The Shaksgam Valley dispute has flared again after China openly rejected India’s objections to CPEC-related infrastructure projects in the region. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Beijing’s construction activities are being carried out on its “own territory” and are beyond reproach. India has firmly countered this position, stating that Shaksgam Valley is Indian territory under illegal occupation and warning that it will safeguard its national interests. By invoking the China-Pakistan boundary agreement of the 1960s and framing CPEC as a development corridor, Beijing is attempting to cement strategic control over sensitive geography linked to Kashmir. For India, the issue is not economic cooperation but sovereignty and territorial integrity. The episode underlines how infrastructure is increasingly being used as a geopolitical tool in contested regions.