China releases 30 more names of places in Arunachal
China has released a fourth list of 30 new names of various places in Arunachal Pradesh amid Beijing’s steppedup assertions in recent weeks to reemphasise its claim over the Indian state.
India has been rejecting China renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh, asserting that the state is an integral part of the country and assigning “invented” names does not alter this reality.
The Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs released the fourth list of standardised geographical names in Zangnan, the Chinese name for Arunachal Pradesh which Beijing claims as part of south Tibet, staterun Global Times reported on Sunday.
The official website of the ministry posted 30 additional names for the region.
Set to take effect from May 1, the implementation measures stipulate in Article 13 that “place names in foreign languages that may harm China’s territorial claims and sovereignty rights shall not be directly quoted or translated without authorisation,” the report said. The Chinese Civil Affairs Ministry released the first list of the standardised names of six places in Zangnan was released in 2017, while the second list of 15 places was issued in 2021 followed by another list with names for 11 places in 2023.
‘NOTHING CHANGES’
Reacting to the development, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar asserted that Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will remain an Indian state in the future.
Addressing a press conference, Jaishankar said nothing will be gained by changing the names.
“If I change the name of your house, will it become mine? Arunachal Pradesh was an Indian state, is an Indian state and will remain so in the future.
“Nothing will be gained by changing names,” said the external affairs minister, who is on a twoday visit to Gujarat.
Queried on Indians being hired and forced to fight alongside the Russian Army on the RussiaUkraine border, Jaishankar said the Indian government has “strongly” raised this issue before its Russian counterpart after two Indians died in the war zone.