In yet another unilateral and expansionist move, China released a new edition of the standardised map, claiming the disputed South China Sea, India’s Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin and Taiwan. This comes just ahead of the G20 Summit scheduled to be held in India on 9 and 10 September, when the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, is expected to arrive here.
The new map was officially released on Monday on the website of the standard map service hosted by the Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources. “This map is compiled based on the drawing method of the national boundaries of China and various countries in the world”, said the tweet by the state-run Global Times.
Following the launch of the map, the affected countries have issued official statements condemning the yet another cheap and unilateral move by the Chinese authorities.
India condemns the Standardised Map
India has always maintained that the Chinese claim over the state of Arunachal Pradesh is illegitimate and expansionist. China illegally occupied the Aksai Chin, a part of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, and annexed it in the 1962 war. India is wary of Chinese aggression on the LAC (Line of Actual Control), which recently saw the Galwan clashes which could have escalated to a potential full-fledged war.
The fight for South China Sea
The new map reflects the Chinese absolutist zeal to integrate Taiwan in the mainland- geographically, politically and culturally. With the cartographic integration of Taiwan in the mainland, the 9-dash line has transitioned to 10-dash line, claiming 100 per cent of the South China Sea (SCS).
The Philippines has started standing up against the Chinese aggression in the SCS. The Chinese have constantly violated the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). The USA is also keeping a close watch on the Red misadventures in the Indo-Pacific, which has come to play a pivotal role in the American geopolitical thinking apparatus.
China’s Cartographic aggression
The cartographic aggression by the Red Party is not unmatched by the geographical, on-the-ground aggression by the Red Army. This is the reason why the map is a cause of great worry for the countries like India, Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia.
While the China aspires to be the new superpower in the world, it has still to learn the discipline and the consistency in following the international rules and norms. The new world order has to be better; merely the newness will not suffice.
