India has expressed a strong resignation towards China on August 29 for releasing a new map that includes Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as South Tibet, and Aksai Chin, which it occupied in the 1962 war, along with other parts of Indian territory within its borders. The Indian External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, called these claims “absurd”. The map has claimed Indian territories in the past as well.
The standard map was released just days after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss resolving the boundary situation. PM Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to work for “expeditious de-escalation” along the entire Line of Actual Control (LAC) during their meeting at the BRICS summit in South Africa this month. Beijing called the meeting a “candid and in-depth exchange of views”. Modi’s government has invested billions of dollars in connectivity projects on its side of the border to enhance civilian presence and establish new paramilitary battalions.
“China has put out maps with territories (that are) not theirs. (It is an) old habit. Just by putting out maps with parts of India… this doesn’t change in anything. Our government is very clear about what our territory. Making absurd claims does not make other people’s territories yours,” India’s Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told NDTV.
According to Chinese state media, the map was released during what is being called “National Mapping Awareness Publicity Week” in China and would be followed by other digital and navigational maps.
“We reject these claims as they have no basis. Such steps by the Chinese side only complicate the resolution of the boundary question,” India’s foreign ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said.
Congress leader Tewari said that China must end its occupation of Indian territory.”Today, the real issue between India and China is that they have transgressed along the Line of Actual Control at multiple points on a theater level. Analysts believe that the Chinese are currently in occupation of 2,000 square kilometers of Indian territory. This is the territory that the [Indian] government needs to get vacated,” Tewari said.