‘Arunachal is, was, and will remain part of India’: New Delhi rejects China's ‘creative naming’

In response to China renaming parts of Arunachal Pradesh, the Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday reiterated that the state will always remain a part of India.

Calling it ‘creative naming’, the MEA said that this won't “alter the undeniable reality that Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India”.

“We have noticed that China has persisted with its vain and preposterous attempts to name places in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Consistent with our principled position, we reject such attempts categorically," the MEA said.

"Creative naming will not alter the undeniable reality that Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India,” the MEA said in an official response to media queries on Wednesday.

China's renaming tactic

China has repeatedly issued maps that rename several locations within the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh.

Last year in April, the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs had released the fourth list of “standardised” geographical names in Zangnan, the Chinese name for Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing claims as part of south Tibet. The Chinese ministry's official website had posted 30 additional names for the region.

The MEA had strongly condemned China's attempt to rename several places in Arunachal Pradesh. In a statement issued on April 2, the MEA had criticised China's actions, stating, “China has persisted with its senseless attempts to rename places in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.”

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had remarked, “If I change the name of your house, will it become mine? Arunachal Pradesh was an Indian state, is an Indian state and will remain so in the future. Nothing will be gained by changing names.”

In April 2023, China had renamed 30 locations in Arunachal Pradesh to lay claim to “Zangnan”. The Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs had published a third set of “standardised” names, including 11 residential areas, 12 mountains, four rivers, one lake, one mountain pass, and a piece of land.

“In accordance with the relevant provisions of the State Council [China’s cabinet] on the management of geographical names, we in conjunction with the relevant departments have standardised some of the geographical names in Zangnan of China,” the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs as quoted by the South China Morning Post.

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.

China's renaming of places in the northeastern state has been a longstanding source of tension between the two countries, with India firmly asserting its sovereignty over the state.

Chinese Foreign Ministry official meets Indian envoy amid India, Pakistan confrontation

China’s senior foreign ministry official in-charge of Asian affairs Liu Jinsong met Indian Ambassador to China Pradeep Kumar Rawat amid India-Pakistan military conflict and exchanged views on bilateral relations and issues of common concern, according to news agency PTI.

Liu, who is the Director General of the Department of Asian Affairs of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, met Rawat on May 12, a brief press release from the ministry said.

India carried out precision strikes under 'Operation Sindoor' on terror infrastructure early on May 7 in response to the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people. Following the Indian action, Pakistan attempted to attack Indian military bases on May 8, 9 and 10.

India and Pakistan reached an understanding on Saturday to end the conflict after four days of intense cross-border drone and missile strikes.

(With inputs from agencies)