Malaysia, India protest China's new map staking claims over disputed territories; Indonesia seeking clarity

SINGAPORE: Malaysia has joined India in protesting against China’s claims over disputed territories staked in its newly published map, while Indonesia says it is seeking more details on the issue through its embassy in Beijing. 

China’s Ministry of Natural Resources on Monday (Aug 28) issued the "China Standard Map Edition 2023", which lays claims over large swathes of the South China Sea also disputed by Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Brunei, as well as several land areas in India.

It features a “10-dash” line - with an additional dash to the east of Taiwan - a break from the usual nine-dash line Beijing has been using in recent years to stake its claims over the South China Sea.

The map's release comes just ahead of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) grouping's summit in Indonesia from Sept 5-7 and the Group of 20 (G20) Summit from Sept 9-10 in India, where Chinese leaders are expected to attend.

MALAYSIA’S REJECTION

In response, Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday said it does not recognise China's claims in the South China Sea, adding that the map holds no binding authority over Malaysia, which marks its Independence Day - or Hari Merdeka - on Thursday (Aug 31). 

“The map, among other things, displays China's unilateral maritime claims that encroach upon Malaysia's maritime areas in Sabah and Sarawak, based on the 1979 Malaysia New Map,” it was quoted as saying by Bernama. 

The ministry stressed that Malaysia consistently rejects any foreign party's claims to sovereignty, sovereign rights, and jurisdiction over maritime features or maritime areas based on the 1979 Malaysia New Map.

“Malaysia also views the South China Sea issue as a complex and sensitive matter,” it reportedly said.  

It also underscored the need for the issue to be managed peacefully and rationally through dialogue and negotiations based on provisions of international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS 1982).

"Malaysia remains committed to cooperating to ensure all parties implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea comprehensively and effectively,” said Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

"Malaysia is also committed to the effective and substantive negotiations on the Code of Conduct (COC) in the South China Sea, with the goal of finalising the COC as soon as possible.”

INDONESIA’S RESPONSE

China and ASEAN had reached an agreement on guidelines to speed up negotiations of the COC during a meeting of their foreign ministers in Jakarta on July 13.

Indonesia, which is not a claimant-state, has not yet issued an official response over China’s map that claims territory over the Natuna islet cluster that falls within its 200-nautical-mile EEZ.

But it is also claimed by Beijing within its nine-dash line over the South China Sea, a crucial waterway vital to international shipping lanes and an area of increasing contestation between China and the US.

According to BBC News Indonesia, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently looking for "the truth of the news" regarding the new map. 

"We are currently asking for information from the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing on the veracity of the news," foreign ministry spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah reportedly said on Wednesday. 

When asked whether Indonesia would protest like India did, he said that the authorities are "waiting for input from the Indonesian Embassy first".

INDIA’S STRONG PROTEST

Indian authorities had on Tuesday issued a “strong protest” to China, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP). 

China’s new map reportedly claims ownership over land that New Delhi says is theirs, including territory close to where the neighbours battled in 2020.

“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,” India’s foreign ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi reportedly said in a statement.

“We reject these claims as they have no basis. Such steps by the Chinese side only complicate the resolution of the boundary question.”

India has been wary of its northern neighbour’s growing military assertiveness and their 3,500km shared frontier has been a perennial source of tension.

According to AFP, New Delhi said that two areas on the map released on Beijing’s state-owned Global Times newspaper belong to India.

One was India’s northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which China considers to be part of Tibet, and where the Asian giants fought a full-scale border war in 1962.

The second was the Kashmiri region of Aksai Chin, a high-altitude strategic corridor linking Tibet to western China.

Following this, China doubled down on its new map, which it called a routine exercise, and asked India to refrain from "over-interpreting" the move. 

According to the Times of India, when asked about India's protest, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson said: "On Aug 28, the ministry of natural resources of China released the 2023 edition of the standard map. 

“It is a routine practice in China's exercise of sovereignty in accordance with the law. We hope relevant sides can stay objective and calm, and refrain from over-interpreting the issue." 

PAST MAP CONTROVERSIES

China’s map has also drawn objections from Taiwan, with its foreign ministry spokesman Jeff Liu saying on Aug 28 that the “People's Republic of China has never ruled Taiwan”. 

“These are universally recognised facts and the status quo in the international community," he added.

This is not the first time that China’s publication of a map has drawn objections.

In 2014, China unveiled an update to its official national map which emphasised its “nine-dash” line claim to the South China Sea and made the islands and territories within that region appear more integral to China’s territorial integrity than previous maps, according to The Diplomat. 

This map drew a response from India for continuing to show the disputed territory of Arunachal Pradesh as Chinese territory.

In 2012, the publication of a map in new Chinese passports drew the ire of several countries, with Vietnam and India both voicing their disapproval. 

According to TIME Magazine, the map included parts of India - namely Aksai Chin and most of Arunachal Pradesh - as well as shoals and archipelagos contested by several Southeast Asian nations. 

And just last month, Vietnam banned the blockbuster film Barbie after it featured a scene that shows China’s unilaterally claimed territory in the South China Sea, Reuters reported.