In a sharp rebuke to China’s latest move to rename locations in Arunachal Pradesh, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has called the move a “senseless” attempt.
“China has persisted with its senseless attempts to rename places in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh,” official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a national daily on Tuesday.
“We firmly reject such attempts. Assigning invented names will not alter the reality that Arunachal Pradesh is, has been, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India,” he added.
On Monday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, while vehemently opposing Beijing’s actions, had questioned the “legitimacy” of such a move.
“If today I change the name of your house, will it become mine? Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always be a state of India. Changing names does not have an effect…Our army is deployed there (Line of Actual Control),” the Foreign Minister told the press on Monday.
Earlier on April 1, China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs released the latest list reinforcing its claim over Arunachal territory.
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China frequently protests against visits by Indian leaders to Arunachal Pradesh, asserting its territorial claims by referring to the region as South Tibet and designating it as “Zangnan”.
A similar war of words had broken out between the countries in early March, after China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin, had strongly opposed PM Modi’s visit to the state.
Swiftly responding, India had affirmed Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of the country and rejecting China’s territorial assertions.
Moreover, Beijing’s objections to the United States’ endorsement of Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory have added another dimension to the dispute.
In a notable display of solidarity, the Joe Biden administration has expressed staunch opposition to any incursions or encroachments across the Line of Actual Control, underscoring the broader international implications of the India-China standoff.
In 2017, China unveiled the initial list of standardized names for six locations within the region it refers to as Zangnan. This was followed by a second with 15 places in 2021, and a third list featuring names for 11 additional places in 2023.
