2023 Map & Construction Activity In Aksai Chin: How China Is Infringing On India's Sovereignty

The long-standing border tensions between India and China seem to have only escalated since China launched a map in April, incorporating Arunachal Pradesh as its own. But more recently, satellite imagery has shown that there has been an escalation in construction activity in an area in Aksai Chin that was earlier barren, raising alarm bells in the Indian circuit.

These are the 3 things that China has recently done which infringe on India's sovereignty:

1. On Monday, China¡¯s Natural Resources Ministry issued the 2023 edition of its ¡°standard map of China¡±. The map also incorporates within Chinese territory Taiwan, which China claims as part of its territory, and of the South China Sea, where the Chinese side is involved in multiple territorial disputes.

2. A comparison of satellite images from December 2021 and August 2023 shows that the Chinese side has built reinforced bunkers and underground facilities at six locations within an area in the Aksai Chin, according to media reports. This area is about 70km from the Line of Actual Control (LAC). This area was mostly barren earlier but now shows considerable construction activity with new roads and machinery.

3. Earlier in April, China renamed 11 locations within Arunachal Pradesh. This was the third time China had renamed locations in the state; the earlier ones were released in 2017 and 2021. India has continually objected to such lists. Rejecting such claims, India said Beijing could not alter the status of places in the northeastern state. On the other hand, Beijing believes such actions are within India's "sovereign rights".

India believes claims are 'Absurd'

India's Foreign Minister S Jaishankar has termed China's claim "absurd".

Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as part of South Tibet/ BCCL

"China has even in the past put out maps which claim the territories which are not China's, which belong to other countries. This is an old habit of theirs," he told NDTV on Tuesday.

Source of tension & why the situation escalated

The source of border tensions between India and China is the 3,440 km-long border along the Himalayas - called the Line of Actual Control, or LAC - which is poorly demarcated and thus a source of contestation.

The McMahon line, which India recognises as its boundary, is not accepted by the Chinese.

Mc Mahon line/ BCCL

While the border has always been contested, relations between the neighbours have worsened since 2020, when their troops were involved in a deadly clash at the Galwan Valley in Ladakh. It was the first fatal confrontation between the two sides since 1975.

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