The Philippines has become the latest country to become angry at China’s release of its new official map, joining Malaysia and India.
The Philippines, India and Malaysia issued strongly worded statements accusing Beijing of claiming ownership of lands belonging to it, according to the US news channel “CNN”.
On Monday, China published its new map, as it has done annually since at least 2006.
She says the purpose behind the order is to correct what she considers to be “problematic maps” that do not represent the reality of Chinese territory.
On Thursday, the Philippines said that it rejects the new Chinese map because it includes a broken line around the disputed areas in the South China Sea, especially since an international court ruled that Manila had these areas in 2016.
The Philippine Foreign Ministry said the map represents the latest attempt by Beijing to legitimize China’s alleged sovereignty over Philippine maritime areas, which have no basis under international law.
India was the first country to object to the map, last Tuesday, when it lodged a strong protest against adding the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh and the disputed Aksai Chin region to China’s territory.
The Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also objected to the map of China, rejecting the “alleged unilateral annexation” of Malaysia’s maritime areas.
It stated that its official position is to reject the claim of control by any foreign party over its sovereignty and its sovereign and judicial rights in its maritime areas.
Chinese response
During the daily press conference, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman rejected the allegations of the three countries.
He said reviewing the map was “a routine activity of the sovereign in accordance with the law”.
He asked the parties to the case not to exaggerate the interpretation of what happened.
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2023-08-31 10:02:20
