Fresh map row erupts between India & China

[Gessler]

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India is stamping its own map on visas it issues to
holders of new Chinese passports that contain a map depicting disputed territory
within China's borders, the latest twist in tension in Asia over China's territorial
claims.

China's new microchip-equipped passports contain a map that marks its
claims over disputed waters and also show as its territory two Himalayan
regions that India also claims.

The map means countries disputing the Chinese claims will have to stamp
microchip-equipped passports of countless visitors, in effect acquiescing to
the Chinese point of view.

In response, India is issuing visas stamped with its own version of the borders,
sources with knowledge of the dispute told Reuters.

"The correct map of India is stamped on to visas being issued on such passports,
" said one of the sources, who declined to be identified.

China's long-standing territorial disputes with Japan and Southeast Asian
neighbours have grown heated in recent months.

On Thursday, the Philippines responded angrily to the new passports, saying
Chinese carrying the document would be violating Philippine national sovereignty.

India and China fought a brief, high-altitude border war in 1962.

The nuclear-armed neighbours have held multiple rounds of talks to resolve
their disputed Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh regions where they fought
the war but have made little progress.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry Hua Chunying told a daily news briefing
that China has selected the maps as background on the inside pages of the
passports issued by the Ministry of Public Security in May.

"The design is not targeting a specific country," Hua said. "We hope that the
relevant countries take a rational and sensible attitude ... to avoid causing
interference with normal Sino-foreign personnel exchanges." (Additional
reporting by Sui-Lee Wee in Beijing; Editing by Robert Birsel)

China puts Himalayan claims on passport map, India maps its own - Yahoo! News

 

[Ammyy]

Its time to show Tibet as independent nation on staple visas to Chinese

 

[Abingdonboy]

Countries in this part of the world all too often act like squabbling todlers.

 

[Kloitra]

Countries in this part of the world all too often act like squabbling todlers.

But this kind of war is much better than the one we are fighting with our other neighbor. I will choose messed up visas and passport anytime over guns and bombs.

 

[isro2222]

Tomarrow if india claim america part of india by map would that make america part of india? Not really.... As a poster above mentioned its far better to have map row than real border clash.... Let world create any kind of map.... it doesnt matter. India holds those regions.... And thats what we should be happy about.... Peace is way forward....

 

[brahmin]

China and India trolling on map .

 

[Kiss_of_the_Dragon]

Its time to show Tibet as independent nation on staple visas to Chinese

Only if you have gut , only we issue staple visas to Indian and not the other way around, We chinese are so lovely sit on the water tower of the world, when we pee on Brahma putra river, you will have to be helplessly need to build water purifcation system in order to collect some drinkable water...you see who's the king of the hill

 

[kurup]

Map row: India calls China's action 'unacceptable', hits back

NEW DELHI/BEIJING: India on Friday termed as "unacceptable" China depicting Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin as its territory in maps of the country on their new e-passports, a step that led to retaliatory action by New Delhi.

China sprung the surprise on India when it showed these territories as part of its own in the maps on their new e-passports.

The Indian embassy in Beijing responded by issuing visas to Chinese nationals with a map of India including Arunachal and Aksai Chin as part of its territory.

In India's first official reaction, external affairs minister Salman Khurshid said, "We are not prepared to accept it."

"We, therefore, ensure that our flags of disagreement are put out immediately when something happens. We can do it in an agreeable way or you can do it in a disagreeable way," he told NDTV.

China, on its part, sort of fudged the issue with its foreign ministry spokesperson saying that the matter should be dealt with in a "level headed and rational manner" to avoid "unnecessary disruptions" to people to people exchanges.

"Hope the countries regard it in a cool-headed manner. China would like to maintain communication with other counties to ensure convenience of travel for both Chinese and foreigners", she said in Beijing.

After the Chinese government started issuing new e-passports, carrying pages with watermark Chinese maps including Arunachal and Aksai Chin as its parts, India hit back by issuing visas to Chinese nationals with a map of India including these places as part of its territory.

Earlier also, China had triggered a diplomatic row by issuing stapled visas to residents of Jammu and Kashmir, terming it as a "disputed territory" and denied visas to those hailing from Arunachal Pradesh.

Peeved over this action, India lodged a strong protest with China which subsequently reverted to issuing normal visas to residents of Jammu and Kashmir but without officially admitting that they were doing so.

China's claim to Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh, which shares a 1,030km unfenced border with it, is not new.

In 1962, China and India fought a brief war over Aksai Chin and Arunachal Pradesh, but in 1993 and 1996 the two countries signed agreements to respect the Line of Actual Control (LAC) to maintain peace and tranquility.

Significantly, these developments occur even as a high- level team of Chinese diplomats, for the first time, visited Sikkim in connection with consular issues, which was seen as reconfirmation of Beijing's stance of accepting the state as part of India.

The development comes even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao on the sidelines of the Asean summit in Cambodia where the two leaders discussed ways to move forward on the vexed boundary issue.

National security adviser Shivshankar Menon is expected to visit Beijing soon for the next round of boundary talks at the level of special representatives with his Chinese counterpart Dai Bingguo.

External News » Indian Defence Review

 

[ironman1]

Only if you have gut , only we issue staple visas to Indian and not the other way around, We chinese are so lovely sit on the water tower of the world, when we pee on Brahma putra river, you will have to be helplessly need to build water purifcation system in order to collect some drinkable water...you see who's the king of the hill

no you'll never be the king of anything or whatsoever ! you are the labour class , not the ruling one ! you can not even search google properly , your twitter and facebook go offline then and again . you people are trained sheep , infact we pity you "king of the hill" cause you are humans and no human should be denied their freedom !

 

[Tshering22]

Not again.

Seriously. Rather than getting pissed and whining about it, GOI could simply retaliate by doing the same for Tibet. I don't undersatnd WTF is MEA doing.