New Delhi: Shortly after China asserted that Kashmir remained “high” on the agenda of United Nations Security Council, New Delhi rejected the reference and urged Beijing to “recognise and condemn” cross-border terrorism.

On Tuesday, the spokesperson of the Chinese permanent mission to the United Nations in New York issued a statement, which was widely quoted in Pakistani media. Last month, China had been the president of UNSC, which led to questions in Pakistan about the absence of a discussion on Kashmir, despite a letter from the Pakistani envoy.

“The question of Kashmir remains high on the Council’s agenda,” said the statement, as reported in The News. “China pays close attention to the current situation, and China’s position on the Kashmir issue remains unchanged,” it added.

The Chinese mission’s spokesperson also reiterated the traditional stance that “Kashmir is a dispute left from history” and should be resolved based on Security Council resolutions. He also reiterated that “unilateral actions” should not be taken – an euphemism for India’s removal of Kashmir’s constitutional autonomous state in August 2019.

The Chinese spokesperson said that as President of UNSC, China had immediately circulated a letter from Pakistani foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and also “processed” the missive from Pakistan’s UN envoy, Munir Akram.

Also read: Amidst Global Rush, India Hopes For ‘Stable’ Supply of PPE, Ventilators From China

The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Anurag Srivastava stated that India rejected the reference to Jammu and Kashmir.

“China is well aware of India’s consistent position on this issue. The Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir has been, is and shall continue to be an integral part of India. Issues related to J&K are internal matter to India,” he said.

Srivastav also added that it was India’s expectation that other countries, including China, would refrain from commenting on internal affairs and respect sovereignty. “We also expect China to recognise and condemn the scourge of cross-border terrorism that affect the lives of the people of India, including in J&K,” he said.

It was China’s backing of a letter from Pakistan which had led to the Security Council to discuss Kashmir for the first time in decades in August last year, albeit behind closed doors and with no recording of minutes.

Last December, China had again explored the possibility to see if there was an appetite to discuss Kashmir again in the UNSC, but there were no takers.

There was a second closed-door discussion on Kashmir among UNSC members in January, but there was again no statement released at the end of the meeting.

India is currently involved in procuring critical medical equipment, like ventilators and personal protective equipment, on a commercial basis from China to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.