A new map to be released later this month by China’s National Administration of Surveying, Mapping and Geoinformation increases from 29 to 130 the number of disputed areas marked as officially part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), including the Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台) claimed by Taiwan and Japan.
Previous editions of the “Wall Map Series of National Territory,” which presented China’s claimed territory in horizontal format, only included the larger contested islands in the South China Sea in a separate box at the bottom right of the map, Xinhua news agency said at the weekend. The territories included in the box were half scale and not clearly detailed.
The new map is vertical and is to be distributed by Sinomaps Press on behalf of the Chinese authorities starting next month. It will for the first time display the entirety of the PRC’s claimed territory on the same scale as continental China.
Photo from stcn.com
“The new map will be very significant in enhancing Chinese people’s awareness of national territory, safeguarding China’s marine rights and interests and manifesting China’s political diplomatic stance,” Xu Gencai (徐根才), editor-in-chief at Sinomaps Press, told Xinhua.
In all, the map includes 130 disputed areas, including Taiwan, islets and coral reefs in the Spratlys (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島), the Paracels (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島), the Pratas (Dongshan Islands, 東沙群島), the Macclesfield Bank (Zhongsha Islands, 中沙群島) and the Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island (黃岩島), which are the object of disputes between Taiwan, China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia. It also includes the Diaoyutais, in the East China Sea.
In another first, an inset shows the northern tip of Taiwan and detailed mapping of the eight major islets comprising the Diaoyutais, known as the Senkakus by Japan.
Tensions in the area escalated last week, with China and Japan dispatching fighter aircraft after Chinese aircraft penetrated Japan’s Air Defense Identification Zone near the islets on three occasions.
Lu Chang-shui (盧長水), head of the Mainland Affairs Council’s Department of Information and Liaison, said the map was different from the one in new Chinese passports showing Taiwan and the South China Sea as Chinese territory, as well as pictures of Taiwanese tourist spots.
“A passport represents national sovereignty and a map is for a country’s internal use,” Lu said. “Consequently, the council will use different approaches to deal with the map and the passport.”
Lu added that official maps published by the government include the PRC as part of Republic of China (ROC) territory, as dictated by the ROC Constitution.
In related developments, state broadcaster NHK reported yesterday that Japan would deploy two additional patrol ships at its regional coast guard headquarters responsible for territory that includes the Senkakus.
The 335-tonne Kurose and the 3,100-tonne Chikuzen, which comes equipped with a helicopter, will be deployed in August and October respectively, it said.
Meanwhile, during a meeting in Sydney on Sunday, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Fumio Kishida and Australian Minister of Foreign Affairs Bob Carr told a press conference that the two countries had agreed to increase bilateral cooperation on security issues, Kyodo news agency reported yesterday.
Additionally, the Asahi Shimbun reported that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would embark on a trip to Southeast Asia tomorrow — his first since assuming office last month — where he will seek to deepen cooperation with ASEAN countries on trade, energy and security matters.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan and AFP
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique