China infuriates India with new map, upsetting chances of thaw in relations

NEW DELHI — India has responded angrily to a new map published by the Chinese government showing Beijing’s claims to contested territory, as the dispute threatens another flare-up in relations between the two Asian giants at a key diplomatic juncture.

While the map did not illustrate any new Chinese territorial claims, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said Tuesday that India has lodged an official diplomatic protest. China’s so-called “standard map” is released annually by the Chinese Ministry of Natural Resources and usually shows Arunachal Pradesh, a state in India’s far northeast, as part of China. Arunachal, governed by India but long claimed by China as “southern Tibet,” was the site of fighting during a 1962 war between the two nations.