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China and Pakistan have launched a joint commission to oversee management of their shared border, ending a long wait for the mechanism to become operational.
The commission held its first meeting in Islamabad on Wednesday, with Li Ya, deputy director general of the Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs at China’s Foreign Ministry, and Bilal Mahmood Chaudhry, director general for China affairs at Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry, jointly chairing the meeting.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry described the launch as a “significant milestone” in bilateral relations, saying the commission would help strengthen border management, joint surveys, trade flows and people-to-people contacts.
According to Dawn, the commission was established under the Border Management System agreement signed in 2013 during then Chinese Premier Li Keqiang’s visit to Islamabad. Article 45 of the agreement provided for the formation of a joint commission to oversee border management activities.
The new mechanism will allow the two countries to work institutionally on practical issues, including border maintenance and inspections, joint surveys, border pillars, management of cross-border infrastructure and the handling of border-related incidents.
It will also provide a framework for regular coordination on the movement of people, trade and connectivity through key crossings, including the Khunjerab Pass. These activities are also linked to trade and connectivity under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The new commission is separate from the Joint Boundary Demarcation Commission established under the China-Pakistan Boundary Agreement signed on March 2, 1963.
The earlier commission was tasked with surveying the border, installing boundary pillars, preparing detailed maps and determining the position of the boundary line. Its work concluded after the signing of protocols and maps on the demarcation.
The 1963 agreement was signed in Beijing by Pakistan’s then foreign minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Chinese Foreign Minister Chen Yi. It also stated that after a settlement of the Kashmir dispute between Pakistan and India, the relevant sovereign authority would reopen negotiations with China on the border.
The 2013 agreement established an ongoing system for managing the already demarcated border, covering issues including boundary pillars and cross-border infrastructure.
Under the agreement, if a boundary pillar cannot be restored at its original location, the joint commission can determine another suitable location, provided the position of the boundary itself is not changed.
India has opposed the establishment of the new commission, according to Dawn, maintaining that it does not recognise the validity of the 1963 China-Pakistan boundary agreement. India claims the territory covered by the agreement as part of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Pakistan and China do not share a border and rejected what he described as the “so-called joint commission”.
China and Pakistan, however, view the new commission as an institutional framework for managing their border relations and addressing practical issues arising from the 2013 agreement, while maintaining that it does not alter their existing territorial positions.
