The 'standard map' of China, released recently, has sparked off protests in Nepal and India, and in all of south-east Asia. New Delhi termed the depiction of Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh as part of China as 'absurd' and stated that it will not help China take over these territories. Arunachal Pradesh, a state in India's far northeast, has long claimed by China as "southern Tibet". It was the site of fighting during the 1962 war between the two nations.
China's reaction was along predictable lines. In so many words, Beijing told India to forget about its territorial and cartographic aggressions but engage in bilateral dialogue basically to expand trade ties that are heavily loaded in favour of the Middle Kingdom.
Timing is what matters in politics and diplomacy as well. The timing of the 'standard map' is therefore significant. It appeared soon after Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on the sidelines of BRICS summit in Johannesburg, and when the countdown for G20 summit in New Delhi started. And the homily by Chinese foreign office spokesman Wang Wenbin that India "stay objective and calm", shows that the bamboo capitalist lives on a one-way street. Flexibility or give and take is alien to the Chinese, as their interlocutors have learnt the hard way down the years.
Well, the G-20 summit in Delhi offers an opportunity to focus attention on how Chinese hegemonic ambitions have upset the region. But it became a closed chapter with President, Xi Jinping, deciding to shy away from the summit apparently because of worsening economic troubles at home.
There is also speculation that 'unprecedented scolding' by party elders could be the reason behind Xi Jinping's no-show at G20 summit in India. The decision to abstain (from G20 summit) may have been linked to internal politics being played out in China, Times of India reported, and quoted Nikkei Asia to say that the root of the political shakeup can be traced back to this summer's Beidaihe meeting - the annual gathering of incumbent and retired leaders of the Chinese Communist Party at the Beidaihe seaside resort. Sources told Nikkei Asia that at this year's meeting, a group of retired party elders "reprimanded" Xi, who has assumed near -cult status in the country and questioned him in ways they hadn't till now.
Whatever be these ifs and buts, there is a difference between the absence, even if deliberate, of heads of state or government at previous G-20 summits and the one that Delhi is hosting. There can be no doubt that the Chinese leader has taken a conscious decision, reflecting the frosty bilateral relations between the two Asia giants.
Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, too will not be present at G-20 'event' in Delhi. The explanation for his absence is that he risks arrest on account of an international warrant of arrest against him. He had not travelled to Johannesburg for the same reason. But the so-called arrest warrant or whatever it is, cannot be executed in India, which is not part of the protocol under which his arrest is sought.
Could it be that relations with Russia are sliding on account of US pressure on India? But there is no apparent reason for the bilateral ties with Russia to dip low even as the supply of 'cheap' Russia oil to India has come down in August. India's relations with Russia are in a different league than China.
Some of the south-east Asian countries have reacted in stronger words than India in denouncing China's 'standard map' which, for reasons not very clear, China likes to issue every year. Such is the Chinese arrogance of its heft that it thought nothing of annoying even Nepal, a country over where China has been assiduously working to weaken the age-old and traditional ties with India. The Mayor of Kathmandu has cancelled his scheduled visit to China as a mark of protest.
The 'standard' Chinese map even depicts a 135-square-mile island on the confluence of two rivers on the Russia-China border as its own. Russia has been silent over it, proving how pathetically it has become dependent on Chinese support as the world condemns Russia invasion of Ukraine.
But Russia, once considered the second most powerful nation (after the US) in the world, compromised its border claims with China way back in 2005, signing a mutual agreement.
China has been bullying all its South-east Asia neighbours while laying claim on their (mostly) maritime boundaries and adopting a threatening posture on the maritime route that sees shipping trade worth $3 Trillion across the region. These nations have been opposing the 'made-up' claims of China.
On occasions they have not hesitated to launch strong verbal attacks on China, which has extended its maritime territory into the Economic Zones of its south-east Asian neighbours. Malaysia and Taiwan, joined to criticize China's claims over nearly the entire South China Sea and over self-ruled Taiwan. The Philippines said also "rejected" the map's depiction of Chinese maritime claims. And reminded China that its maritime claim has no basis under international laws, particularly the 1982 UN Convention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Manila has also referred to a 2016 Arbitral Award, which invalidated the so-called nine-dash line drawn on the seas by China and limited China's maritime entitlement.
China behaves as though it cares nothing about international laws or, for that matter, what the rest of the world thinks about its expansionist policies. As domestic troubles mount, President Xi Jinping may be tempted to return to the old school of patriotism. Well, unless the cartographic aggression gets a strong rebuff. Taiwan is already on notice!
