China releases new official map, showing territorial claims

 It continues to show the entire State of Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin region as being within China’s borders.

China’s government on August 28 released the “2023 edition of the standard map of China”, which continues to show the entire State of Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin region within China’s borders.

The 2023 map was released by the Ministry of Natural Resources. The territorial claims on China’s western borders, as also the so-called nine-dash line covering the entire South China Sea, are shown on the map as in previous editions. Also as in previous maps, a “tenth dash” is placed east of Taiwan, underlining Beijing’s claims over the island.

The latest map follows Beijing in April announcing it would “standardise” the names of 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh, including a town close to the Arunachal Pradesh capital of Itanagar. This was the third such list “renaming” places in Arunachal Pradesh, and was seen by observers as a response to India holding events in the lead-up to the G-20 summit in the State, which Beijing had opposed. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to attend the September 9-10 summit in New Delhi.

The 2023 map, State media reported, was released during what is being called “National Mapping Awareness Publicity Week” in China.

Following the release of the standard map for public use, the Ministry of Natural Resources will also release “digital maps and navigation and positioning” for use in various fields including “location-based services, precision agriculture, platform economy and intelligent connected vehicles,” the report said.

This year marks the 30-year anniversary of the Law of Surveying and Mapping of the People’s Republic of China which was passed “to strengthen the administration of the surveying and mapping undertaking, promote its development and ensure that it renders service to development of the national economy, the building up of national defence, and progress of the society”.

Under Mr. Xi, Beijing has tightened management of border areas, passing in 2022 a new border law that lists various responsibilities for civilian and military authorities in China to take steps to “safeguard national sovereignty”. The issuing of new names is related to Article 7 of the law, which calls for promoting border education at all levels of government. Article 22 calls for the Chinese military to carry out border drills and to “resolutely prevent, stop and combat” what it calls “invasions, encroachments and provocations”.