MEA Slams China's Move To Create New Counties That Include Parts Of Ladakh

India has lodged a formal protest with China over the latter's creation of new counties that include parts of Aksai Chin, a region in northeast Ladakh considered by New Delhi as part of Ladakh.

China has recently announced establishment of two new counties- Hean and Hekang - in Hotan prefecture, having a significant part of Aksai Chin into it.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that parts of jurisdiction of these "so-called counties" fall in India's Union Territory of Ladakh.

In a press briefing on Friday (4 January), MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We have lodged a solemn protest with the Chinese side through diplomatic channels.”

“India has never accepted the illegal Chinese occupation of Indian territory in this area,” Jaiswal added.

In a strong reaction, the MEA said creation of new counties would neither have a bearing on India’s long-standing and consistent position regarding its sovereignty over the area nor lend legitimacy to China’s “illegal and forcible” occupation of the same.

In a strong reaction, the MEA said, "Creation of new counties will neither have a bearing on India's long-standing and consistent position regarding our sovereignty over the area nor lend legitimacy to China's illegal and forcible occupation of the same".

Aksai Chin has been under China’s illegal control since the 1950s, a situation India has consistently contested by asserting its rightful claim over the region.

The western edge of Aksai Chin was a significant battleground during the 1962 war between India and China.

Depsang, a more recent flashpoint between the two countries in the region, lies approximately 40 km west of Aksai Chin.

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