China raises Kashmir issue at UN

United Nations/New Delhi : Raising the Kashmir issue at the UN, China has told the General Assembly that the "dispute" should be peacefully and properly addressed in accordance with the UN Charter, Security Council resolutions and the bilateral agreement.

China, a close ally of Pakistan, also stressed that no actions should be taken that would unilaterally change the "status quo".

"The Kashmir issue, a dispute left from the past, should be peacefully and properly addressed in accordance with the UN Charter, Security Council resolutions and bilateral agreement," State Councilor and Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi said in his address to the UN General Assembly on Friday.

"No actions that would unilaterally change the status quo should be taken. As a neighbour of both India and Pakistan, China hopes to see the dispute effectively managed and stability restored to the relationship between the two sides," Wang said.

India on Saturday objected to China's reference to the Kashmir issue, saying the region is an integral part of the country and all nations should respect its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

"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," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said. He said the recent developments were entirely a "matter internal to us".