‘Making absurd claims doesn’t make other people’s territories yours’: Jaishankar on China map with Arunachal, Aksai Chin

Earlier in the day, China released the 2023 edition of its “standard map” compiled based on the drawing method of national boundaries of China and various countries in the world.

Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar made the comments at the NDTV Decodes G20 Conclave. (File Photo/PTI)

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In a rebuttal to China releasing a map on Tuesday staking claim over Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin among other regions, Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that making absurd claims over territories wouldn’t make them theirs.

Speaking at the NDTV Decodes G20 Conclave, the Union Minister, calling the release of such maps an old habit of China, said: “China has even in the past put out maps which claim the territories which are not China’s, which belong to other countries. This is an old habit of theirs. It is not something which is new. It started in the 1950s… We are very clear what our territories are. This government is very clear about what we need to defend our territories. You can already see that on out borders. I think there should be no doubt about that. Making absurd claims does not make other people’s territories yours.”

Earlier in the day, China released the 2023 edition of its “standard map” compiled based on the drawing method of national boundaries of China and various countries in the world. The map displayed by the Global Times showed Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as South Tibet, and Aksai Chin occupied by it in the 1962 war, news agency PTI reported.

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The map also incorporated Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory though the island sees itself as sovereign nation, and the nine-dash line, claiming a large part of the South China Sea, according to the news agency.

Earlier this year in April, after China released a third set of names in Chinese, Tibetan and Pinyin characters for Arunachal Pradesh, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had asserted, “Arunachal Pradesh has always been, and will always be an integral part of India.”

‘Have lodged protest through diplomatic channels’

In response to media queries on the “standard map” of China, the Official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Arindam Bagchi said, “We have today lodged a strong protest through diplomatic channels with the Chinese side on the so-called 2023 “standard map” of China that lays claim to India’s territory.”

“We reject these claims as they have no basis. Such steps by the Chinese side only complicate the resolution of the boundary question,” Bagchi added.

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