India Rejects Chinese Attempt to Rename Places in Arunachal Pradesh

New Delhi: The External Affairs Ministry has refuted the Chinese move to the renaming of places in Arunachal Pradesh. In a statement, the official spokesperson of the External Affairs Ministry Arindam Bagchi today said, this is not the first time China has made such an attempt. He said India rejects this outright.

Mr. Bagchi asserted that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of the country and attempts to assign invented names will not alter this reality.

Our response to media queries regarding the renaming of places in Arunachal Pradesh by China:https://t.co/JcMQoaTzK6 pic.twitter.com/CKBzK36H1K

— Arindam Bagchi (@MEAIndia) April 4, 2023

To reiterate its false claim over India’s Arunachal Pradesh, China released a third set of names for 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh. Chinese authorities referred to these places as part of “Zangnan, the southern part of Tibet.”

China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs released the standardized names in Chinese, Tibetan, and Pinyin characters following regulations on geographical names issued by the State Council, China’s cabinet.

These places in Arunachal Pradesh renamed by China include two land areas, two residential areas, five mountain peaks, and two rivers, along with their subordinate administrative districts.

According to the Chinese government-run Global Times, this is the third batch of standardized geographical names for Arunachal Pradesh issued by China’s civil affairs ministry. The first batch of renamed six places was announced in 2017 and the second batch of 15 places in 2021.

India has previously dismissed China’s move to rename places in Arunachal Pradesh. India has always asserted that Arunachal Pradesh has been and will always be an integral part of India. Chinese renaming of places will not change this fact.