India claims Aksai Chin as part of Ladakh.
Two days after India supported the “Correct the map” resolution in the UN on September 4, 2026, a new map of the world issued by the United Nations, seems to have left India’s Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin of Jammu and Kashmir appearing like regions caught between Indian and Chinese claim lines. The UN map, published on July 1, 2026, shows Arunachal’s southern State border with Assam as the “Chinese Line” while eliminating the State’s border with Nagaland. It shows the State’s northern border with China’s Tibet as the “Indian Line”. Similarly, the map shows Aksai Chin’s eastern borders as the “Indian Line” and uses a “Chinese line” that appears to serve as a line of demarcation between Ladakh and Aksai Chin.
“India’s sovereign territory, including the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, must be depicted in accordance with India’s official map. MEA is yet to respond to The Hindu ’s query on the separate demarcation of Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin with contesting claim lines from India and China. Aksai Chin is part of Ladakh as per India’s official position.
The Ministry of External Affairs had reiterated India’s support to the “Correct the Map” resolution on Sunday (September 6, 2026) but declared that “India voted in favour of the resolution” and explained its position as a vote on the “underlying principle of promoting equal – area cartographic representation”. “We also highlighted that the resolution does not constitute endorsement of any specific map, projection or depiction of national boundaries,” the MEA had said. Any inaccurate or misleading depiction is unacceptable,” said the Official Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in response to media queries.
Nepal, recently hit by the disaster at the Bhotekoshi river, had earlier in 2019 protested against India’s new political map issued after the abrogation of Article 370 that year, but is yet to comment on the new UN map.
Earlier this year, Nepal’s new government had written to India asserting Kathmandu’s claim over the Lipulekh region, that India uses for transportation of pilgrims and traders to Tibet and to Kailash Manasarovar region.
