India Rejects China's Attempts To Rename Arunachal, MEA Says 'Creative Naming Won't Alter Reality'

Responding to media queries on China's repeated attempts to rename parts of India's northeastern state Arunachal Pradesh, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Wednesday said that creative naming won't alter the undeniable reality that Arunachal Pradesh was, is & will remain part of India.

"We categorically reject such attempts", said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.

"We have noticed that China has persisted with its vain and preposterous attempts to name places in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Consistent with our principled position, we reject such attempts categorically. Creative naming will not alter the undeniable reality that Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India," a statement released by Ministry of External Affairs said.

In 2024 as well, launching a verbal attack over the name change row, MEA firmly rejected China's repeated attempts to rename places in Arunachal Pradesh. In its official statement, the MEA asserted that assigning "invented names" would not alter the reality that the state "is, has been, and will always be" an integral and inalienable part of India.

China's Renaming Spree

Back in 2017, the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs published the initial list of standardized names for six locations in Zangnan. Subsequently, a second list consisting of 15 places was released in 2021, followed by another list containing names for 11 places in 2023.

Last year, China published a fourth list containing 30 additional names for different locations in Arunachal Pradesh, as part of its ongoing efforts to assert its claim over the Indian state. Beijing claimed Arunachal Pradesh as part of south Tibet and the official website of the ministry has added 30 more names for the region.

In January 2024, Beijing claimed its "sovereignty" over the region. China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, during a regular press conference, said, "Zangnan (Arunachal Pradesh) is part of China's territory. In accordance with relevant stipulations of the administration of geographical names of the State Council, competent authorities of the Chinese government have standardized the names of some parts of Zangnan. This is within China's sovereign rights."

The Sela Tunnel issue

China in 2024 issued a flurry of statements to highlight China's claims over Arunachal Pradesh which began with Beijing filing a diplomatic complaint against India due to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the state.

During the visit, Modi inaugurated the Sela Tunnel, which is situated at an elevation of 13,000 feet in Arunachal Pradesh. The tunnel has been made to provide all-weather connectivity to strategically located Tawang and is expected to ensure better movement of troops along the frontier region.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on March 23,2024 dismissed China's repeated claims on Arunachal Pradesh as "ludicrous" and that the frontier state was a "natural part of India".

"This is not a new issue. I mean, China has laid claim, it has expanded its claim. The claims are ludicrous to begin with and remain ludicrous today," he said in response to a question on the Arunachal issue after delivering a lecture at the prestigious Institute of South Asian Studies (ISAS) of the National University of Singapore (NUS).