ITANAGAR, 30 Aug: A day after China released its ‘standard map,’ which included Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin region, Congress MLA Ninong Ering wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, urging him to raise the issue of the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) aggression during the upcoming G20 Summit in New Delhi on 9-10 September.
On Monday, China officially released the 2023 edition of its ‘standard map,’ incorporating disputed areas, including its claims over Arunachal Pradesh, the Aksai Chin region, Taiwan, and the disputed South China Sea.
“This unforeseen yet deliberate incident on the part of the PRC has invoked deep resentment among the people of Arunachal Pradesh. It is commonly known that the PRC has previously attempted to assert its claim over Arunachal Pradesh by renaming 11 locations in April 2023, 15 locations in 2021, and 6 places in 2017,” the MLA said. He mentioned that the recent release of the PRC’s ‘standard map’ is a culmination of their nefarious plans and is significant since Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India, with scarred memories of the 1962 Sino-Indian war.
Referring to the Galwan Valley clash, Pasighat West MLA said, “As you know, India is engaged in combat with an aggressive PRC along the Indo-Tibetan border in the Himalayas, and 20 Indian Army personnel lost their lives defending India’s frontiers against the PLA in the Galwan Valley in 2020. Prior to this, you emphasized that no one can seize an inch of India’s land.”
“Referring to the India-PRC standoff in the Tawang district in December 2022, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah previously stated that the government is committed to ensuring that not a single inch of India’s soil is compromised,” the MLA wrote. Asserting that he has full faith in the PM’s wisdom and the might of the Indian Army in defending the Line of Control and the Line of Actual Control, the MLA mentioned that the release of the map is an attack on India’s sovereignty and integrity.
“I appeal to you to discuss this matter of the PRC unilaterally making changes to its map with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the upcoming G20 Summit in New Delhi on 9-10 September 2023,” the MLA wrote to the PM. He also emphasized that the matter should be highlighted and condemned globally by relevant state-run media in order to appraise the world of the PRC’s aggression.
“This is extremely important since any more silence on this issue will be considered, and even advertised by the PRC as a ‘tacit approval of the Indian side on Chinese claims,” the MLA added.
State BJP condemns China
The state unit of the BJP condemned China for showing Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as part of its territory in its recently released ‘standard map.’
Party spokesperson Techi Necha said that Arunachal Pradesh has always been an integral part of India and will remain so.
He said that Arunachal has no connection with the People’s Republic of China, historically or politically, since ages. The ‘standard map’ released on 28 August depicts Arunachal, which China refers to as South Tibet, and the Aksai Chin, occupied during the 1962 conflict, as integral parts of its territory.
