'Authorities Studying Situation': Indonesian Defence Minister On China's 'Standard Map'

Indonesia's Defence Minister said the authorities are looking into the issue of "standard map" issued by China that lays claim over South China Sea, Arunachal Pradesh, Aksai Chin, and Taiwan.

Indonesian Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto on Thursday said that the authorities were looking into the issue of the “standard map” that China issued last month laying claim on the disputed South China Sea and Indian territories of Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin region along with Taiwan. Speaking to news agency ANI, Indonesia’s Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto said,"I think there are authorities that are studying the situation” as the country is hosting the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and 18th East Asia Summit.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday morning reached Jakarta to attend the summits. 

Ahead of the summits, the Ministry of External Affairs stated that subjects of "mutual concern" will be discussed in an apparent reference to the potential of a debate over China’s “standard map”. 

"It is difficult to anticipate what would be discussed when the leaders meet, but issues which are of mutual concern--regional and international will come up once they have the discussion…Whether there would be consensus or not, can't anticipate what would come out of the discussions. We cannot reveal any specific term," Saurabh Kumar, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs said during a press briefing. 

After the map was issued by Beijing, India lodged a strong protest with China and asserted that such steps only complicate the resolution of the boundary question.

The External Affairs Ministry also rejected China's claims as having "no basis".

The Philippines government also slammed China’s 2023 edition of the "standard map" that still shows swaths of Philippine features in the West Philippine Sea.

The Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources issued on August 28 a controversial map that includes the nine-dash line, now a 10-dash line, that supposedly shows China’s boundaries in the South China Sea.

Malaysia had said it would send a protest note to China over the latter’s claims on the South China Sea while Vietnam also criticised China's latest provocation.