Beijing: China has officially revealed its 2023 edition of the “standard map,” asserting its claim over the state of Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin region. China released the ‘standard map’ on August 28. The map depicts Arunachal Pradesh, which China refers to as South Tibet, and the Aksai Chin, occupied during the 1962 conflict, as integral parts of its territory.

The map also encompasses Taiwan and the disputed South China Sea within Chinese boundaries, incorporating China’s expansive claims within the nine-dash line.

Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei have competing claims over the South China Sea regions. The map’s release coincided with China’s Surveying and Mapping Publicity Day and the National Mapping Awareness Publicity Week celebration in Deqing County, Zhejiang province.

India-China border

During their meeting at the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping discussed various issues. Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra conveyed that Prime Minister Modi highlighted India’s concerns along the Line of Actual Control in the Western Sector of the India-China border.

PM Modi emphasised the importance of maintaining peace along the border and respecting the LAC to normalise India-China relations. Both leaders agreed to accelerate efforts towards disengagement and de-escalation.

Wu Wenzhong, the chief planner of China’s Ministry of Natural Resources, emphasised the role of geographic information in national development, resource management, and ecological construction. The focus will shift towards applying geographic information data like digital maps and navigation to the digital economy’s development, including location-based services, precision agriculture, platform economy, and intelligent connected vehicles.

Territorial disputes

Zhejiang province has been actively integrating the digital and real economies, supporting the digital economy’s growth. China’s territorial disputes extend beyond its neighboring countries. Under Xi Jinping’s leadership, the Chinese Communist Party has employed manipulative tactics to assert territorial control over other sovereign territories, violating international norms.

China’s recent claims over parts of Arunachal Pradesh are based on its assertion that these regions were historically part of greater Tibet. In April, China unilaterally “renamed” 11 Indian locations, sparking a diplomatic confrontation. Similar tactics were employed in 2017 and 2021, which New Delhi condemned, affirming Arunachal Pradesh’s integral status within India.

China’s actions have been met with international criticism, and India continues to assert its sovereignty over these regions, emphasizing that such attempts do not alter the ground reality.