India has once again rejected Beijing’s attempt to rename 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh and asserted that the state has “been” and will “always be” an integral part of India.
In a statement, India said that Beijing was inventing names which would not alter reality.
“We have seen such reports. This is not the first time China has made such an attempt. We reject this outright. Arunachal Pradesh is, has been, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. Attempts to assign invented names will not alter this reality,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Tuesday.
India’s reaction came in response to Beijing announcing on Sunday that it would “standardise” the names of 11 places in the Arunachal Pradesh.
The Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs on Sunday released a third set of names for 11 places in Chinese, Tibetan and Pinyin characters for Arunachal Pradesh, The Global Times, which is part of the ruling Communist Party’s mouthpiece People’s Daily group of publications in China, reported on Monday.
The names follow the regulations on geographical names issued by the State Council, China’s cabinet, as per The Global Times.
Beijing has claimed the bordering state of Arunachal Pradesh to be a part of what it calls Southern Tibet, and also refers to Arunachal Pradesh as Zangan.
China has also released a map showing parts of the northeastern state inside the southern Tibetan region, and has included a town situated close to the state capital of Itanagar.
The list includes precise coordinates for five mountain peaks, two residential areas, two land areas, and two rivers.
Quoting Chinese experts, The Global Times reported that the announcement of names is a legitimate move and China’s sovereign right to standardise geographical names.
This is China’s third such list attempting to rename places in the northeastern state.
China protests over Dalai Lama visit
In 2017 China , for the first time, announced ‘standardised’ official names for six places in Arunachal Pradesh, days after it lodged strong diplomatic protests with India over Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama’s visit to the frontier state.
China’s move came just days after the Dalai Lama’s visit to the state, which was seventh since he fled from Tibet through Tawang and sought refuge in India. During the spiritual leader’s visit, Beijing had warned New Delhi that it will take “necessary measures” to defend its territorial sovereignty and interests.
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju, who accompanied the Dalai Lama during his visit to the state, had asserted that Arunachal Pradesh is “an inseparable part of India”.
China issued the second set of the standardised names of 15 places, along with their exact coordinates and a map on December 30, 2021. At that time, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said that “invented names” did not change the fact that the state has been and always will be an integral part of India.
Worsening relations
Despite military-level talks, relations between New Delhi and Beijing have been worsening. A border standoff between Indian and Chinese troops that began after the two sides clashed in Galwan Valley in eastern Ladakh in June 2020 is far from over. The Galwan Valley battle left 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers dead.
Another face-off in January 2021 near the state of Sikkim, between Bhutan and Nepal, left soldiers on both sides injured.
In December 2022, troops clashed near the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh. Chinese soldiers tried to “unilaterally change the status quo” by transgressing the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Tawang sector on December 9, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had told Parliament.