China 'renames' Arunachal sites; it doesn't change status, says MEA

Sandeep Dikshit

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 30

India today said assigning of "invented names" by China to places in Arunachal Pradesh did not alter the fact that the state was an integral part of India.

The reaction by the Ministry of External Affairs came after China said it had renamed some places in Arunachal Pradesh in Mandarin.

"We have seen such reports. This is not the first time China has attempted such a renaming of places in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. China had also sought to assign such names in April 2017," said MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.

The 15 "renamed" places include eight townships, four mountains, two rivers and a mountain pass in Arunachal Pradesh. In 2017, China had Sinicised the names of six places in Arunachal Pradesh.

At that time, it was seen as a retaliation against the Dalai Lama's visit to the state.

Officially, China said its civil affairs ministry had "standardised" in Chinese characters, Tibetan and Roman alphabet the names of 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh which it calls Zangnan or South Tibet.

But this time, the renaming takes place when the armies of both countries are in forward deployment along the LAC in eastern Ladakh. It also took place a couple of days before China's new Land Border Law comes into effect on January 1, 2022.

The Ministry of External Affairs has expressed concern over the law and called on China to "avoid undertaking action under the pretext of this law which could unilaterally alter the situation in India-China border areas".

China had earlier defended the renaming, stating that the renaming was "carried out in accordance with our regulations about the names of localities and it is a legitimate action by the Chinese government".

Beijing lays claim over 90,000 sq km of territory in Arunachal Pradesh of India, but New Delhi has consistently rejected the claim.