NEW DELHI: India has been consistent in not violating China’s sovereignty, but China continues to illegally occupy Indian territory in J&K and Ladakh, said govt, days after external affairs minister S Jaishankar’s meeting with his counterpart Wang Yi.The assertion was in response to a question at a media briefing on the Chinese readout of the meeting in which it quoted Jaishankar as saying India’s positions on issues concerning Taiwan and Tibet have not changed, and India respects China’s sovereignty.“EAM said (to Wang) when it comes to sovereignty issues, it is India that should be and is raising them. India does not violate China’s sovereignty in any manner and has been consistent,” said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.“But China has been in illegal occupation of Indian territory in J&K and Ladakh since 1963, where India’s right is officially acknowledged even by China. Also, there are Chinese projects on territories in J&K that belong to India, we object to that,” he added, alluding to Chinese projects in POK.The meeting between Jaishankar and Wang Yi in Manila on the margins of Asean saw Jaishankar stressing the need to address issues like bilateral trade imbalance, need for fair market access and reliability of supply chains. He also underlined that border peace and tranquillity will remain a prerequisite for normalisation of bilateral ties.While the Indian readout didn’t mention Tibet or Taiwan issue, a Chinese statement later said Jaishankar had backed China’s sovereignty. India follows the one-China policy like most other countries but without publicly articulating it since 2010.Wang said in the meeting China will continue to support India in hosting a successful Brics summit this year. The summit, which India will host in Sept, is likely to be attended by President Xi Jinping. This will be Xi’s first visit to India since 2019, when he travelled to Mahabalipuram for the second India-China summit.
