New Delhi on Thursday, 30 December responded to reports of China renaming some places in Arunachal Pradesh, saying that "assigning invented names to places in Arunachal Pradesh" will not change the fact that it is an integral part of India.
In a brief statement, the Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said:
We have seen such. 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
He added, "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."
China Renames 15 Places in Arunachal
In a report by the state-run Global Times on Wednesday, Beijing announced that it had standardised in Chinese characters, Tibetan and Roman alphabet the names of 15 places in 'Zangnan'.
China claims that Arunachal Pradesh or 'Zangnan' is a part of of South Tibet.
Quoting an expert with the China Tibetology Research Centre Lian Xiangmin, the Global Times report said that of the 15 places renamed by China, eight are residential places, four are mountains, two are rivers and one is a mountain pass.
"The eight residential places in the second batch are Sêngkêzong 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 Mêjag in Lhunze County of Shannan Prefecture," the report said.
Wamo Ri, Dêu Ri, Lhünzhub Ri and Kunmingxingzê Feng are mountains, while Xenyogmo He as well as Dulain He are rivers, according to the report.
The mountain pass is named Se La, in Cona County, the report added.
As per Xiangmin, "The right to name places in the region should belong to China."
These reports come amid the unresolved border tensions between the two nations, who were involved in a standoff on the eastern Ladakh border in May last year.
On June 15 2020, Ladakh’s Galwan Valley, the site of the standoff between the two armies, witnessed a violent clash, resulting in the death of 20 Indian soldiers.
Congress Slams Modi Govt Over 'Inaction'
The Congress on Friday slammed the Modi-led government for 'inaction and shying away from naming China for the land grab of Indian Territory'.
Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge took to Twitter and wrote that "PM Modi and his Beijing Janata Party leaders" merely "distract and deny this land grab by the Chinese."
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