• By Mayukh Debnath
  • Wed, 30 Aug 2023 08:39 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND
Add as a preferred

After External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar took potshots at Beijing over its latest attempt to undermine India's sovereignty by showing Arunachal Pradesh and occupied Aksai Chin as parts of China's territory in its "standard map", the Chinese government on Wednesday put forth its stance on the matter.

Attempting to downplay India's objection to the cartographic provocation, the Chinese Foreign Ministry termed the action by Beijing a routine exercise "in accordance with the law".

"The release of the 2023 edition of the standard map of China is the country’s normal exercise of sovereignty in accordance with the law. It’s hoped that relevant parties will treat it objectively and not over-interpret it," said a ministry spokesperson while responding to Indian media reports related to the map issuance.

In an exclusive interview with news broadcaster NDTV on Tuesday, Jaishankar said the latest shenanigan by China was inspired by its "old habits".

"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," the minister said.

He further slammed the Chinese government for its 'absurd claims', asserting that the mere publication of maps cannot legitimise a nation's claim on another nation's territory.

The Ministry of External Affairs said it had issued a strong diplomatic protest following the issuance of the contentious map.

"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." an official release by the ministry stated.

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

The "standard map" released by China is the latest in line of its unilateral attempts to alter status quo along LAC in recent times. In April this year, China 'renamed' several places in Arunachal Pradesh, prompting India to issue a sharply worded response.

This comes amid the disengagement process in eastern Ladakh where Indian and Chinese forces are locked in a border dispute since 2020. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping engaged in a brief interaction during the recently concluded BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa.

In his conversation with Xi, PM Modi highlighted India's concerns on unresolved issues along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the western sector of the India-China border areas, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra had said.

 

(With inputs from ANI)

Also In News