by India Today World Desk: A few days after China, Kashmir issue raised in joint statement with Pakistan, it has now said it will not attend the G20 Tourism Working Group meeting planned in Jammu and Kashmir next week. China’s foreign ministry said in a statement that it “firmly opposes” holding such meetings in “disputed territory”, news agency PTI reported.
“China firmly opposes holding any kind of G20 meeting on the disputed territory,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing in Beijing in response to a question.
“We will not attend such meetings,” he said.
India will host the third G20 Tourism Working Group meeting in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, from May 22 to 24.
According to a Reuters report, India has countered the objection saying it is free to hold meetings on its territory. It said on Friday that peace and tranquility on its border is necessary for normal relations with China.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday said the G20 meeting in Srinagar is a great opportunity for Jammu and Kashmir to showcase its true potential. He said that such an international event to be held in Srinagar would send a positive message to the country and the world.
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Pakistan has also opposed India’s decision to hold the G20 meeting in Jammu and Kashmir. India has rejected the objections of its neighboring country. China’s decision to skip the summit is apparently linked to objections from its close ally Pakistan and comes after it did not attend the G20 meeting held in Arunachal Pradesh in March.
Earlier this month, China and Pakistan, both close allies, in a joint statement raised the long-running dispute and reiterated their position that the Kashmir issue should be resolved in accordance with the “UN Charter, relevant Security Council resolutions and bilateral”. should be resolved properly and peacefully accordingly. agreement.”
Coming to the defense of Pakistan, China had said that the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan was left out of history and should be resolved as per UN resolutions, avoiding any unilateral action.
At the SCO meeting in New Delhi, India’s foreign minister launched a scathing attack on his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, saying “he has nothing to do with G20, even Srinagar and Kashmir”. No. They should answer when they will.” Evacuate the illegally occupied areas of Jammu and Kashmir.”
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India has earlier also criticized the statements of Beijing and Islamabad on Jammu and Kashmir.
“We have consistently rejected such statements and all parties concerned are well aware of our clear position on these matters. The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Ladakh are and shall always be integral and inseparable parts of India. Any Other countries have no locus standi to comment on the same,” the Ministry of External Affairs has commented on Pakistan and China’s comments earlier.
India and China are locked in a protracted border standoff in eastern Ladakh for three years. Bilateral ties came under severe strain in June 2020 following a deadly clash in eastern Ladakh’s Galwan Valley.
India has said that bilateral relations cannot be normal until there is peace in the border area.
(with agency inputs)