China on Wednesday again staked claim to Ladakh, asserting that the Supreme Court verdict upholding the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir did not change the reality “that the western section of the China-India border has always belonged to China”.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said: “China has never recognised the so-called Union Territory of Ladakh set up unilaterally and illegally by India."

Responding to a question seeking China’s response to the Supreme Court verdict pronounced earlier this week, Mao said: “India’s domestic judicial verdict does not change the fact that the western section of the China-India border has always belonged to China.”

There was no immediate response from the external affairs ministry to China’s latest staking of claim to Ladakh.

A day after India moved the bill to abrogate Article 370 and bifurcate the state of Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, 2019, China had described the decision to turn Ladakh into a Union Territory as unacceptable.