China has upset many countries in the Asia-Pacific region with its release of a new official map that lays claim to most of the South China Sea, as well as to contested parts of India and Russia, and official objections continue to mount. What is the map, and why is it upsetting people so much?

It seems significant, then, that Beijing chose to release the map on the heels of a late August meeting of the BRICS nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – and just before China is to participate in top-level meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Group of 20 rich and developing nations.

In releasing the map now, Beijing is widely seen as signaling it has no intention of backing down on any of its claims and is making sure that its positions are fresh in the minds of other countries in the region.

  • phoenixz
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    10 months ago

    Not every western media is like in the US where you can just lie your ass off. Some journalists actually are (and are required to be) good and honest and responsible.

    Just because the Chinese state censorship buro didn’t tell you how you should think, doesn’t mean it’s not true.

    If China tells you how something is, you can pretty much assume it’s that what the government wants you to believe, not what is.