India Turns the Page on China’s Place-Name Parade in Arunachal Pradesh

India strongly rejected China's new attempt to rename at least 27 places in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh as a "preposterous and futile" attempt to claim the territory. The Ministry of External Affairs reaffirmed that Arunachal Pradesh was an "integral and inalienable" part of India, and Beijing's move was of no consequence to the ground reality.

 

We have observed that China has continued with its futile and absurd efforts at christening locations in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. In line with our consistent policy stance, we outrightly reject such efforts. Imagination cannot change the irrefutable fact of Arunachal Pradesh having been, being, and ever being an integral and inalienable part of India," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Wednesday.

 

China's Ministry of Civil Affairs had previously this week released a list of standard Chinese names for 27 places in Arunachal Pradesh, including mountains, passes, rivers, a lake, and settled areas. Beijing calls the state "Zangnan" or "South Tibet" and considers it as part of its own, something New Delhi has consistently and in categorical terms denied.

 

This is the fifth such attempt at renaming by China in the past eight years. India has continued to condemn these attempts, pointing out that such attempts will not alter the status of Arunachal Pradesh or impact India's sovereignty over the state.

 

The new dialogue comes as both neighbors continue to work towards normalized relations after the 2020 military standoff that had their border remain tense.

 

Source: Reuters