In India's Reply To China's J&K Reference, A Swipe At Road Through PoK

The $50 billion corridor connects Kashgar in west China with Gwadar port in Pakistan, spanning 3,000 km

China should "respect India's sovereignty and territorial integrity" as the recent developments in Jammu and Kashmir are "entirely a matter internal to India", the government has said, a day after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi made a reference to Kashmir at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

India also made a reference to the "illegal so-called China Pakistan Economic Corridor in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK)" as efforts to change the status quo though other means. The $50 billion corridor that connects Kashgar in western China with Gwadar port in Pakistan, spanning 3,000 kilometres, is one of the pain points in ties between India and China. India has right from the start protested against China's CPEC push as the corridor passes through PoK.

At the General Debate of the 74th session of the UNGA, the Chinese Foreign Minister said the Kashmir issue should be "peacefully and properly addressed in accordance with the UN Charter, Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreement", China's state media Xinhua reported. "No actions that would unilaterally change the status quo should be taken," Mr Wang said.

In response, India said: "The Chinese side is well aware of India's position that Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral part of India, and that the recent developments are entirely a matter internal to us."

Partial restrictions are still in place in Kashmir valley and mobile internet remains snapped

"We expect that other countries will respect India's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and desist from efforts to change the status quo through the illegal so-called China Pakistan Economic Corridor in Pakistan occupied Kashmir," the Foreign Ministry's spokesperson said in a statement.

The centre on August 5 scrapped special status to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and divided the state into two Union Territories. Partial restrictions are still in place and mobile internet remains snapped in Kashmir valley.

The Indian Army is on high alert amid reports of increased attempts by Pakistan-backed terrorists to infiltrate into India. Reports have come of heavy-lifting drones that can carry 10 kg stores entering Indian airspace in Punjab to drop weapons for terrorists to create trouble in Jammu and Kashmir.

On Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan's threat at the UNGA on Friday of unleashing nuclear devastation, India has said the comments "qualifies as brinkmanship, not statesmanship". In his speech, Mr Khan said when two nuclear armed countries fight, it will have "consequences" for the entire world, making multiple references to Jammu and Kashmir.

"Prime Minister Khan's threat of unleashing nuclear devastation qualifies as brinkmanship, not statesmanship," Vidisha Maitra, First Secretary of the Foreign Ministry said at the United Nations, exercising India's right to reply.