China has upset many countries in the Asia-Pacific region with its release of a new official map that lays claim to most of the South China Sea, as well as to contested parts of India and Russia, and official objections continue to mount. What is the map, and why is it upsetting people so much?

It seems significant, then, that Beijing chose to release the map on the heels of a late August meeting of the BRICS nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – and just before China is to participate in top-level meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Group of 20 rich and developing nations.

In releasing the map now, Beijing is widely seen as signaling it has no intention of backing down on any of its claims and is making sure that its positions are fresh in the minds of other countries in the region.

  • @Duamerthrax
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    171 year ago

    Here’s China’s new map of their claimed territory from China’s own website.. For comparison, here’s one provided by Wikipedia with the Dark Green is claimed and controlled. The light green is claimed, but not controlled. The wiki map seems to be out of date anyway. It doesn’t included the claimed, but not controlled specs out to sea.

    This is also being talked about in all the news outlets of China’s neighbors. The Independent was not the first place I saw this news. China is making China look bad.

    • @TokenBoomer
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      -51 year ago

      OMG you are right. Just read several articles about it. I feel bad for finding it hilarious. Why provoke India? Talk about throwing around your weight,