changing its domestic law,” the spokesperson said. “Such practice is unacceptable and will not come into force.”

Hua urged India to exercise “prudence in words and deeds” concerning the boundary question.

The spokesperson said China is also seriously concerned about the current situation in Indian-administered Jammu Kashmir. Hua said the relevant sides should refrain from taking actions that will unilaterally change the status quo and escalate tensions.

“We call on both India and Pakistan to peacefully resolve the relevant disputes through dialogue and consultation and safeguard peace and stability in the region,” the spokesperson added. </s> China and Pakistan have both issued warnings to India over recent moves to assert control over disputed border regions that have previously led to clashes with its neighbors.

As Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for the repeal of Article 370 granting special autonomy to the stretch of Kashmir located on its side of contested borders with China and Pakistan, Home Affairs Minister Amit Shah introduced bills naming both the state of Jammu and Kashmir and its Ladakh region as separate union territories to be governed directly by the central government. The sudden change in a decades-long arrangement was hailed by Shah as a "historic decision" but it elicited negative reactions from both Beijing and Islamabad, which have grown closer in recent years and have separately engaged in heated confrontations with New Delhi.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told a press briefing Tuesday that her country was "always opposed to India's inclusion of the Chinese territory in the western sector of the China-India boundary into its administrative jurisdiction," referring to the Aksai Chin area that was claimed by India but was controlled by China in western Xinjiang and Tibet.

"Recently India has continued to undermine China's territorial sovereignty by unilaterally changing its domestic law," she added. "Such practice is unacceptable and will not come into force. We urge India to exercise prudence in words and deeds concerning the boundary question, strictly abide by relevant agreements concluded between the two sides and avoid taking any move that may further complicate the boundary question."

China and India most recently neared a border conflict in summer 2017 at a separate point of contention known as Doklam to India and Donglang to China. The trilateral junction borders India's Sikkim State, China's Tibet region and Bhutan's Ha Valley. New Delhi accused Beijing of disregarding the tiny Himalayan kingdom by building a new highway, leading to hand-to-hand clashes between Indian and Chinese personnel, but no armed skirmishes.

The two managed to de-escalate the situation, but nationalist rhetoric continued to resurface the incident on occasion. China and India have a history of engaging in all-out hostilities over their border feud, especially in the 1960s when the pair fought deadly conflicts over both frontlines.

Much of India's troubled history with borders, however, has focused on rival Pakistan, which was established after the United Kingdom's 1947 partition of India and that quickly led to the first of several wars between the two South Asian states. Two more of these conflicts in 1965 and 1999 were directly borne out of competing claims to the divided territory of Kashmir, while another in 1971 involved India's support for the independence of East Pakistan, now known as Bangladesh.

Bloody clashes have continued between Indian and Pakistani forces at the Kashmir frontier, where Islamist militant groups that New Delhi accuses Islamabad of backing have also established a presence. One such group, the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility for a February suicide bombing that killed dozens of Indian personnel in Kashmir's Pulwama. The bombing led India to conduct rare cross-border strikes on suspected insurgent camps, a Pakistani retaliatory attack and a dogfight that led to the loss of an Indian fighter jet whose pilot was later returned as a peace gesture.

In a policy statement delivered Tuesday to a joint session of his country's parliament, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan dismissed Indian allegations that Islamabad was involved in the February suicide attack in Pulwama and argued that Modi had rejected his diplomatic overtures since the Indian leader's reelection in May. With Kashmir's reclassification, he warned "there will be another Pulwama-style incident and India will again accuse Pakistan of having terrorists coming from Pakistan, while we have nothing to do with it."

Khan said he feared such a series of events could escalate into a nuclear war between the two countries of which "no one will be the winner," but argued for a need to defend Kashmiris as he accused Modi's ruling, right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party and the influential Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh organization — of which the Indian leader was once a member — of pursuing a "racist ideology."

The Pakistani premier called for international support in resolving the situation in Kashmir, which has only deteriorated in the two weeks since Khan sat down at the White House with President Donald Trump, who appeared to claim that Modi asked him to mediate in the decades-long dispute. Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar later said that "no such request has been made," though Trump's potential role was welcomed by the Pakistani side, which argued Monday that its rival's recent Kashmir decision did not abide by the United Nations "nor will this ever be acceptable to the people of Jammu & Kashmir and Pakistan."

Responding to the apparent rejection of his role by India, Trump said Friday that "it's really up to Prime Minister Modi," calling both him and Khan "fantastic people" who "can get along very well."

