'No Basis': India Lodges Strong Protest With China Over Its 'Standard Map' Including Arunachal Pradesh

China on Monday released the 2023 edition of its 'standard map' and incorporated Arunachal Pradesh.

New Delhi: India on Tuesday lodged a 'strong protest' with China after it incorporated Arunachal Pradesh in its 2023 edition of its 'standard map'. In an official statement, the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said that such steps by the Chinese side only 'complicate' the resolution of the boundary question”.

"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. We reject these claims as they have no basis. Such steps by the Chinese side only complicate the resolution of the boundary question," the official statement read.

Our response to media queries on the so called 2023 “standard map” of China:https://t.co/OZUwNRNrit pic.twitter.com/sAmy20DEa6

— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) August 29, 2023

China on Monday officially released the 2023 edition of its 'standard map' incorporating the disputed areas including its claims over Arunachal Pradesh, Aksai Chin region, Taiwan, and the disputed South China Sea. It was launched on the website of the standard map service hosted by the Ministry of Natural Resources.

This map is compiled based on the drawing method of the national boundaries of China and various countries in the world.

It is notable that India has repeatedly said that the state of Arunachal Pradesh has "always been" and will "always be" an integral part of the country.

The development comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed to Chinese President Xi Jinping India's concerns on the 'unresolved' issues along the LAC in eastern Ladakh, underlining that maintenance of peace and tranquillity in border areas was essential for normalization of India-China ties.

The two leaders held a brief conversation on the sidelines of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) summit in South Africa's Johannesburg, and agreed to direct their relevant officials to intensify efforts at 'expeditious disengagement and de-escalation'.

It was their first interaction in public after their brief encounter on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali in November last year. 

The ties between India and China have come under severe strain following the eastern Ladakh border row that began in May 2020.

The Indian and Chinese troops are locked in an over three-year standoff in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides completed disengagement from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks.

India has been consistently maintaining that peace and tranquillity along the LAC were key for normalisation of overall ties.

India and China held the 19th round of Corps Commander-level talks on August 13 and 14 with a focus on resolving pending issues at the standoff areas of Depsang and Demchok in eastern Ladakh.

A joint statement described the talks as 'positive, constructive and in-depth' and that both sides agreed to resolve the remaining issues in an expeditious manner.

Days after the fresh round of high-level talks, the local commanders of the two militaries held a series of negotiations in two separate locations to resolve issues in Depsang Plains and Demchok.