NEW DELHI: The external affairs ministry of India on Tuesday rejected China's attempt to rename 11 sites in Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing claims as South Tibet. India is of the view that such actions would not change the fact that the northeastern state is a fundamental component of the nation.
The 11 locations in Arunachal Pradesh were renamed by China's civil affairs ministry at a time when the two nations' bilateral relations are at their worst point in six decades due to the military standoff in the Ladakh region of the Line of Actual Control (LAC). It had previously renamed six locations in April 2017 and fifteen more in December 2021.
This was the third time China had unilaterally changed the names of locations in Arunachal Pradesh. Arindam Bagchi, a spokeswoman for the external affairs ministry, commented on the most recent renaming of locations in Arunachal Pradesh by saying, "We have seen such stories. China has already made attempts of this nature. We categorically deny this."
"Arunachal Pradesh is, has been, and always will be, an essential and intrinsic part of India," he continued. Any attempts to give fabricated names will not change the truth of the matter. The northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh is a vital and inseparable component of India, which has previously swiftly rejected attempts to rename locations there.
According to a brief statement released on Sunday by China's civil affairs ministry, "Our ministry, together with relevant departments, has standardised some geographical names in southern Tibet in accordance with the relevant regulations of the State Council (China's cabinet) on the management of geographical names."
The civil affairs ministry provided coordinates of the locations that were renamed, including two land regions, two residential areas, five mountain peaks, and two rivers, according to an article published on Monday by the state-run tabloid Global Times. According to the study, "it identified the category of places' names and their subordinate administrative districts."
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