China's Shaksgam Build-up: Kashmir Resolution Complicated, India-China Tensions Rise

• China's expanding infrastructure in Shaksgam Valley, POK, risks hardening Beijing's stance on Kashmir and narrowing diplomatic space for resolution.
• Professor Srikant Kondapalli warns China's actions are transforming a conditional arrangement into a hardened sovereignty claim, making Kashmir a 'core interest' for Beijing.
• The 1963 Pakistan-China Boundary Agreement acknowledged the provisional nature of Shaksgam's transfer, recognizing it as Kashmiri land, not Chinese.
• China is building 'well-off society villages' in POK, potentially housing ex-servicemen and establishing long-term state control on disputed land.
• Dual-use infrastructure, including a widened Karakoram Highway and underground defense networks, suggests an offensive posture, escalating India-China tensions.

Why It Matters: China's growing presence in Shaksgam complicates Kashmir's resolution and escalates India-China tensions.