China Releases New Edition Of Standard Map Showing Its Territorial Claims

The 2023 version of China’s “standard map,” which includes the state of Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin region, has been formally released.

The map made public on August 28 depicts Aksai Chin, which China claimed as South Tibet during the 1962 conflict, and Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as South Tibet. The new map places Taiwan and the contentious South China Sea inside of Chinese territory.

China’s claims on the nine-dash line are also included on the map, staking claim to a sizable portion of the South China Sea.
The South China Sea is claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

According to the China Daily newspaper, the map was unveiled by China’s Ministry of Natural Resources on Monday in Deqing county, Zhejiang province, during the commemoration of Surveying and Mapping Publicity Day and the National Mapping Awareness Publicity Week.

Recently, Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met in Johannesburg, South Africa, for the BRICS Summit.
According to Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra, Prime Minister Modi brought up India’s concerns over unsolved issues along the Line of Actual Control in the Western Sector of the India-China border areas during his talk with President Xi Jinping.

The Prime Minister emphasised that maintaining calm and tranquilly in border regions as well as adhering to and respecting the LAC are crucial for the normalisation of relations between India and China. Two leaders concurred to instruct their respective authorities to step up efforts for prompt disengagement and de-escalation in this area, according to Kwatra.

The chief planner of China’s Ministry of Natural Resources, Wu Wenzhong, reportedly told China Daily, an English-language daily newspaper owned by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party: “Surveying, mapping, and geographic information play an important role in boosting the development of the nation, meeting the needs of all walks of life, supporting the management of natural resources, and helping the construction of ecology and civilization.”

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According to Wu, who spoke to China Daily, the next step will be to quicken the application of geographic information data to the growth of the digital economy, including location-based services, precision agriculture, platform economies, and intelligent connected vehicles.

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According to Li Yaowu, deputy secretary-general of the Zhejiang Provincial People’s Government, Zhejiang has prioritised the deep integration of the real and digital economies in recent years and has continued to support the growth of the digital economy.

More nations than it shares borders with with China have territorial disputes. The Chinese Communist Party, or CCP, under Xi Jinping’s leadership, has attempted to impose territorial authority over other sovereign territories by using deceptive strategies and manipulation. Beijing’s expansionist attempt to take over additional territory has violated all international rules.
With the justification that these areas were once a part of greater Tibet, China has now laid claims to portions of the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.

Up to 11 Indian locales had their names arbitrarily “renamed” by a desperate Beijing in April of this year. These names included mountain peaks, rivers, and residential areas.
Beijing has used similar strategies in the past as well. China’s Civil Affairs Ministry had already renamed additional Indian locations in 2017 and 2021, igniting another political conflict. Then, New Delhi denounced China’s aggressive plans.

Arindam Bagchi, the official spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), previously said, “This is not the first time that China has attempted something like this (changing the names of areas in Arunachal Pradesh), and we have already condemned any such attempts. China is trying to show its dominance in places that belong to India’s Arunachal Pradesh. We had previously stated that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India, and imposing titles like these won’t in any way alter that fact.