China’s recent release of its updated “standard map” has reignited tensions, as it includes Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin region as part of its territory. Tenzin Lekshay, Spokesperson and Additional Secretary, Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR), Central Tibetan Administration, spoke to ANI news agency about the issue.
“This is not the first time China is doing that. China for the last so many years has been repeatedly showing distorted maps which shows Arunachal Pradesh as a part of China,” Lekshay told ANI.
The map, officially released on August 28, was part of China’s Ministry of Natural Resources’ celebration of Surveying and Mapping Publicity Day and the National Mapping Awareness Publicity Week. It was unveiled in Deqing county, Zhejiang province, according to China Daily newspaper.
Lekshay further criticized China’s claims, stating, “In fact they used to say that the whole Arunachal is the part of Southern Tibet but this claim is baseless and not based on truth…This is part of sovereign India since independence, there are Indian people and administration and government.”
The new map also includes Taiwan and disputed areas in the South China Sea, laying claim to a large part of the region through the nine-dash line. This has raised concerns among other countries with claims in the South China Sea, including Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei.
This is not the first time China has made such territorial claims. In April of this year, Beijing unilaterally “renamed” as many as 11 Indian locations, including mountain peaks, rivers, and residential areas. Similar actions were taken in 2017 and 2021, leading to political confrontations with New Delhi, which has consistently called out China’s expansionist plans.
The release of the new map adds another layer of complexity to the already fraught relations between China and its neighbors, as well as nations with vested interests in the disputed regions.
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