New Delhi: India on Thursday said it has lodged a strong protest with China for carrying out construction activities in the Shaksgam Valley in an “illegal” attempt to alter the situation on the ground.

Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Randhir Jaiswal said the Shaksgam Valley is a part of India and New Delhi never accepted the so-called China-Pakistan boundary pact of 1963 through which Islamabad “unlawfully” attempted to cede the area to Beijing. He said India reserves the right to take necessary measures to safeguard the country’s interests. Jaiswal’s comments at his weekly media briefing came in response to a question on reports of China building infrastructure in Shaksgam Valley, a strategically located region that is now part of the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The Chinese construction activities in the region are taking place amid the over three-and-half-year old border row between India and China in eastern Ladakh. “The Shaksgam Valley is a part of the territory of India. We have never accepted the so-called China-Pakistan boundary agreement of 1963 through which Pakistan unlawfully attempted to cede the area to China,” Jaiswal said.“We have consistently conveyed our rejection of the same. We have registered our protest with the Chinese side against illegal attempts to alter facts on the ground,” he said. Jaiswal said India has always taken a “very strong” stand on the Shaksgam Valley. Asked about the lingering eastern Ladakh border row, Jaiswal said the next round of talks will be held “very soon to take things forward”.