He said, "if they wanted me to, I would certainly intervene." </s> NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday made it clear in the Lok Sabha that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Aksai Chin are part of the state which, he said, are integral part of the country and that the government leaders were ready to sacrifice their lives for the state.

He also dared the Congress to make its stand clear on the Kashmir issue. After moving the resolution and Bills in the Lok Sabha for consideration and passing, Shah said the issue was not political and that the legislation was based on constitutional and legal provisions.

While the resolution pertains to a Presidential order to revoke special status given to Jammu and Kashmir, the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill 2019 provides for bifurcating the state into two Union territories -- Jammu and Kashmir with legislature similar to Puducherry, and Ladakh without one like Chandigarh.

The Presidential order has repealed the provisions under Article 370 that allows the state to have its own Constitution and power to make laws other than those related to foreign affairs, defence and communications.

The resolutions and the Bills have been already passed by the Rajya Sabha. The Home Minister said there has been a long-standing demand for giving Union Territory status to Ladakh which was fulfilled by the Narendra Modi government.

"Kashmir is an integral part of India, there is no doubt over it. Whenever I talk about Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan occupied Kashmir and Aksai Chin are included in it and we can die for it," Shah said responding to a query of leader of Congress Adhir Ranjan Chowdhary.

Dismissing opposition's charge that introduction of the Bill and the resolution were a violation of the rights of the people, Shah said nobody can stop him from introducing a resolution on Kashmir in Parliament.

ALSO READ | Following Kashmir issue with concern, UN urges India and Pakistan to exercise restraint

"The borders of Jammu and Kashmir, as decided by the Constitution of India as well as the constitution of the state, include PoK and Aksai Chin," Shah said. He reiterated that his mention of Jammu and Kashmir has always included PoK and Aksai Chin, which are currently under the control of Pakistan and China, respectively.

Earlier, Chowdhary interrupted Shah's address to question the government's stand on PoK. "I don't think you are thinking about PoK, you violated all rules and converted a state into a Union Territory overnight," he said. Chowdhary asked whether Jammu and Kashmir is still an internal matter after the government's decision to split the state in two Union Territories.

"S. Jaishankar (External Affairs Minister) told Mike Pompeo (US Secretary of State) a few days before that Kashmir is a bilateral matter, so don't interfere in it. Can J&K still be an internal matter? We want to know. Entire Congress party wants to be enlightened by you," he said.

Responding to this, Shah questioned if Congress is suggesting the UN to intervene in solving the Kashmir issue.

"This country's Parliament cannot be stopped from making any law on J&K. Does Congress want the UN to resolve Kashmir?" Shah asked amid chants of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and 'Vande Mataram' in the Lok Sabha.

ALSO READ | Rahul Gandhi terms Article 370's removal as 'abuse of executive power'

"Kashmir issue was raised in UN in 1948... Later former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi did Shimla Agreement... This is not political matter. Jammu and Kashmir is integral part of India and there are no legal or legislative differences over it," said Shah.

"It is also mentioned in the Constitution of India... Jammu and Kashmir has also accepted it... so, Parliament is competent in making law for J&K. No one can stop us from making a law," Shah said.

Interrupting, DMK's TR Baalu said: "I think we are in the state of undeclared emergency probably because it is not clear whether our member colleague Farooq Abdullah and former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti is under house arrest or he has been arrested".

The Minister then said Article 370 (3) was used by the President to cease the operation of Article 370 and clarified as far as the bifurcation of the state is concerned, it was the demand of Ladakh for creating "equity" in the region.

ALSO READ | Amit Shah, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury engage in verbal spat over J-K

"In view of Ladakh's demand, we are bifurcating J&k into two UTs. One UT will be Ladakh with Aksai Chin. The two Hill Councils of Ladakh will continue and its President will be given Minister rank to function the administration. The Hill members will be given the right to raise their voice. Nobody's legislative right will be affected with the move," he said.

"As far as Jammu and Kashmir is concerned, there will be another UT with an Assembly. There will be MLAs as well as Chief Minister in Jammu and Kashmir. And the Chief Minister will be elected by the people. The Chief Minister will manage day-to-day work of the UT," Shah said.

The Minister later appealed to the members to discuss the issue, saying it is being watched by the people in the Valley, across the country as well as in foreign countries. </s> India's government has revoked the special status of India-administered Kashmir, in a move that risks fuelling already heightened tensions with neighbouring Pakistan.

Monday's presidential decree revokes Article 370 of India's constitution that guaranteed special rights to the Muslim-majority state, including its right to its own constitution and decision-making process for all matters except defence, communications and foreign affairs.

