INDIA rejected attempts by China to assign new set of names in Chinese, Tibetan and pinyin characters for Arunachal Pradsh in an effort to reemphasise its claim over the Indian state.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “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.”
China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs on Sunday had released the standardised names of 11 places for Arunachal Pradesh, which it calls “Zangnan, the southern part of Tibet” in accordance with regulations on geographical names issued by the State Council, China’s cabinet.
The ministry also gave precise coordinates, including two land areas, two residential areas, five mountain peaks and two rivers, and listed the category of places’ names and their subordinate administrative districts.
This is the third batch of standardised geographical names for Arunachal Pradesh issued by China’s civil affairs ministry. The first batch of the standardised names of six places in Arunachal was released in 2017, and the second batch of 15 places was issued in 2021.
India has previously dismissed the Chinese move of renaming some places in Arunachal Pradesh, asserting that the state has “always been” and will “always be” an integral part of India and that assigning “invented” names does not alter this fact.
