India reacts after China renames places in Arunachal

Kathmandu: India's Ministry of External Affairs has reacted after China renamed several places in Arunachal state.

The Ministry of External Affairs reacted on Tuesday to the third set of names in Chinese, Tibetan and pinyin characters for Arunachal state by China, rejecting the renaming as a part of Chinese attempt to claim over the Indian state.

'We have seen such reports. This is not the first time China has made such an attempt. we reject this outright,' Ministry's spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, 'Arunachal Pradesh is, has been, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. Attempts to assign invented names will not alter the reality.'

The statement of Bagchi comes after China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs came up with the names of 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh, which it referred to as 'Zangnan, the southern part of Tibet.'

On Sunday, Chinese ministry announced the names of 11 locations and provided precise coordinates for two residential areas, five mountain peaks, two rivers, and two other areas. According to the news report, ministry also listed the names of the categories of places and their subordinate administrative districts.

The latest announcement was in accordance with the regulations of geographical names issued by the State Council of China, the Global Times reported on Monday.

It is not the first time China has renamed locations in Arunachal. The first batch of standardized names for six locations was issued in 2017, which was followed by the second batch of 15 locations in 2021.

India and China are locked in territorial disputes along the border for decades, including the dispute in Arunachal state. Such disputes have sometimes resulted in bloody clashes such as deadly Galwan valley brawl in 2020.