New map, old ambitions

(Baonghean) - Historically, printed or drawn maps of China have always been on rectangular paper frames with the width greater than the height. This shape is due to the fact that China's territory is 5,200 km wide, stretching from the Yalu River in the northeast to the Tibetan Plateau in the west. Its height, however, extends only from the Inner Mongolian Plateau in the north to Hainan Island in the south, a distance of just over 3,000 km. Thus, never before has a map of China had its height greater than its width; only in March 2013, for the first time in the history of Chinese cartography, did a "vertical rectangle" map suddenly appear, showing a width of 5,200 km and a height of 5,500 km. The question is, where did China acquire the land and sea to add over 2,000 km vertically to its map?

Looking at China's "new map," we see they have incorporated a long, narrow "cow's tongue" into their territory and maritime boundaries, encompassing numerous islands and reefs belonging to various countries. A large portion of the sea and islands depicted on this map are under the sovereignty of Vietnam. A closer examination of the newly drawn map (referred to as the "new topographic map" or the "new map of the People's Republic of China") reveals that China's territory and maritime boundaries include all the islands that China currently claims sovereignty over, such as Senkaku/Diaoyu (currently under Japanese administration), Macclesfield Bank, Scarborough Shoal (occupied by China from the Philippines in 2012), the Paracel Islands (occupied by China from Vietnam in 1974), Gac Ma Island in the Spratly Islands (occupied by China from Vietnam in 1988), and 80% of the South China Sea's surface, as depicted in the "cow's tongue" shape that China is pursuing in its attempt to monopolize.

Instead of making pronouncements about its ambitions to encroach upon the South China Sea and East China Sea, which are being opposed by the international community, China is ignoring public opinion and international law, printing a "new topographic map" to openly affirm its scheme and determination to invade islands and maritime territories. China is launching a propaganda campaign for this "new map," using deceptive rhetoric and distortion of facts to mislead the Chinese people into believing that their territory and maritime areas, as depicted in the newly printed map, have existed since ancient times but have been encroached upon by other countries, including Vietnam! Even more harmful, China is using this map as teaching material in schools to incite extremist "nationalism" and foster a desire for "revenge and restoration of the homeland" among its younger generations!

So, currently, in terms of foreign policy, China is pursuing a policy of encroaching on islands and maritime territories, causing instability in the region. Domestically, because of this policy, China has deceived its own people, creating suspicion and fostering unfavorable sentiments that undermine friendship between nations. Everyone knows that the territory of each country is a historical reality existing on the ground; it cannot be arbitrarily drawn on paper according to one's wishes! Knowing this, but due to excessive greed and unrealistic dreams of encroaching on the islands and maritime territories of other countries, "knowing it is wrong, China still acts recklessly."

Vietnam, like other countries in the international community, has repeatedly affirmed that China's nine-dash line claim, also known as the "cow tongue line," in the South China Sea is completely without legal basis and contrary to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to which China is a signatory.

Now, China is relying on its own imagined "nine-dash line" to create a new "map of the People's Republic of China," infringing upon the territory and territorial waters of Vietnam and other countries. This is completely wrong and confuses reality and falsehood. Naturally, the entire international community considers this map arbitrarily drawn by China to be completely worthless. The spokesperson for the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly stated directly to China that Vietnam possesses ample historical evidence and legal grounds to assert that the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagos belong to Vietnam. China is not permitted to arbitrarily include these two archipelagos, and the vast sea area of ​​Vietnam, on its territorial topographic maps!

China's printing and distribution of a "new map" that infringes upon Vietnam's territory and maritime boundaries is a deliberate attempt to escalate tensions and complicate the situation in the South China Sea, contrary to the high-level joint statement of the two countries, and detrimental to maintaining peace, stability, and cooperation in the region.

China's newly drawn map once again provides compelling evidence that, with its irrational ambition to invade the South China Sea, China is willing to go from one wrongdoing to another, with no intention of stopping.

That is something the entire international community needs to be wary of in the face of China's unusual "rise."

The "new topographic map," the new "territory of the People's Republic of China," if China insists on printing and distributing it domestically, will remain merely a domestic product of China and will never be recognized by the international community. This map will only serve one purpose: to expose the ulterior motives and ambitions of those who commissioned its creation and publication to invade the territories of neighboring countries, thereby provoking strong protests from the international community!

Thach Quy