China renames 30 locations in Arunachal Pradesh to assert territory claim: Report

In a recent development reported by the South China Morning Post, the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs has undertaken the renaming of 30 more locations in Arunachal Pradesh. This move is part of China’s effort to assert its claim over the region, referring to it as Zangnan, a portion of the Tibetan autonomous region.

The Ministry released its most recent batch of “standardized” names on Saturday, encompassing 11 residential areas, 12 mountains, four rivers, one lake, one mountain pass, and a piece of land. The specific names of the places that have been renamed have not been disclosed yet. As per the SCMP report, each of these names was presented in Chinese characters, Tibetan script, and pinyin, representing the Romanized version of Mandarin Chinese.

“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.

According to a report from the state-run Global Times, in April of last year, China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs unveiled its third set of renamed places, consisting of 11 locations including two land areas, two residential areas, five mountain peaks, and two rivers. The report also detailed the categories of places and their respective subordinate administrative districts that underwent renaming. This initiative follows the release of the first batch of standardized names for six places in Arunachal Pradesh in 2017, and a subsequent second batch of 15 places in 2021.

On March 28, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that Beijing may continue to assert its unfounded claims as many times as it wishes, but this will not alter New Delhi’s stance that Arunachal Pradesh has always been and will always remain an integral and inseparable part of India. Jaiswal’s remarks followed recent comments by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian, who reiterated China’s claim over the region.

In response to the US State Department’s assertion on March 9, stating that “the United States recognizes Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory and we strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to advance territorial claims by incursions or encroachments, military or civilian, across the Line of Actual Control,” the Chinese military criticized the US position. They emphasized that India and China possess mature mechanisms, communication channels, and both the ability and willingness to appropriately address border issues through dialogue and consultations.

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