The legislation introduced alongside the decree still needs the approval of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led parliament.

In the lead-up to its move, India sent thousands of additional troops to the region, imposing a curfew on parts of it, shutting down telecommunications and arresting political leaders.

Both New Delhi and Islamabad claim Kashmir in full, but rule it in part. The nuclear-armed neighbours have fought two of their three wars over the disputed territory.

The United Nations has urged the two countries to exercise restraint.

Here are all the latest updates:

India warned China that the government's move to strip Kashmir of its autonomy and split the region into two parts was an "internal matter" after Beijing slammed the "unilateral" decision.

 

Beijing was particularly critical of India's decision to turn Kashmir's mostly Buddhist region of Ladakh into an administrative territory directly ruled by New Delhi.

 

"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," China's foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.

 

"Recently India has continued to undermine China's territorial sovereignty by unilaterally changing its domestic law. Such practice is unacceptable and will not come into force.

Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said his government would challenge the Indian move to change the constitutional status of India-administered Kashmir at the United Nations Security Council, urging the international community to intervene in the crisis or risk regional destabilisation.

"We will raise this at every level, at the United Nations Security Council," said Khan, addressing a joint session of Pakistan's parliament in the capital, Islamabad.

"We are thinking of how we can go to the [International Court of Justice] through the UN Security Council ... we will raise this issue at every forum."

Pakistan army will 'go to any extent' to support Kashmir

Pakistan's army chief said the country's military will "go to any extent" to support people in the contested region after India's move,

"Pakistan Army firmly stands by the Kashmiris in their just struggle to the very end," General Qamar Javed Bajwa said following a meeting with top commanders in Rawalpindi.

"We are prepared and shall go to any extent to fulfil our obligations in this regard," he added, without elaborating further.

The lower house of India's parliament was set to ratify the bill downgrading the governance of the India-administered portion of Kashmir.

Members of the Lok Sabha were debating the "Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill" a day after the legislation was introduced alongside the presidential decree revoking Article 370.

The bill downgrades the region from a state into two federally administered union territories: Jammu and Kashmir as well as Ladakh. Jammu and Kashmir would still have its own legislature, while Ladakh would not.

Kashmir on edge as India tightens grip on disputed region

A communications blackout and a security lockdown in Indian-administered Kashmir prompted anger and fear among residents.

Sheikh Mushtaq, 55, said he has lost contact with his daughter who was forced to leave her university in southern Jammu on Monday because of the lockdown. "We are helpless," he said.

The security measures have also hit businesses hard ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha. </s> In the aftermath of the Modi government’s decision to remove ‘special status’ for J&K and bifurcate the state into two union territories, the most keenly awaited regional and international reaction — and a hugely consequential one — would be that of China’s, not the US’ or even of the other three P5 member states.

This is for three reasons. First, China is the only P5 member country that is party to the Kashmir dispute by virtue of its Faustian deal with Pakistan in 1963 — Sino-Pakistan Frontier Agreement and Sino-Pak Boundary Agreement — as well as due to Aksai Chin being a disputed territory.

Second, it is well-known that China has a larger-than-life influence over Pakistan, and therefore, indirectly, is in a position to leverage the next moves by Islamabad on the J&K situation in practical or political terms.

Third, of course, China is a veto-holding P5 member country. Although not involved in the making of the UN resolutions on Kashmir in 1948-1949 (which was an Anglo-American enterprise at a juncture when Nehru somehow deliberately refrained from seeking Soviet help to counter India’s isolation in the UN SC), nonetheless, China is a powerful protagonist today if the Kashmir file were to reopen in New York at Pakistan’s behest.

On Tuesday, the Chinese reaction to the announcement in Delhi on Monday relating to J&K has come in two parts in the nature of remarks by the Foreign Ministry spokesperson in Beijing (a relatively low-key reaction in diplomatic terms in comparison with a full-fledged statement, as Turkey, for instance, has done.) One part exclusively relates to Ladakh’s new status as union territory, while the other one relates to the ‘current situation’ in J&K. Both remarks are devoid of any stridency and on the whole India can live with them although western media, unsurprisingly, has hyped them. In fact, neither voices any overt backing to Pakistan. And, importantly, there are no new overtones as such in the well-known Chinese stance.

The remark on the change in Ladakh’s status begins by underscoring explicitly that China is voicing its ‘firm and consistent position’, which ‘remains unchanged’. That is to say, it regards part of Ladakh to be Chinese territory and India should not unilaterally create facts on the ground through domestic laws. If India does, China will consider that unacceptable and it ‘will not come into force.’ The remark rounds off stating the Chinese stance that India should speak and act with prudence on the boundary question, strictly abide by relevant agreements (on peace and tranquility) and avoid precipitate steps.

