China Claims Sovereignty Over Arunachal Pradesh After India Rejects 'Renaming' Of Places In Border State

Following India's outright rejection of China's attempt to rename places of Arunachal Pradesh, Beijing on Tuesday 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."

As per an NDTV report, Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Tuesday asserted Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India. His statement came after China's Ministry of Civil Affairs released the names of 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh, referring to it as "Zangnan, the southern part of Tibet."

Responding to media queries over China renaming the regions in Arunachal Pradesh, Arindam Bagchi in a statement was quoted saying, "We have seen such reports. This is not the first time China has made such an attempt. We reject this outright." He further added that Arunachal Pradesh "is, has been, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. Attempts to assign invented names will not alter this reality."

China's attempts to advance a claim over Indian territory, Arunachal Pradesh by renaming localities, were strongly objected to and opposed by the United States, the White House said on Tuesday.

"This is another attempt by the Chinese claim on us, Indian territory. So the United States, as you know, has recognized that territory for a long time and we strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to advance a territory claim by renaming localities. And so, again, this is something that we have long stood by a few things," White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

Names of 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh were released by China in Chinese characters, Tibetan, and pinyin as per the regulations on geographical names issued by the State Council, China's cabinet, Global Times reported. The report stated that the ministry announced the names of 11 places on Sunday along with precise coordinates, including two residential areas, five mountain peaks, two rivers and two other areas. China's Ministry of Civil Affairs also listed the category of places' names and their subordinate administrative districts.

This list is the third batch of geographical names announced by the ministry in Arunachal Pradesh. The first batch of the standardized names of six places was issued in 2017, and the second batch of 15 places was released in 2021, the Global Times reported.

The Union government in December 2022 had said it has seen reports of China attempting to rename some places in Arunachal Pradesh "in its own language" while asserting that the border state has been and will always be an integral part of India.

NDTV quoted Bagchi's response to a media query on reports of China renaming some places in Arunachal Pradesh in its own language. He said China had also sought similar attempts earlier in 2017. "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."

"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.