'Absurd claims' don't make other people's territories yours: Jaishankar on China's so-called new map
New Delhi (PTI): Just making "absurd claims" does not make other people's territories yours, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday rejecting China's so-called "standard map" that laid claim over Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as regions within its borders.
He said Beijing had even put out such maps in the past claiming territories that are not theirs and that it is "an old habit" of China.
On Monday, Beijing released the 2023 edition of the so-called "standard map of China" that claimed Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as belonging to that country.
The "map" also showed the so-called nine-dash line covering the South China Sea as part of China as featured in the previous editions of the 'map'.
"China has even in the past put out maps which claimed the territories which are not China's, which belong to other countries. This is an old habit of theirs," Jaishankar said.
He made the comments while replying to a question on the 'map' at an event hosted by the NDTV.
"It is not something which is new. It started in the 1950s. So just by putting out a map claiming territories some of which are part of India.. I think this doesn't change (anything). These are very much part of India," he said.
"We are very clear what our territories are. This government is very clear about what we need to do to defend our territory. You can see that on our borders. I think there should be no doubt about that," Jaishankar said.
"Just making absurd claims does not make other people's territories yours. Let's be very clear on that," he added.
India on Tuesday lodged a strong protest with China over the map issue and said such steps only complicate the resolution of the boundary question.
"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," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
"We reject these claims as they have no basis. Such steps by the Chinese side only complicate the resolution of the boundary question," he added.
In April, India outrightly rejected China's renaming of some places in Arunachal Pradesh, asserting that the state is an integral part of India and that assigning "invented" names does not alter this reality.
In early April, Beijing announced Chinese names for 11 more places in Arunachal Pradesh which the neighbouring country claims as southern part Tibet.
It was the third batch of standardised geographical names for Arunachal Pradesh issued by China's civil affairs ministry.
The first batch of the standardised names of six places in Arunachal Pradesh was released in 2017 while the second batch of 15 places was issued in 2021.
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Girl child raped, murdered by uncle in Andhra Pradesh
Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh) (PTI): A four-year-old girl was allegedly raped and murdered by her distant relative at a village in Tirupati district, said a police official on Saturday.
According to Tirupati district superintendent of police L Subbarayudu, Nagaraju (24), who is the victim's maternal uncle, lured the girl to a secluded place in AM Puram village by offering her snacks on Friday evening and committed the crime.
"Nagaraju lives near the girl's house and used to play with her everyday. Yesterday (Friday) evening he took her to a shop and bought some snacks. Later, he took her away from her house and sexually assaulted and killed her," he said.
Later, the parents of the girl noticed that she was missing and launched a search for her, and realised that she was last seen with Nagaraju.
They lodged a police complaint over the missing girl.
Following the complaint, the police immediately registered a missing case and took Nagaraju into custody.
During interrogation, the accused confessed to the crime, they said.
Later, police took Nagaraju along to search for the girl's body and found it near a government school around 9 pm.
Nagaraju was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and other relevant sections.
The accused will be produced in a local court on Saturday.
Tirupati SP said they will seek a fast-track court for a speedy trial of the case.
