India Calls Out China For Assigning ‘Invented Names’ To Places In Arunachal Pradesh, Says ‘Not The First Time’

India’s response comes as China announced Chinese characters, Tibetan and Roman alphabet names for 15 more places in India’s northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh.

Representative Photo: Getty Images

New Delhi: India on Thursday responded to the Global Times report on China announcing Chinese names for some places in Arunachal Pradesh.

Ministry of External Affairs’ official Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that assigning “invented names” to places in Arunachal Pradesh does not alter the fact that it is an integral part of India.

“We have seen such reports. This is not the first time China has attempted such a renaming of places in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. China had also sought to assign such names in April 2017,” MEA’s official statement quoted Arindam Bagchi as saying.

“Arunachal Pradesh has always been, and will always be an integral part of India. Assigning invented names to places in Arunachal Pradesh does not alter this fact,” he added. 

India’s response comes as China announced Chinese characters, Tibetan and Roman alphabet names for 15 more places in India’s northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which it claims as South Tibet.

China Announces “Standardised” Names Of 15 Places: Global Times

“China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs announced that it had standardised in Chinese characters, Tibetan and Roman alphabet the names of 15 places”: China’s state-run Global Times reported, referring to Arunachal Pradesh as Zangnan, the Chinese name for the territory that it claims as “the southern part of China’s Xizang”.

This is in accordance with regulations on geographical names issued by the State Council, China’s cabinet, the report mentioned.

It further stated that among the official names of the 15 places, which were given exact longitude and latitude, “eight are residential places, four are mountains, two are rivers and one is a mountain pass”.

The Global Times reported that the eight residential places in the second batch are S ngkezong and Daglungzong in Cona County of Shannan Prefecture, Mani'gang, Duding and Migpain in Medog County of Nyingchi, Goling, Damba in Zayu County of Nyingchi, and Mejag in Lhunze County of Shannan Prefecture.

The four mountains are Wamo Ri, D u Ri, Lh nzhub Ri and Kunmingxingz Feng, it stated.

The two rivers are Xenyogmo He and Dulain He, and the mountain pass is named Se La, in Cona County.

The report quoted Lian Xiangmin, stated to be an expert with the China Tibetology Research Centre in Beijing, as claiming that the announcement is part of the national survey on place names that have existed for hundreds of years.

It is a legitimate move and China’s sovereignty to give them standardised names. More standardised place names in the region will be announced in the future, Lian told Global Times.

Second Such Announcement By China

This is the second batch of “standardised” names of places in Arunachal Pradesh given by China.

The first batch of such names for six places was released in 2017.

China claims Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet which is firmly rejected by the External Affairs Ministry which maintains the state is “an inseparable part of India”.

Beijing routinely protests visits of top Indian leaders and officials to Arunachal Pradesh in its bid to continue staking its claim over the territory.

The India-China border dispute covers the 3,488 km long Line of Actual Control (LAC).

(With PTI Inputs)