China rules Ladakh court judgment ‘irrelevant’ to its border dispute with India
- The region is a focus of the two countries’ sometimes deadly encounters along the demarcation line in the Himalayas
- The Indian Supreme Court has upheld Ladakh’s status as separate from the reorganised former state of Jammu and Kashmir
“China has never recognised the so-called union territory of Ladakh set up unilaterally and illegally by India,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning on Wednesday.
“India’s domestic judicial verdict does not change the fact that the western section of the China-India border has always belonged to China.”
The remarks followed Monday’s ruling upholding the Indian government’s repeal of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir – focus of a long-standing territorial dispute with Pakistan – that split the state into separately administered territories.
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The court also found that the reorganisation of Ladakh as a separate union territory was valid, on the understanding that statehood would be restored to Jammu and Kashmir “as soon as possible”.