Chennai: With less than two days to go for the start of the second informal summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, controversy erupted on Wednesday evening with India making it clear that China has no business commenting on the internal affairs of India and that Jammu and Kashmir was an integral part of India. New Delhi was angered over a reference to the Kashmir issue at a meeting between President Xi and visiting Pakistan PM Imran Khan in Beijing. Mr Modi is expected to clearly tell President Xi at the informal summit at Mahabalipuram near Chennai on October 11-12 that the revoking of Article 370 and the bifurcation of J&K state into two Union territories was an internal matter of India.
In a statement, MEA spokesman Raveesh Kumar, in response to a query on a reference to Kashmir in the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistan PM Imran Khan, said: “We have seen the report regarding the meeting of Chinese President Xi Jinping with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan which also refers to their discussions on Kashmir. India’s position has been consistent and clear that Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of India. China is well aware of our position. It is not for other countries to comment on the internal affairs of India.”
A joint Sino-Pakistan press statement from Beijing on Wednesday was quoted as saying: “The Pakistan side briefed the Chinese side on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, including its concerns, position, and current urgent issues. The Chinese side responded that it was paying close attention to the current situation in Jammu & Kashmir and reiterated that the Kashmir issue is a dispute left from history, and should be properly and peacefully resolved based on the UN Charter, relevant UN Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreements.”
The Sino-Pakistan statement was further quoted as saying: “China opposes any unilateral actions that complicate the situation. The two sides underlined that a peaceful, stable, cooperative and prosperous South Asia was in the common interest of all parties. Parties need to settle disputes and issues in the region through dialogue on the basis of equality and mutual respect.”
