Beijing: After India rejected China’s attempt to rename places in Arunachal Pradesh, Beijing on Tuesday asserted its “sovereignty” over the region. At a regular press conference, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said, “Zhangnan (Arunachal Pradesh) is part of the territory of China. According to the relevant conditions of the State Council’s Administration of Geographical Names, the competent authorities of the Chinese government have designated some parts of Zangnan.” Standardized the names of the parts. This is within China’s sovereign rights.” The official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Arindam Bagchi, said on Tuesday that Arunachal Pradesh will always be an integral part of India.
Bagchi issued the statement after China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs revealed the names of 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh, which he referred to as “Zhangnan, the southern part of Tibet”.
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Responding to media queries regarding China renaming some places in Arunachal Pradesh, Arindam Bagchi said in a statement, “We have seen such reports. This is not the first time China has made such an attempt. We reject it outright.”
He further said, “Arunachal Pradesh is, is and always will be an integral and inalienable part of India. Attempts to give invented names will not change this reality.”
Meanwhile, the United States “resolutely opposes” China’s efforts to lay claim to Indian territory, Arunachal Pradesh, the White House said on Tuesday.
“This is yet another attempt by the Chinese to claim our Indian territory. So as you know, the United States has long recognized that territory and we are not going to do anything unilaterally to further the claim of territory by renaming the areas. Strongly oppose the effort. And so again, this is something that we’ve been holding on to for a long time on certain things,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
As per the regulations on geographical names issued by the State Council, China’s cabinet, China issued 11 place names in Arunachal Pradesh in Chinese characters, Tibetan and Pinyin, reports Global Times.
The ministry announced the names of 11 places on Sunday and also gave the exact coordinates, including two residential areas, five mountain peaks, two rivers and two other areas. According to the news report, China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs has also listed the names of the places and the range of administrative districts subordinate to them.
This is the third batch of geographical names announced by the ministry in Arunachal Pradesh, reports Global Times. According to news reports, the first batch of standardized names of six places was issued in 2017, and the second batch of 15 places was issued in 2021.
In December last year, the central government said it has seen reports of China trying to rename some places in Arunachal Pradesh “in its own language” and asserted that the border state has always been and will remain an integral part of India.
Responding to a media query on reports of China renaming some places in Arunachal Pradesh to its own language, Bagchi said China had sought to specify such names in April 2017 as well.
Bagchi said, “We have seen such reports. This is not the first time that China has attempted to rename such places in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. China had also sought such renaming in April 2017. did.”
He said, “Arunachal Pradesh has always been an integral part of India, and always will be. Giving invented names to places in Arunachal Pradesh does not change that fact.”