Why a new Pakistan-China border pact has irked India

Pakistan and China have operationalised a long-pending joint commission to manage their common border, drawing a sharp response from India, which disputes the existence of a legally recognised Pakistan-China boundary in the disputed Himalayan territory.

The inaugural meeting of the Pakistan-China Boundary Joint Commission was held in Islamabad on September 16-17. Pakistan described the move as a significant milestone that would strengthen cooperation on border management, trade and cross-border connectivity.

India rejected the commission, saying it had no legal basis because the territory covered by the arrangement is claimed by New Delhi as part of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, according to BBC. 

“Our position on this matter is clear and consistent. There is no boundary between Pakistan and China. We reject the so-called Joint Commission, which is without any legal basis,” Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

The commission was established under the 2013 China-Pakistan Agreement on the Boundary Management System. Its mandate includes border management, joint surveys, movement of goods and people, maintenance of boundary markers and coordination on cross-border facilities.

The mechanism is separate from the joint boundary demarcation process created under the 1963 Sino-Pakistan Boundary Agreement. That agreement established the boundary between China and territory then controlled by Pakistan, while providing for the boundary to be reconsidered after a settlement of the Kashmir dispute between Pakistan and India.

The disputed area includes the Shaksgam Valley, a roughly 5,180 sq km tract that Pakistan ceded to China under the 1963 agreement. India has never recognised that agreement, maintaining that the territory formed part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir and remains Indian territory.

India has also objected to infrastructure and connectivity projects involving Pakistan and China in areas it claims, including the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

Pakistan, however, considers the 1963 agreement valid and treats the territory as part of its administered region. The new commission, according to Pakistan’s Foreign Office, is intended to provide a regular institutional framework for practical border issues rather than alter existing boundary arrangements.

The development comes as India and China continue efforts to stabilise relations following years of military tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the disputed line separating their forces across much of their Himalayan frontier.

Jabin T Jacob, a professor at Delhi’s Shiv Nadar University, said the commission was not an entirely new arrangement but the activation of a mechanism envisaged in earlier agreements.

A separate consideration is the strategic importance of the Pakistan-China frontier. The region includes key transport and trade links such as the Karakoram Highway and infrastructure associated with CPEC.

Former Pakistani ambassador to the US Husain Haqqani said the commission had both practical and political dimensions, including improving coordination along the frontier and protecting infrastructure connected to CPEC.

For China, closer institutional cooperation with Pakistan also reinforces a longstanding strategic relationship, while for India the development adds another layer to its disputes with both neighbouring countries.

However, Jacob cautioned against reading the commission as an immediate military development affecting the LAC.

“There aren't any immediate or apparent implications for the LAC as of now,” he said.

The commission’s next meeting is scheduled to be held in China at a mutually agreed date, according to Pakistan’s Foreign Office.