US map of India shows PoK and Aksai Chin as Indian territory | India News

Jammu and Kashmir is an integral and inalienable part of India. New Delhi has consistently maintained its position in the face of Pakistan’s repeated false allegations. Recently, India’s stance has been accepted by one of its most trusted allies and the world’s leading superpower, the United States.

The US confirmed India’s territorial integrity by showing the entire Jammu and Kashmir on India’s official map. While announcing an interim trade deal with India, the US Trade Representative office released the map showing the entire northern Union Territory, including Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (POK) and Aksai Chin (claimed by China) as part of India, without any dotted lines, demarcation lines or labels designating it as undisputed territory.

The move attracted widespread attention on social media and underlined Washington’s recognition of India’s borders, sending a clear diplomatic signal amid the ongoing territorial dispute.

But India’s territorial sovereignty over Kashmir has never been subject to any external verification; because the country has always claimed that the region is an integral part of its territory. Washington’s latest admission, however, marks a departure from its previous stance.

Why is it important?

Previous US government maps (mostly from the State Department or other agencies) often included clear distinctions (such as dotted lines or legends) to reflect Pakistan’s claims and disputed status of PoK, and sometimes marked Aksai Chin separately or aligned with China’s position.

In addition, the context includes reports of President Trump’s approach to re-hyphenating India and Pakistan in US policy discussions; This reverses the “dehyphenation” strategy (treating India and Pakistan separately) that had been pursued since the George W. Bush administration and continued by subsequent presidents. The release of this map at a time when US-India relations are improving in the wake of tumultuous trade talks underscores the perceived bias towards India in regional representation.

India has long protested this depiction of its borders by the US State Department and other international bodies, particularly in relation to Jammu & Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh, and views them as inaccurate and inconsistent with its territorial integrity.

Whether intentional or not, this attack conveyed a clear diplomatic message to Pakistan: that the US leadership recognizes and aligns with India’s territorial claims.

The timing is particularly important as it overlaps with the US-India interim trade framework announced on the same day, February 7, 2026. Within the scope of this agreement:

1. The US reduced tariffs on Indian goods to 18% (reciprocal rate) from a previously high level of 50% imposed during trade frictions (including penalties linked to India’s purchases of Russian oil).

2. This is described as one of the lowest rates for Asian countries in the context of the agreement.

3. India has committed to lower or eliminate tariffs on various US products (e.g. industrial goods, agricultural products such as tree nuts, dried distillers grains, sorghum, fruits and more), diverting US energy supplies away from Russian oil, and moving towards a broader Bilateral Trade Agreement.