India has rejected China’s decision to rename 11 locations in Arunachal Pradesh, claiming that the state has “been” and will “always be” an integral part of India.
As part of its efforts to reaffirm its claim to the state, China yesterday announced new names for 11 locations in Arunachal Pradesh. This is the third time that China has changed the names of places in Arunachal Pradesh to “Zangnan, the southern part of Tibet.”
Five mountain peaks, two land areas, two towns, and two rivers are all on China’s list of names.
The first two of these lists were released in 2018 and 2021, respectively. China published a list of six names in 2017, and in 2021 it renamed 15 locations in Arunachal Pradesh.
According to a statement issued by New Delhi, China is inventing names that do not alter reality.
“We’ve seen similar reports. This is not the first time China has attempted something like this. “We categorically reject this.” Arindam Bagchi, a spokesperson for the External Affairs Ministry, stated.
Arunachal Pradesh is, has always been, and will continue to be a fundamental and inalienable component of India. Attempts to change this reality by giving invented names won’t work, he said.
The Global Times, a publication in China owned by People’s Daily, the official mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party, reports that the Chinese government is calling this action “standardized geographical names.”
Only a few days after the Dalai Lama visited Arunachal Pradesh in 2017, China announced the initial list of names. The visit of the Tibetan spiritual leader infuriated China.
The Dalai Lama sought asylum in India in 1959 after fleeing Tibet through Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh following China’s military occupation of the Himalayan region in 1950.
Last December, Indian and Chinese troops clashed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the state’s Tawang sector, escalating a months-long border standoff in eastern Ladakh.
Following the standoff, India increased its overall military readiness along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh.
Then-Defense Minister Rajnath Singh accused China of attempting to “unilaterally” alter the status quo along the LAC.
Last month, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stated that the situation along the LAC in eastern Ladakh remains “very fragile” and “quite dangerous” in military terms due to close deployments of both sides’ troops in some pockets, despite “substantial” progress in the disengagement process in many areas.
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