German Chancellor Merkel Gives Ancient Map to President Xi as Gift

In one of his visits to Europe, Chinese President Xi Jinping received a map of ancient Asia from German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The said map does not show China's nine-dash line that occupies a huge part of the South China Sea, said foreign affairs officials.

According to San Francisco consul general Henry Bensurto Jr., Xi received a 17th-century map of Asia from Merkel in his visit to Germany earlier this year.

Bensurto, a West Philippine Sea leading expert, emphasized that the ancient map did not show China's nine-dash line. The map also showed that China does not own Hainan.

Based on China's nine-dash-line scheme, 90 percent of South China Sea, with a 3.5 million square-kilometer area, is claimed by China. Other parts of the sea are also being claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Phillippines and Taiwan.

Hainan, located in China's extreme south, has passed a law on Nov. 2013 which requires overseas vessels and ships to pursue a permit first from regional officials before starting surveying or fishing operations in its waters.

The Philippines has sent a memorandum that questions the nine-dash-line scheme based on the United Nations' Law of the Sea. The memorandum was sent to an arbritration tribunal headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands.

Bensurto said that China's ambassador tried to establish a private dinner with the tribunal's president when the five-member committee was established to investigate the Philippines' case in 2013.

The president of the tribunal published an open letter stating that both parties are not allowed to contact the committee without permission from both sides, and that everything will be processed legitimately.

"This is a good indication of the level of high integrity of the judges, especially the president of the tribunal," said Bensurto.

Meanwhile, China and Germany continue to have strong cooperation by signing 110 agreements early October. Premier Li Keqiang, during his meeting with Chancellor Merkel on Oct. 10, received a Lucban Lock as a gift from China.