The United States has rejected China’s “unlawful claims” on the South China Sea but avoided commenting on Beijing’s assertion on regions claimed by India.

The development came after China released a new “standard map” last week that showed Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin region within China’s border. India asserts that Arunachal Pradesh and Aksai Chin are parts of its territory.

The map also included Taiwan in its territory, along with large parts of the strategically-important South China Sea.

On Tuesday, at a press conference, US State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel was asked about China claiming most of the South China Sea as well as parts of India.

On the South China Sea, Patel said that the Chinese claims are inconsistent with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. However, Patel did not mention India.

“Like many countries, we reject the unlawful maritime claims reflected on that map and call on the PRC [People’s Republic of China] to comport its maritime claims in the South China Sea and elsewhere with the international law of the sea,” he said.

At a separate briefing, Pentagon spokesperson Pat Ryder said that the Beijing’s move is “a continuation of what we’ve seen from China in terms of obfuscation of international sovereignty”, reported South China Morning Post.

India had lodged a “strong protest” against the new map last week. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had termed China’s assertions as absurd. He had said that the country has a habit of releasing such maps but such claims do not change anything.

Defending the map, China had told India to “refrain from over-interpreting” it in response.

Several other countries, including the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam, have also rejected the new map.

The Philippines had called on China on September 31 “to act responsibly and abide by its obligations”.

“This latest attempt to legitimise China’s purported sovereignty and jurisdiction over Philippine features and maritime zones has no basis under international law, particularly the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,” the country’s foreign ministry had said in a statement.