India asks China to stop projects in PoK

China should cease ‘such activities’ forthwith: MEA.

India and China continued to tangle for a second straight day with India warning China against engaging in projects in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), which has been under illegal occupation of Pakistan since 1947.

Reminding China that interference in PoK might affect long-term relations with India, a Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesman said China should cease “such activities” forthwith.

The MEA spokesman said Chinese official news agency Xinhua had filed a report quoting the Chinese president as stating that China would continue to engage in projects with Pakistan inside the PoK area. “Pakistan has been in illegal occupation of parts of the Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir since 1947. The Chinese side is fully aware of India’s position and our concerns about Chinese activities in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. We hope that the Chinese side will take a long-term view of the India-China relations, and cease such activities in areas illegally occupied by Pakistan,” the spokesman said.

This warning comes a day after China criticised the recent visit to Arunachal Pradesh by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the grounds that he had no business campaigning for Indian elections in an area which is disputed. India is paying Beijing back in the same coin, making observations about its “all-weather friend” Pakistan.

Although Bhutan has no diplomatic relations with China, it is a matter of time before it offers its opinion on China’s territorial engagements. Bhutan is one of India’s closest allies in South Asia and has an ongoing border dispute with China. It is another country with whom China has had territorial conflict that is yet to be resolved. China has had 23 territorial conflicts with other states, but has used force in only a few, while in 17 of these conflicts it has compromised or offered concessions.

Meanwhile, Home Minister P Chidambaram made it clear to China from Srinagar that India would issue employment visas only to its highly skilled workers and that it has decided against giving business visas.

“Chinese workers can come to India only on employment visa, no more on business visas,” he told a press conference in Srinagar. “We are going to issue employment visas only to highly skilled workers and it does not apply only to Chinese workers, but to other countries as well. We are not going to issue any visas to unskilled and semi-skilled workers as we have plenty of them in India,” the home minister added.