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# India Says Pakistan-China Border Panel Has No Legal Standing
- URL: https://www.theglobalvoice.com/india-says-pakistan-china-border-panel-has-no-legal-standing/
- Published: 2026-09-17T10:40:23.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-17T15:43:40.000Z
- Description: India has rejected a newly operationalised Pakistan-China Boundary Joint Commission, saying it has no legal basis because it concerns territory part of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The dispute revives India’s long-standing objection to the 1963 China-Pakistan border agreement.
- Author: TGV Desk
- Tags: India, that is Bharat, The Day So Far, Live Wire, conflict, geopolitics, has-audio

India has rejected a newly operationalised Pakistan-China Boundary Joint Commission, saying the mechanism has no legal basis because it concerns territory New Delhi considers part of India but currently controlled by Pakistan and China.

The response came after Pakistan and China held the commission’s first meeting in Islamabad on September 16\. Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry described the move as a “significant milestone” and said the new body would strengthen cooperation in border management, joint surveys, trade flows and people-to-people connectivity. The meeting was co-led by Li Ya of China’s Foreign Ministry and Bilal Mahmood Chaudhary of Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry.

[India’s External Affairs Ministry rejected the arrangement almost immediately. Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal ](https://www.mea.gov.in/all-media?dtl/41803/Official%5FSpokespersons%5Fresponse%5Fto%5Fmedia%5Fqueries%5Fon%5Fthe%5Fsocalled%5FPakistanChina%5FBoundary%5FJoint%5FCommission&ref=theglobalvoice.com)said New Delhi’s position was “clear and consistent” and argued that, from India’s legal standpoint, there is no valid Pakistan-China boundary in the disputed area. India maintains that Pakistan has no authority to enter into border arrangements involving territory it says is under illegal occupation.

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At the heart of the dispute is the 1963 China-Pakistan Boundary Agreement. Under that deal, Pakistan transferred control of the Shaksgam Valley, a roughly 5,180-square-kilometre area north of the Karakoram range, to China. India has never recognised the agreement and says Pakistan had no legal right to transfer the territory. The Indian government has repeatedly stated that the entire Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral parts of India.

It comes at a time when Beijing and Islamabad are also deepening wider strategic ties, including through the [China-Pakistan Economic Corridor](https://www.brookings.edu/articles/at-all-costs-how-pakistan-and-china-control-the-narrative-on-the-china-pakistan-economic-corridor/?ref=theglobalvoice.com), parts of which pass through territory occupied by Pakistan.

New Delhi’s objection is therefore about more than the commission itself. India sees any new bilateral mechanism between Beijing and Islamabad in the region as an attempt to normalise arrangements it has never accepted. Jaiswal said India would reject any “boundary cooperation” affecting territory it claims and called on Pakistan to vacate areas under its control.

The development also comes at an awkward moment in [India-China relations](https://www.theglobalvoice.com/not-friends-not-enemies-the-new-india-china-relationship/). New Delhi and Beijing have been trying to stabilise ties after years of military tension along the LAC, with officials holding another round of boundary talks in August. But China’s close strategic relationship with Pakistan remains one of the major sources of distrust between the two sides.