India on Saturday took strong note of reference made byChinese Foreign Minister Wang to Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh in his addressat the UN General Assembly.

Raising the Kashmir issue at the UN, China has told theGeneral Assembly that the "dispute" should be peacefully and properlyaddressed in accordance with the UN Charter, Security Council resolutions andthe bilateral agreement. China, a close ally of Pakistan, also stressed that noactions should be taken that would unilaterally change the "statusquo".External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said Jammu,Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral part of India, and that the recentdevelopments relating to the region were "entirely a matter internal"to the country.

"The Chinese side is well aware of India's positionthat Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh are an integral part of India, and that therecent developments are entirely a matter internal to us," he said.Kumarsaid India expects other countries to respect India's sovereignty andterritorial integrity.

"We expect that other countries will respect India'ssovereignty and territorial integrity, and desist from efforts to change thestatus quo through the illegal so-called China Pakistan Economic Corridor inPakistan-occupied Kashmir," he said.Last month, India withdrew specialstatus of Jammu and Kashmir, and bifurcated the state into Union Territories ofJammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, which will come into being on October 31.TheKashmir issue, a dispute left from the past, should be peacefully and properlyaddressed in accordance with the UN Charter, Security Council resolutions andbilateral agreement," State Councillor and Foreign Minister of China WangYi said in his address to the UN General Assembly on Friday.

"No actions that would unilaterally change the statusquo should be taken. As a neighbour of both India and Pakistan, China hopes tosee the dispute effectively managed and stability restored to the relationshipbetween the two sides," Wang said.

India's last month decision evoked strong reactions fromPakistan, which downgraded diplomatic ties and expelled the Indian ambassador.