India has lodged a strong protest after China released a so-called 2023 “standard map” laying claim to parts of Indian territory including Arunachal Pradesh.
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India has registered a strong protest through diplomatic channels with Beijing on China’s so-called 2023 “standard map” which lays claim to Indian territory. In response to media queries on the matter, External Affairs Ministry’s Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi Monday said, “We have today lodged a strong protest through diplomatic channels with the Chinese side on the so-called 2023 “standard map” of China that lays claim to India’s territory.”
“We reject these claims as they have no basis. Such steps by the Chinese side only complicate the resolution of the boundary question,” he added.
Meanwhile Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that making absurd claims over territories wouldn’t make them theirs.
Speaking at the NDTV Decodes G20 Conclave, the Union Minister, calling the release of such maps an old habit of China, said: “China has even in the past put out maps which claim the territories which are not China’s, which belong to other countries. This is an old habit of theirs. It is not something which is new. It started in the 1950s… We are very clear what our territories are. This government is very clear about what we need to defend our territories. You can already see that on out borders. I think there should be no doubt about that. Making absurd claims does not make other people’s territories yours.”
Earlier in the day, China released the 2023 edition of its “standard map” compiled based on the drawing method of national boundaries of China and various countries in the world. The map displayed by the Global Times showed Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as South Tibet, and Aksai Chin occupied by it in the 1962 war.
Earlier this year in April, after China released a third set of names in Chinese, Tibetan and Pinyin characters for Arunachal Pradesh, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had asserted, “Arunachal Pradesh has always been, and will always be an integral part of India.”
Meanwhile, the Congress on Tuesday targetted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over China’s 2023 edition of the “standard map” with party leader Pawan Khera saying that PM Modi has given a clean chit to Beijing and that India under the Modi government is accepting the Chinese claim line.
“A Prime Minister of 140 crore people standing in front of them with tied hands does not give a good message to the world… As soon as the BRICS Summit was over, China released a map showing Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as a part of China,” he told news agency