India on Tuesday lodged a strong protest with China on the release of a so called ‘standard map’ by it which showed Indian territory under Chinese jurisdiction.
"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," external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Tuesday.
"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.
The protest lodged by New Delhi on the development came just hours after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar while speaking to a television channel dismissed the ‘standard map’ released by China on August 28, showing parts of Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh within its territory.
Jaishankar during an interaction with a television channel was quoting as saying that China has a ‘habit’ of releasing such maps and mere inclusion of territories belonging to other countries in its maps does not mean anything.
Simply releasing maps with territories not belonging to it does not change anything, as the government is very clear about its territory, and such ‘absurd claims’ don’t make other people’s territories theirs, Jaishankar was quoted as saying by the television channel.
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