India Protests Chinese Map Claiming Indian Territories

India says it has lodged a “strong protest” with China over a new map that lays claim to its territory.

Indian media have reported that the map shows the North-Eastern State of Arunachal Pradesh and the disputed Aksai Chin plateau as China’s territory.

It was released by China’s Ministry of Natural Resources on Monday.

“We reject these claims as they have no basis,” India’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.

He added that such steps by China “only complicate the resolution of the boundary question”.

Beijing has not officially responded yet.

India’s protest comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke on the sidelines of the Brics summit in South Africa. An Indian official said afterwards the two countries had agreed to “intensify efforts at expeditious disengagement and de-escalation” along the disputed border.

The source of the tension between the neighbours is a disputed 3,440km (2,100 mile) long de facto border along the Himalayas called the Line of Actual Control, or LAC which is poorly demarcated.

The presence of rivers, lakes and snowcaps means the line can shift in places.

China says it considers the whole of Arunachal Pradesh its territory, calling it “South Tibet,” a claim India firmly rejects.

India claims the Aksai Chin plateau in the Himalayas, which is controlled by China.

BBC