Customs officials in China have destroyed 30,000 world maps printed in the country for not mentioning Arunachal Pradesh and Taiwan as part of its territory, according to a media report.
The report from state-run Global Times says that a total of 803 boxes of the 28,908 “wrong maps” were seized and destroyed, making it the largest amount to be disposed of in the recent years.
The report says that the maps were produced by a company in East China's Anhui Province and were on the way to being exported to an unspecified foreign country.
China claims the north-eastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh as part of South Tibet. China routinely objects to Indian leaders visiting Arunachal Pradesh to highlight its stand.
India says the State of Arunachal Pradesh is its integral and inalienable part and Indian leaders visit Arunachal Pradesh from time to time, as they visit other parts of the country.
The two countries have so far held 21 rounds of talks to resolve the border dispute covering 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC).
China also claims the estranged island of Taiwan as its part.
The maps were meant for export to an unspecified country, state-run Global Times reported on Tuesday, 26 March.
Almost 30,000 "incorrect" world maps, showing Taiwan as a separate country and wrong depiction of the Sino-Indian border, were destroyed by the customs authorities in Qingdao, it said.
“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, professor, Dept of International Law, China Foreign Affairs University
(With inputs from PTI and Global Times.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)