MEA Rejects Misleading Cartography As New UN Map Alters Borders Of Arunachal and Ladakh

A newly published United Nations world map has drawn renewed attention in India after it depicted Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin, both of which New Delhi maintains as part of its sovereign territory, as separate regions positioned between competing Indian and Chinese claim lines. The map, first published on July 1, gained fresh scrutiny in recent days as it emerged that India itself had backed the "Correct the Map" resolution under which the map was released, prompting questions in New Delhi over how the depiction of its disputed borders came about.

The "Correct the Map" resolution was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on September 4, promoting the use of the Equal Earth cartographic projection, a method designed to represent landmasses in their true proportional size rather than distorting the size of regions near the poles. The resolution was introduced by Togo on behalf of the African Union and was primarily aimed at securing more accurate and equitable representation of Africa on world maps, an issue long raised by African nations over historical distortions in traditional map projections such as the Mercator projection.

According to the map, Arunachal Pradesh's southern boundary with Assam is marked as a "Chinese line," while its northern boundary with Tibet is marked as an "Indian line," and the state's border with Nagaland has been removed altogether, effectively depicting Arunachal Pradesh as a separate entity positioned between the two claim lines. A similar treatment appears in the depiction of Aksai Chin, which India considers part of the Union Territory of Ladakh: the map marks its eastern boundary as an "Indian line" and its western boundary as a "Chinese line," separating it from the rest of Ladakh on the map. The United Nations has not offered an explanation for the depiction.

Also Read: Kyiv Under Attack Again: Russia Resumes Strikes After Three-Day Diplomatic Halt Ends

By contrast, the map's treatment of Jammu and Kashmir includes an explanatory footnote, stating that a dotted line represents approximately the Line of Control agreed upon by India and Pakistan and noting that the final status of the region has not been agreed upon by the two countries. No comparable note accompanies the claim lines shown for Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin, a distinction that has drawn attention given the sensitivity of India's boundary disputes with China.

India's Ministry of External Affairs has said that its support for the resolution was based solely on the principle of equal-area cartographic representation and did not amount to an endorsement of any specific map, projection, or depiction of national boundaries. The ministry reiterated that India's sovereign territory, including the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, must be represented according to India's official maps, and that any inaccurate or misleading depiction remains unacceptable to New Delhi. As of now, India has not issued a specific response addressing the map's depiction of Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin.

The controversy comes amid a broader pattern of friction between India and China over territorial cartography. Just last month, India standardised official names for 27 locations in Arunachal Pradesh, a move that drew a sharp protest from Beijing, which continues to claim the state as part of southern Tibet. While the UN map is non-binding, it is expected to be referenced by multilateral institutions worldwide, adding further weight to New Delhi's concerns over how its contested frontiers are being visually represented on the international stage.

Also Read: West Asia Crisis: Jaishankar Briefs Parl Panel On Energy Security, Safety Of 10 Million Indians