Weeks ahead of the G20 Leaders Summit in New Delhi, China has on Tuesday (Aug 28, 2023) released “2023 edition of the standard map of China”, showing territorial claims — State of Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin region as being within its borders.
“India cannot afford to remain a mute spectator to such Chinese activities,” Maj Gen (Dr) Ashok Kumar, VSM (Retd) tells Financial Express Online.
In his opinion “India has to re-strategise to counter such actions in a proactive manner. It will be ironic to host the Chinese premier as part of the G20 summit when such an action has been taken just before this meet.”
The recently released Chinese map continues to include Aksai Chin as well as the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh as part of its own territory. In addition, according to Maj Gen Kumar “China has included Tenth Dash as extension of its Nine Dash line wherein this dash has been placed on the Eastern side of Taiwan thus showing entire Taiwan as its own part.”
Chinese animosity has been continuing not only in published maps from time to time but it has been renaming number of locations in these areas from time to time.
According to Maj Gen Kumar, “China has not only given its claims a theoretical construct but has been following these through concrete actions, one of the aspect being it’s belligerence on Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Eastern Ladakh where it has already breached its sanctity continuing since Apr 2020.”
What is it all about?
According to reports, the 2023 map was released by the Ministry of Natural Resources of China and indicates its territorial claims on China’s western borders, as also the so-called nine-dash line covering the entire South China Sea, are shown on the map as in previous editions. Also as in previous maps, a “tenth dash” is placed east of Taiwan, underlining Beijing’s claims over the island.
Changing Names in Arunachal Pradesh: A Story on the Map
Just like what happened in April in Beijing, a new map has come out that has new names for 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh. One of these places is near Itanagar, in Arunachal Pradesh. This is the third time they are changing place names like this. The changes in the map come close on the heels of the recent meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Johannesburg and weeks ahead of the G20 summit in New Delhi. Though no official announcement has been made, the Chinese president is expected to be here on Sept 9-10 for the summit.
China put out the new map during a week they call “National Mapping Awareness Publicity Week” and according to reports digital maps for things like helping with directions, farming, and smart vehicles are expected to be released soon.
This year marks 30 years since China made a law about surveying and mapping. This law helps manage making maps to help the country’s economy, defense, and society get better.
In 2022, because of President Xi Jinping, China started to manage its borders more strictly. They made a new law that indicated things the government and the military in China have to do to protect the country’s borders. The law says they need to teach people about borders and make sure the military is ready to stop any problems at the borders.