This is exactly what China has maintained and can be expected to state. No doubt, this is also what India would expect China to observe in regard of the unresolved border dispute. The Indian stance on CPEC is a fine example.

The grey area here is whether the administration of Ladakh as UT will entail administrative arrangements on the ground that tread on Chinese sensitivity. Prima facie, that is unlikely to happen, since the two militaries present in the vacant spaces observe ground rules.

On the other hand, the interesting aspect of the Chinese spokesperson’s remark on J&K situation is that there is no direct reference to the specific situation involving the abrogation of Article 370 of the constitution. The remark is of a generic nature. It repeats that the J&K situation is a matter of serious concern, but underscores categorically that ‘China’s position on the Kashmir issue as such is clear and consistent’.

Most important, it flags that China is in sync with the ‘international consensus’ that Kashmir issue is a historical conundrum that India and Pakistan have to grapple with by exercising restraint and prudence. This means, however, that the two countries ‘should refrain from taking actions that will unilaterally change the status quo and escalate tensions.’ China calls on the two countries to peacefully resolve their ‘relevant disputes’ through dialogue and consultation in the interest of regional peace and stability.

Indeed, the ‘known unknown’ here is to what extent, if any, the current upheaval in Hong Kong influenced Beijing to sidestep Modi government’s specific move to abolish Article 370 and abandon J&K’s ‘special status’. To be sure, a grave situation has arisen in Hong Kong, which has assumed anti-China overtones.

No analogy holds good cent percent in politics, but there are similarities in the public alienation in J&K and in Hong Kong which foreign powers are exploiting. In fact, China also has to contend with its equivalent of our Article 370 — the Sino-British Joint Declaration, which is as sacrosanct as an international bilateral treaty, signed between China and Britain on 19 December 1984 in Beijing.

Curiously, the Joint Declaration is also legally binding and like Article 370, it commits China to allow Hong Kong to ‘enjoy a high degree of autonomy, except for foreign and defence affairs’ even as the territory will be ‘directly under the authority’ of Beijing.

Most important, the Joint Declaration affirms, “The government of the HKSAR [Hong Kong] is responsible for the maintenance of public order. Military forces sent by the Central People’s Government, stationed in HKSAR, for the purpose of defence shall not interfere in the internal affairs in the HKSAR.”

Protests in Hong Kong on 10th week show no sign of abating

The treaty is valid for 50 years but a crisis situation is looming large on the horizon and there is much speculation that patience is wearing thin in Beijing. A top Chinese official said on Wednesday, “Hong Kong is facing the most serious situation since its return to China.”

A Beijing-datelined commentary by Xinhua on Monday entitled Bottom line on Hong Kong brooks no challenge was furious that ‘Black-clad, masked protestors removed the Chinese national flag from a flagpole in Tsim Sha Tsui of Hong Kong and later flung the flag into the water Saturday, an unforgivable, lawless act that has blatantly offended the national dignity, is an insult to all Chinese people, including Hong Kong compatriots, and must be severely punished in accordance with law.’

All factors taken into account, as the saying goes, the pot cannot call the kettle black. The MEA’s response to the Chinese remarks on J&K has gently drawn attention to the reciprocity that governs inter-state relationships by underscoring that the legislation known as The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill 2019 (introduced by the Government in Parliament on 5 August) is ‘an internal matter concerning the territory of India. India does not comment on the internal affairs of other countries and similarly expects other countries to do likewise.’ India has scrupulously maintained silence on Hong Kong developments. </s> Beijing: Voicing serious concern over the situation in Kashmir, China on Tuesday asked India and Pakistan to exercise restraint and avoid actions that "unilaterally" change the status quo and exacerbate tensions between the two countries.

"China is seriously concerned about the current situation in Kashmir," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said in a written response to media queries about the militaries of India and Pakistan exchanging fire along the Line of Control and the Indian government's move to revoke Article 370 which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir.

"China's position on the Kashmir issue is clear and consistent. This issue is a legacy of history between India and Pakistan, which is also the consensus of the international community," Hua said, without directly referring to revocation of Article 370 by India.

"The parties concerned should exercise restraint and act with caution, especially to avoid actions that unilaterally change the status quo and exacerbate the tension," she said.
China, which administers the Kashmir territories of Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract, voices opposition to this "unacceptable" Indian move and, along with Turkey, reaffirms their support for a peaceful resolution.