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CHINA as if looking for trouble, released another new map including areas still disputed by a number of countries in the South China Sea (LCS) region as well as with its neighbor India.

The map released on Monday (8/28) includes a number of areas in the South China Sea that are still in dispute over their sovereign territory, prompting a strong backlash from those countries.

“The Philippines rejects China’s claims included in the latest maps they release and will take strong action to protect our sovereignty,” Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in Puerto Princessa, Kep. Palawan, Friday (31/8).

China so far has overlapping claims with those of Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam in the South China Sea. Up to 80 percent of the two million square kilometers of South China Sea territory China refers to is within the “nine-dash line” (nine-dash line-NDL) claimed as its territory.

Even China also lays claim to what it says is the domain of traditional fishing operations (traditional fishing grounds) to the waters north of Natuna, even though this claim has not been recognized under the International Law of the Sea 1982 (UNCLOS).

The new Chinese map has also drawn protests from its Indian neighbor, including the Aksai Chin region at the foot of the Himalayas which is still disputed, even including the state of Arunachal Pradesh and the plain of Doklam which officially belong to India.

China and India clashed in a disputed area in the Galwan Valley, Ladaksh, Aksai Chin State in 2020, resulting in the deaths of 20 Indian soldiers and four Chinese soldiers.

Ironically, the release of the new map came a week after China, part of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) cooperation alliance, held a summit in Johannesburg, Africa from the South last week. will take part this week in the G20 summit in India and the ASEAN summit in Jakarta.

“China’s claims are absurd and not based on any facts,” Indian Foreign Minister Subhrahmanyam was quoted by NDTV as protests were also filed by Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

In addition to claiming territory included in the NDL, China also claims Taiwan, which it calls the SCS’s Tenth Line, as an autonomous region.

In addition, the latest map could also trigger a conflict with Russia, as China also claims Bolshoi Ushuri Island, located between the Amur and Ussur rivers, even though about 20 years ago China and Russia agreed to divide the two islands.

There are fears that China’s actions could trigger regional conflicts in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, as well as an arms race in the region.