NEW DELHI: India has dismissed a new map put out by China that claims Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as its territory, besides huge chunks of South China Sea and Taiwan.
“Putting out a map doesn’t mean anything. The territories belong to India. This government is very clear about its territories. Absurd claims won’t make others’ territories yours,” said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on China officially releasing the “2023 edition of China’s standard map”.
“India has lodged a strong protest through diplomatic channels with the Chinese side on its map that lays claim to India’s territory,” said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.
China occupied Arunachal and Aksai Chin in the 1962 war. Jaishankar, in an indirect reference to the “nine-dash-line that claims nearly the entire South China Sea as Beijing’s territory, said “it’s an old habit of theirs”.
Beijing claims Taiwan its part and its integration with the mainland is part of a “vowed objective” of President Xi Jinping. The Chinese claims over the South China Sea are contested by a host of nations, including Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. The 2023 map was released on Monday and its launch was highlighted on western social media platforms by the Beijing-controlled ‘Global Times’ which, it said, had been launched on the website of the “standard map service hosted by the Ministry of Natural Resources”. In April, New Delhi had rejected China “renaming” several locations in Arunachal. This was the third attempt after two previous ones in 2018 and 2021.
Ironically, China has extended the same treatment to Russia, which it claims is one of its closest partners. The Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources in March this year renamed eight Russian cities and territories.