'Habitual Offender': Congress After China Includes Arunachal Pradesh In Its Map

New Delhi: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday took strong objection to the inclusion of Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin in China's 'standard map' and asserted that these are 'inalienable parts' of India. His reaction came a day after China officially released the 2023 edition of its 'standard map' and incorporated Arunachal Pradesh, Aksai Chin region, Taiwan, and the disputed South China Sea.

In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), Kharge said, "The Indian territories including Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin are an indistinguishable and inalienable part of India. No arbitrarily invented Chinese map can change that."

"China is a habitual offender when it comes to renaming and redrawing maps of territories, belonging to other countries. The Indian National Congress takes strong objection to any such illegal representation or renaming of India's territories," he added. 

The Congress president stated that 'we want a peaceful coexistence with our neighbours', including China and want peace and tranquillity at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

"It is, however, painful to note that China's deception and belligerence continues, post Galwan, in the wake of PM Modi giving them a free pass, by saying 'no one entered our territory', after 20 of our brave soldiers were martyred," he said.

He also asserted that the status quo ante before May 2020 should be of utmost importance, and the government must not budge from anything less than its restoration.

"We hope that the G20 Summit in India, will be another opportunity for us to expose the issue of China's transgressions into Indian territory at the global stage.

"Modi Government must ensure that the illegal Chinese occupation of 2000 square kilometres of Indian territory along the LAC must end," he said.

India has repeatedly said that the state of Arunachal Pradesh has 'always been' and will 'always be' an integral part of the country.

China released the 2023 edition of its 'standard map' days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveyed to Chinese President Xi Jinping India's concerns on the 'unresolved' issues along the LAC in eastern Ladakh, underlining that maintenance of peace and tranquillity in border areas was essential for normalization of India-China ties.

The two leaders held a brief conversation on the sidelines of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) summit in South Africa's Johannesburg, and agreed to direct their relevant officials to intensify efforts at 'expeditious disengagement and de-escalation'.

It was their first interaction in public after their brief encounter on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Bali in November last year. 

The ties between India and China have come under severe strain following the eastern Ladakh border row that began in May 2020.

The Indian and Chinese troops are locked in an over three-year standoff in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides completed disengagement from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks.

India has been consistently maintaining that peace and tranquillity along the LAC were key for normalisation of overall ties.

India and China held the 19th round of Corps Commander-level talks on August 13 and 14 with a focus on resolving pending issues at the standoff areas of Depsang and Demchok in eastern Ladakh.

A joint statement described the talks as 'positive, constructive and in-depth' and that both sides agreed to resolve the remaining issues in an expeditious manner.

Days after the fresh round of high-level talks, the local commanders of the two militaries held a series of negotiations in two separate locations to resolve issues in Depsang Plains and Demchok.