US deletes post featuring map of India showing PoK, Aksai Chin as Indian territory

The graphic, shared on February 7 as part of an announcement on the India–US interim trade framework agreement, drew widespread attention as it departed from the longstanding American practice of marking PoK and Aksai Chin as disputed areas.

The map illustrated India’s proposed tariff reductions on US exports under the bilateral trade understanding.

However, unlike previous US government maps that used demarcation lines to indicate disputed regions, the now-removed graphic showed the full territory in line with India’s official map.

Departure from past US practice

Historically, US government representations of the region have marked areas under Pakistani and Chinese control as disputed. The USTR’s version did not carry such markings and instead depicted the entire territory as part of India.

The move triggered speculation among analysts. Some described it as a deliberate geopolitical signal toward New Delhi at a time when Washington’s relations with Pakistan and China remain strained. Others suggested it may have been an oversight.

The development also comes amid renewed strategic alignment between India and the United States in the Indo-Pacific, after recent tariff tensions had briefly complicated trade discussions.

Ending the debate, the USTR has since removed the post from its official X account. No formal clarification has yet been issued explaining the deletion.

India’s position

India has consistently maintained that the entire Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh “has been, is and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India.” New Delhi also asserts that Aksai Chin is an integral part of Indian territory.

Pakistan and China, however, lay claims to parts of the region, making cartographic depictions of the area diplomatically sensitive.