China Restates Its Claim Over the Shaksgam Valley

China Restates Its Claim Over the Shaksgam Valley

Why in News? 

Recently, China reaffirmed its sovereignty over the Shaksgam Valley, dismissing India’s protests against its infrastructure developments. Beijing described the construction as legitimate activity within its own territory, labeling India’s objections “beyond reproach.”

Know About Shaksgam Valley

• Introduction: The Shaksgam Valley, also called the Trans-Karakoram Tract, is a high-altitude mountainous region located in the greater Karakoram Range of the Himalayas. The valley is largely barren and extremely remote. Its terrain consists of steep mountains, narrow gorges, and glacial streams. 

• Geographical Location: The valley lies north of the Karakoram watershed. To its west and south lie parts of Pakistan-administered Kashmir POK (Gilgit-Baltistan), while to the east is the Siachen Glacier region, currently under Indian control. The entire tract spans about 5,200 square kilometres. It extends along the Shaksgam River, which rises in the Karakoram glaciers and flows northwest toward the Yarkand River.

• Dispute: Before the end of British colonial rule in 1947, the region was nominally associated with the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. After partition, the area came under the control of Pakistan illegally during the first Indo-Pakistan conflict in 1947–48. In 1963, Pakistan and China signed the Sino-Pakistan Boundary Agreement, under which Pakistan ceded the Shaksgam Valley to China. This agreement included a clause that its final status would await a resolution of the wider Kashmir dispute. 

• Current Status: Today, the entire Shaksgam Valley is administered by China as part of Xinjiang’s Kashgar region. China treats the valley as a legitimate part of its national territory. In January 2026, Beijing reiterated its claim and defended infrastructure projects there, calling them justified and “beyond reproach”, despite Indian objections.

Significance of the Shaksgam Valley

• Strategic Military Location: The Shaksgam Valley lies directly north of the Siachen Glacier, one of the world’s highest and most contested military regions. India has held Siachen under its control since 1984 after Operation Meghdoot secured the glacier’s heights against Pakistan. The valley’s proximity makes it a vital area for monitoring and securing approaches from the north. Control or infrastructure in Shaksgam could alter military balance near the glacier and the surrounding high-altitude borders.

• Influence Border Dynamics: The valley forms part of the larger India–China–Pakistan border complex where three nuclear-armed states meet. The 1963 Sino-Pakistan Boundary Agreement transferred control of the Shaksgam Valley from Pakistan to China, though India rejects this transfer as invalid. The unresolved claims feed into broader border disputes including in Aksai Chin and Eastern Ladakh. The status of Shaksgam affects diplomatic negotiations, military postures, and crisis stability in this high-tension region. 

China’s Illegal Activities over the Shaksgam Valley

• Road Construction: China has constructed and expanded a motorable road through the Shaksgam Valley, connecting from its Xinjiang region across the Aghil Pass toward the lower valley areas. The new road is said to be less than 49 km from Siachen Glacier. Satellite imagery and defense analyses show that this road — branching from China’s G219 highway — extends deep into the valley and is nearing the vicinity of India’s Siachen positions. 

• Military Outposts: Satellite analysis from defense research groups indicates that China has built military posts and logistics infrastructure along this newly developed road within the Shaksgam Valley. These include fortified positions, supply depots, and field support areas for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

• CPEC Linkage: China is integrating parts of the China‑Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) through the valley. The infrastructure built under this corridor includes road and transport connectivity initiatives that traverse contested territory, enhancing Sino‑Pak logistical cooperation and potentially offering alternative access routes toward Pakistan via Xinjiang.

India’s Stand on the Shaksgam Valley

• India maintains that the Shaksgam Valley is an integral, inalienable part of the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. It insists the entire territory was part of the erstwhile princely state that acceded to India in 1947, and thus the area remains legally Indian soil. New Delhi has repeatedly affirmed this position at Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) briefings and through diplomatic protests. 
• The legal claim is founded on the Instrument of Accession signed in October 1947, which India argues made the entire erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir a part of Indian territory. India has never recognized the 1963 boundary agreement between China and Pakistan under which Islamabad “ceded” approximately 5,180 sq km of Shaksgam Valley to Beijing. The Indian government calls this pact illegal and invalid because Pakistan had no right to transfer territory that India considers its own.
• India does not recognize the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) insofar as it passes through the Shaksgam Valley. New Delhi stresses that projects under CPEC that traverse this contested area are an attempt to alter the ground reality in a region under illegal occupation, and not a legitimate economic initiative. 
• India ties its position on Shaksgam to its broader views on peace and stability in the region. While firmly protesting China’s activities, New Delhi calls for restraint and resolution of disputes through dialogue, highlighting its interest in peaceful coexistence and stable borders without unilateral actions that disrupt regional security or violate sovereign claims.