India spearheaded regional protests against the map, which asserts territorial claims over contested areas in the Himalayas and nearly the entire strategically significant South China Sea.
HONG KONG — China's latest national map, unveiled by Beijing, has triggered outrage among its neighboring countries, spanning from the towering peaks of the Himalayan mountains to the expansive shoals of the South China Sea.
The 2023 edition of China's "standard map," released on Monday by the Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources, has drawn objections from nations like the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, and India, all of whom have ongoing territorial disputes with China.
The map prominently features a U-shaped demarcation line that reasserts Beijing's sovereignty claims over nearly the entire South China Sea, a region abundant in resources and of strategic importance, serving as a conduit for trillions of dollars in global trade each year. This line extends into the exclusive economic zones of multiple countries.
Donald Rothwell, a law professor at the Australian National University in Canberra specializing in maritime law, has expressed concerns that China's new map could escalate tensions in the area. He noted that even though other nations may voice their objections, now that the map has received Chinese government approval and been published, the Chinese navy and coast guard are likely to act in accordance with the map's delineations to assert Chinese sovereignty and jurisdiction. He shared these insights with NBC News on Friday.
'Consistent and Clear'
The release of China's new national map has triggered strong objections from the Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam, with each country issuing strongly worded statements.
The Philippine Foreign Ministry stated on Thursday that this latest attempt to legitimize China's asserted sovereignty and jurisdiction over Philippine features and maritime zones lacks any foundation in international law. The ministry called on China to act responsibly and uphold its obligations under international law, including a 2016 ruling by an international tribunal in The Hague that rejected Beijing's claims in the South China Sea. China, which did not participate in the tribunal's proceedings, has never accepted the ruling.
In contrast to previous Chinese maps that featured a "nine-dash line" encircling the South China Sea, the new map displays a 10-dash line, although China has used this 10-dash line in the past.
The 10th dash is positioned east of Taiwan, a self-governing island democracy that Beijing asserts as its territory. Taiwan's Foreign Ministry reiterated this week that Taiwan is not part of China, emphasizing that no matter how the Chinese government characterizes Taiwan's sovereignty, it cannot alter the objective fact of Taiwan's existence, as stated by ministry spokesperson Jeff Liu during a news briefing.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry, on the other hand, stated on Thursday that Beijing's stance on the South China Sea remains "consistent and clear." Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin explained that Chinese authorities regularly release various types of standard maps each year and expressed the hope that concerned parties would objectively and rationally assess the new map.
India also registered a strong protest with China earlier this week regarding the map. The map claims the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin plateau, a disputed region in the western Himalayas claimed by India but controlled by China. India's foreign ministry expressed concern that the map would further complicate efforts to resolve the ongoing border dispute, an issue that Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently agreed to intensify.
The map's release occurs less than two weeks before India hosts the annual summit of the Group of 20, which includes China among its members. It remains uncertain whether Xi will attend the summit, according to a Biden administration official who spoke to NBC News on Thursday.
Disputes involving the South China Sea extend beyond cartographic issues, as recent clashes between the Philippines and China demonstrate. This month, the two nations clashed over an incident in which China blocked and used water cannons against Philippine vessels in the waterway.
China's actions have extended to the construction on disputed islands, intimidation of fishermen, and the harassment of planes and ships, including those from the U.S. and other nations conducting "freedom of navigation" operations, which China claims threaten its sovereignty.
Donald Rothwell emphasized the significance of the timing of the map's release, occurring less than a month after China's altercation with the Philippines. This incident raised questions about the credibility of China's dashed-line maps and prompted renewed international support for the 2016 tribunal ruling. Rothwell noted that China appears to be reaffirming its stance and potentially aiming to expand its position, particularly concerning Taiwan.
The timing holds particular weight as members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including the Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam, are set to convene for a summit in Indonesia the following week. China and ASEAN have been engaged in negotiations for a code of conduct regarding the South China Sea.
Disputes over maps are not uncommon in Asia, where governments are quick to counter anything that may be perceived as legitimizing Beijing's territorial claims.
For instance, in July, Vietnam banned the movie "Barbie" due to a scene featuring a map that film censors argued contained the nine-dash line. Warner Bros., the film's studio, defended the map, which actually featured eight dashes, characterizing it as a "child-like crayon drawing" and asserting that it was not intended as a political statement. In contrast, the film review board in the Philippines disagreed with Vietnam's interpretation and allowed the movie to be screened.
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