India protests after China shows Arunachal Pradesh as its territory in new map

By Shuriah Niazi

NEW DELHI (AA) - India on Tuesday lodged a protest after China released a new map showing Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as its own territory.

"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,” Arindam Bagchi, an External Affairs Ministry spokesman, said in a statement on Tuesday.

“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.

On Aug. 28, Beijing released the 2023 edition of “standard map,” which showed the whole of Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin region as part of China.

Earlier, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar told local broadcaster NDTV that claiming Indian territories is an “old habit” of China.

“These (territories) are very much part of India. This government is very clear (about) what our territories are. Making absurd claims doesn’t make others’ territories yours,” he told the broadcaster.

China released the map, days after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in South Africa.