Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Philippines follow India to reject new map of China

Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines have followed India in rejecting the new map China has issued to assert its expansive territorial claims, not only in the Himalayas but also in the South China Sea and the East China Sea.

Taipei also objected to the new map that showed Taiwan (officially the Republic of China) as a part of China or the People’s Republic of China.

Kuala Lumpur lodged a protest with Beijing through diplomatic channels over the '2023 edition of the standard map of China'. It noted that the map reflected China’s unilateral claims encroaching upon Malaysia’s Exclusive Economic Zone in the South China Sea near its Sabah and Sarawak states. Malaysia cited its own map released in 1979 to dismiss the territorial claim of China.

China’s map holds no binding authority over Malaysia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Southeast Asian nation stated in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia noted that it viewed its dispute with China over the South China Sea as “a complex and sensitive matter”.

The South China Sea is a major waterway and the sea lanes in this region account for over US $5 trillion of international trade. It has been at the centre of a territorial conflict between China and many of its maritime neighbours, like Vietnam, the Philippines, Brunei and Malaysia.

Though an Arbitral Tribunal constituted under the 1982 United Nations Convention on Law of Sea (UNCLOS) delivered a unanimous decision several years ago rejecting China’s expansive claims on the South China Sea, Beijing has steadfastly refused to adhere to it.

Manila too on Thursday protested the new map issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Chinese Government in Beijing.

“This latest attempt to legitimise China's purported sovereignty and jurisdiction over Philippine features and maritime zones has no basis under international law, particularly the 1982 UNCLOS," the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) of the government of the Philippines stated on Thursday.

The Philippines called on China to act responsibly and abide by its obligations under the UNCLOS and the “final and binding 2016 Arbitral Award”.

Vietnam opposed the inclusion of the Paracel and Spratly islands in the South China Sea as part of the territory of China in the new map. It accused China of violating its sovereignty over the islands, as well as its sovereignty, sovereignty rights and jurisdiction rights over maritime territory as determined by the UNCLOS.

New Delhi had on Tuesday lodged a strong protest with Beijing through diplomatic channels over the 2023 ‘standard map’ of China that laid claim to India's territory. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had dismissed China’s move to reassert its claim on territories of India as "absurd".

Taiwan is "absolutely not a part of the People's Republic of China", the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China, Jeff Liu, said. He rejected the communist country’s new map that showed Taiwan as a part of China. 

Notwithstanding strong protests from New Delhi, Hanoi, Manila and Kuala Lumpur, Beijing on Wednesday defended its new map – calling it an “exercise of sovereignty in accordance with law”.