China's new map includes disputed islands in South China Sea

China has issued a new 'vertical' map which includes its territorial claims in the South China Sea, Xinhua news agency reported.

The new, and the first map which includes all the disputed islands that China claims in the South China Sea was made by a Hunan map publishing company, an official publisher.

“Islands in the South China Sea share the same scale with mainland and are better shown than traditional map,” the state-run news agency reported.

“(The new map) will give the readers a comprehensive and intuitive understanding about China's full picture," Xinhua quoted the editor-in-chief of Hunan map publishing house, Lei Yixun as saying.

On the issuance of the new map during a regular press conference on Wednesday, China’s foreign ministry's spokesman Hua Chunying said various versions of China maps had been published by local map publishers.