China has released an official edition of its “standard map” for this year incorporating the disputed areas including its claims over Arunachal Pradesh, Aksai Chin region, Taiwan and the disputed South China Sea.
The 2023 edition of China’s standard map was officially released on Monday and launched on the website of the standard map service hosted by the Ministry of Natural Resources,” Chinese media outlet Global Times said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“This map is compiled based on the drawing method of the national boundaries of China and various countries in the world,” it wrote.
China’s new map also displays the state of Arunachal Pradesh which the Xi Jinping-run government claims as South Tibet and Aksai Chin occupied by it during the 1962 war.
The map also includes China’s claims over the estranged island of Taiwan as a part of a vowed objective of the Chinese president.
The countries of Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counterclaims over the South China Sea areas.
The map also reiterates Beijing’s claims on Taiwan by placing a “tenth dash” on the east of the island.
The new map comes after China’s announcement that it would “standardise” the names of 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh including a town close to the state’s capital Itanagar.
This marked the third list introduced by Beijing to “rename” places in Arunachal Pradesh and was perceived as a response to India holding events leading to the G20 Summit in the state, to which China had opposed.
Xi Jinping is expected to attend the G20 Summit to be held between September 9 and 10 in Delhi.