China scores diplomatic ‘own goal’ with imperialist map
Tom Rogan
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Communist China is again reminding the world of its unparalleled ability to score diplomatic own goals. Beijing has done so by publishing a new map showing its claimed territories. “Claimed” is the operative word here. The map, as published on X by the state-run Global Times newspaper, is quite striking.
Alongside dominion over democratic Taiwan, the map pretends ownership over the near entirety of the South China Sea. It also asserts sovereignty over areas of northern India. And, as noted by Russia’s Moskovskij Komsomolets newspaper, the map appears to declare sole Chinese ownership over the Sino-Russian border-divided Bolshoy Ussuriysky Island.
CHINA’S CONTINUING COAL SPLURGE UNDERLINES ITS DISINGENUOUS ENVIRONMENTAL RHETORIC
I have two takeaways.
For a start, it’s important to note that the claims in this map are a product of fiction, not reality.
The Bolshoy Ussuriysky Island is recognized as divided between China and Russia. Similarly, while significant areas of the India-China border are contested, China’s claims find little support in the international community. And a mix of international tribunals, all China’s neighbors (except for North Korea), and most other nations agree that China does not own the South China Sea. That China is again publicly raising these claims may reflect its embarrassment over a recent showdown with the Philippines in the latter nation’s exclusive economic zone. Beijing was forced onto the diplomatic defensive after it idiotically decided to fire water cannons and military-grade lasers at Philippine vessels. That aggressive action received widespread international condemnation.
As an extension, this map serves as another strategic own goal for China.
Meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the BRICS summit in South Africa last week, for example, Xi pledged to reduce tensions along the border. That pledge reflected Xi’s pursuit of a positive diplomatic environment in anticipation of his arrival at the India-hosted G20 summit on Sept. 9. The Chinese president wants to show that he is respected and feted over by the international community. Offending the G20 host’s significant nationalist-populist movement, this map only complicates Xi’s agenda. Consider what India’s foreign affairs executive had to say about the map on Tuesday.
As Subrahmanyam Jaishankar put it, “China has even in the past put out maps which claim the territories which are not China’s, which belong to other countries. This is an old habit of theirs. … [India’s] government is very clear about what we need to defend our territories. You can already see that on our borders. I think there should be no doubt about that. Making absurd claims does not make other people’s territories yours.”
Of course, it’s not just Taiwan, India, and the South China Sea nations of Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Brunei that this map offends. It’s also Russia, a nation with which China cherishes a “no limits partnership.” As in Ukraine, Russia centers its territorial narratives in an existential vein. And with the coverage this map is now getting in Russian media, it will play to Russian nationalism, anti-Chinese sentiments, and the legitimate Russian fear that Beijing intends to make Moscow its subordinate partner. At a minimum, Xi’s map makes Vladimir Putin look weak.
In turn, this cartographic fiction reemphasizes the foolish arrogance that so often defines communist China’s diplomacy. Just as Chinese officials often fail to understand their foreign interlocutors, they fail to realize why rude arrogance doesn’t win friends. And while a quiet course correction would make sense, because Xi fears the perception of weakness, no such correction is likely.