Chinese customs officials destroyed nearly 30,000 world maps which showed Arunachal Pradesh as a part of India and Taiwan as a separate country.
According to China, Arunachal Pradesh is not an Indian state, but is in fact, a part of South Tibet. China is also objecting to Indian leaders visiting the place and highlighting Arunachal Pradesh as an Indian state.
One of the largest incidents carried out in recent years, this exercise was done to show how much interest China has in protecting its territory. As per a report released on Tuesday, the maps were going to be distributed to an unspecified country.
The maps were burnt post the receival of a tip off by the customs officials of Qingdao city in Shandong province. The officials seized over 800 boxes which contained close to 30,000 maps.
According to a news website, Dazhongwang Qingdao, “A total of 803 boxes of the 28,908 wrong maps were seized and destroyed, the largest amount to be disposed of in recent years.”
“What China did in the map market was absolutely legitimate and necessary, because sovereignty and territorial integrity are the most important things to a country. Both Taiwan and south Tibet are parts of China’s territory which is sacred and inviolable based on the international law,” Liu Wenzong from the Department of International Law of China Foreign Affairs University said in a statement.
Despite having more than 21 rounds of discussion between India and China, the dispute stands unresolved as of now.
Stay tuned for more updates.
