New Delhi has accused Beijing of laying claim to Indian territory on a newly released Chinese map, but China has warned Delhi to “stay calm” about the matter.
After Beijing published a map that claimed the contested Aksai Chin plateau and the north-eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh as part of China’s jurisdiction, India voiced its disapproval of the move.
In response, Beijing suggested that India should avoid “over-interpreting” the situation on the problem.
In the meantime, it has been reported in the media that Chinese President Xi Jinping will most likely not attend the G20 leaders discussions in Delhi the following week.
According to many unconfirmed reports, Premier Li Quang is expected to show up instead. When asked to confirm Mr. Xi’s participation during a routine press briefing on Thursday, the Chinese foreign ministry declined to do so despite the fact that Mr. Xi had previously stated that he would fly to Delhi for the meeting that would take place on September 9-10.
According to individuals who did not wish to be named by the Reuters news agency, he scrapped his proposal because of the controversy surrounding the map. The BBC was unable to verify the report using independent sources.
Just a few days ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a conversation on the margins of the BRICS meeting in South Africa about the 2023 edition of China’s standard national map. Now, tensions have escalated over this issue.
The assertion made by China was referred to as “absurd” by the Foreign Minister S Jaishankar. Following the incident, an official from India stated that both nations had reached an agreement to “intensify efforts at expeditious disengagement and de-escalation” along the disputed border.
On Thursday, China gave indications that it would not budge on the subject of the map, which is a problem that has plagued relations for years.
“It is a routine practice in China’s exercise of sovereignty in accordance with the law,” said Wang Wenbin, the spokesperson for the foreign ministry.
“We hope that all relevant parties can maintain their objectivity and composure and refrain from over-interpreting the situation.”
India has expressed its displeasure with a Chinese map that claims territory.
The boundary conflict between India and China, broken down into 400 words
China’s repeated incursions into Indian territory have frequently been met with an irate response from India.
The disagreement between the two countries stems from a de facto boundary that runs through the Himalayas for 3,440 kilometers (2,100 miles) and is known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC). This border is poorly delineated, and soldiers from both countries frequently come face to face with one another at various locations along its length.
A claim that China makes that it considers all of Arunachal Pradesh to be part of its territory and calls it “South Tibet” is one that India categorically refutes. China rules over the Aksai Chin plateau in the Himalayas, while India asserts that it is rightfully theirs.
Since 2020, when Indian and Chinese troops were involved in a fatal conflict in the Galwan valley in Ladakh, relations between the two countries have deteriorated significantly.
