China Renames 15 Places In Arunachal Pradesh; India Says, “Invented Names Do Not Matter”
Arunachal Pradesh -India firmly rejected China renaming 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday. India said that “invented names” did not change the fact that the state has been and always will be an integral part of India.
India’s rough reaction came in response to China’s announcement of Chinese names for 15 more places in Arunachal Pradesh. The 15 places of Arunachal Pradesh include eight residential areas, four mountains, two rivers and a mountain pass. China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs announced the news in accordance with regulations on geographical names issued by the State Council, China’s cabinet.
India’s reaction
India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi said that China always tries to rename places in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. He further said that Arunachal Pradesh has always been, and will always be an integral part of India. The Chinese government claims Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet. However, India firmly rejects this idea.
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This is the second batch of standardized names of places in Arunachal Pradesh given by China. The first batch of standardized names was given in 2017 by China. Lian Xiangmin, an expert with the China Tibetology Research Center in Beijing, said that more standardized place names in the region will be announced in the future.
Zhang Yongpan, a research fellow of the Institute of Chinese Borderland Studies said that most areas in Arunachal Pradesh were named by the ethnic groups such as the Tibetan, Lhoba, and Monba because they have long lived in the region throughout history. China’s renaming of the places in Arunachal Pradesh came amid the eastern Ladakh border standoff that began in May last year.
In November, there were reports of China setting up a cluster of buildings in the region between the Line of Actual Control and the International Boundary. In October, the Indian Army had claimed that China had increased its military drills across the Arunachal Pradesh sector.