China's New Map Of Territories Include Malaysian Waters Near Sabah & Sarawak
The map also includes various territories in India that China claims as its own.
By Sadho Ram — 30 Aug 2023, 10:03 AM — Updated 9 months ago
The Ministry of Natural Resources of the People's Republic of China has unveiled the 2023 edition of its Standard Map, which includes large swathes of Malaysian waters near Sabah and Sarawak, as well as various territories in India that China claims as its own
The release of the 2023 China Standard Map does not shy away from contentious areas, encompassing Indian regions such as Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin region.
The new map also claims Taiwan and the South China Sea as part of China's territory.
The map goes further by encompassing maritime zones within Malaysia's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), affecting territories near Sabah and Sarawak, as well as neighbouring countries, including Brunei, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam, according to a report in New Straits Times yesterday, 29 August.
The unveiling of the new map follows an earlier announcement by Beijing regarding its stated intentions to "implement standards" for the names of 11 locations in Arunachal Pradesh, including a city near its capital, Itanagar.
This development marks the third instance of toponym changes related to places within India's Arunachal Pradesh. The report stated that experts view this as China's response to India's hosting of events ahead of the G-20 summit, a gathering to which Beijing has expressed opposition.
The summit, scheduled to take place from 9 to 10 September in New Delhi, is anticipated to be attended by China's President, Xi Jinping.
Meanwhile, the country's Ministry of Natural Resources reportedly has plans to issue 'digital and navigation maps' for use in various fields, including "location-based services, precision agriculture, the economy, and connected smart vehicles".
India has lodged a strong protest with China over the new map
India's Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar dismissed China's claims on contested territory as "absurd", saying the areas belonged to India.
"Making absurd claims on India's territory does not make it China's territory," Jaishankar said.
This comes days after India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to China's President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg last week and highlighted concerns about the stand-off on their disputed Himalayan frontier, according to Reuters.
While the Indian Foreign Minister has made his country's stance clear, there has been no statement from his Malaysian counterpart, Zambry Abdul Kadir, at the time of writing.
