'Normal exercise': China after India objects to its new map that includes Arunachal

A day after India objected to China's new map that showed Arunachal Pradesh as part of its territory, Beijing on Wednesday said this was "a normal exercise of sovereignty". "The release of the 2023 edition of the standard map of China is the country’s normal exercise of sovereignty in accordance with the law," the Chinese foreign ministry said on Wednesday. The foreign ministry further said that it was hoped that relevant parties would treat it objectively and not over-interpret it.

China on Monday released the 2023 edition of its "standard map" incorporating the disputed areas including its claims over India's Arunachal and Aksai Chin region in Eastern Ladakh. The map also included Taiwan and the disputed South China Sea.

India has strongly protested against this move and said such steps only complicate the resolution of the boundary question. MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that New Delhi had 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," he added.

Minister of External Affairs (MEA) S Jaishankar dismissed China's "standard map" and said that just making "absurd claims" does not make other people's territories yours. "China has even in the past put out maps which claimed territories which are not China's, which belong to other countries. This is an old habit of theirs," Jaishankar said while speaking to NDTV.

"It is not something which is new. It started in the 1950s. So just by putting out a map claiming territories, some of which are part of India.. I think this doesn't change (anything). These are very much part of India," he added.