A new official map from China that displays territorial claims
It still indicates that China’s boundaries encompass the entirety of the state of Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin area.
The “2023 edition of the standard map of China” was published on August 28 by the Chinese government, and it maintains that China’s boundaries encompass the whole state of Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin area.The Natural Resources Ministry published the 2023 map. The so-called nine-dash line that encircles the whole South China Sea is also included on the map, as is the territorial claims on China’s western frontiers. Similar to earlier maps, a “tenth dash” is drawn east of Taiwan to emphasise Beijing’s territorial claims to the island.
The most recent map comes after Beijing said in April that it will “standardise” the names of 11 locations in Arunachal Pradesh, including a town near the state capital Itanagar. This was the third such list of “renaming” locations in Arunachal Pradesh, and it was interpreted by observers as retaliation for Beijing’s opposition to India’s staging events in the State leading up to the G-20 conference. The conference in New Delhi, scheduled for September 9–10, is anticipated to include Chinese President Xi Jinping.
According to State media, China’s “National Mapping Awareness Publicity Week” saw the unveiling of the 2023 map.
The Ministry of Natural Resources will also release “digital maps and navigation and positioning” after the standard map is made available for public use. These will be used in a variety of industries, such as “location-based services, precision agriculture, platform economy, and intelligent connected vehicles,” according to the report.
The People’s Republic of China’s Law on Surveying and Mapping, which was passed “to strengthen the administration of the surveying and mapping undertaking, promote its development, and ensure that it serves the development of the national economy, the strengthening of national defence, and progress of society,” was passed 30 years ago this year.
Beijing has strengthened control over border regions under Mr. Xi, and in 2022 a new border legislation that outlines numerous duties for Chinese civilian and military authorities to conduct in order to “safeguard national sovereignty” was passed. Article 7 of the legislation, which calls for fostering border education at all levels of government, is relevant to the issuance of new names. Chinese military must conduct border drills and “resolutely prevent, stop, and combat” what it refers to as “invasions, encroachments, and provocations,” according to Article 22.
