NEW DELHI: Six countries, including India, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Taiwan, have opposed China’s new Standard Map. India was the first to dismiss the map on August 28 as it showed Aksai Chin and Arunachal as parts of China’s territory. Besides these, Taiwan and the South China Sea were also included in the map.
“This latest attempt to legitimize China’s purported sovereignty and jurisdiction over Philippine features and maritime zones has no basis under international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” Philippines’ foreign affairs spokesperson Maria Teresita Daza said in a statement.
The map was released by China’s Ministry of Natural Resources. The latest map shows a territorial claim to most of the South China Sea based on what was published in 1947. In July 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in Hague passed a landmark ruling in favor of Manila, calling Beijing’s territorial claims baseless.
However, a growing number of Chinese vessels have sailed within what is referred to as the nine-dash line, and sometimes beyond the boundaries in the last few years. There are six other nations that also claim areas in these waters.
“Vietnam resolutely rejects any claims in the East Sea by China that are based on the dashed line,” said Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Pham Thu Hang.
A statement from Malaysia’s foreign ministry rejected China’s “unilateral maritime claims” to almost the entire South China Sea, “which extends into the Malaysian maritime area,” adding that the map has no binding effect on Malaysia. The nine-dash line also includes disputed waters in Sabah and Sarawak off the coast of Malaysian Borneo.
Meanwhile, the map also reiterated China’s claim over Taiwan and its outlying islands, which fall within the scope of the U-shaped line. “Taiwan is a sovereign and independent country and is not affiliated with the People’s Republic of China,” according to a communiqué from Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Overstepping boundaries
China’s new ‘standard map’ was released by the country’s Ministry of Natural Resources. It had been releasing such maps continuously since 2006. The latest map shows a territorial claim to most of the South China Sea based on what was published in 1947.
