New Delhi: India on Wednesday rejected China's move to rename some locations in Arunachal Pradesh. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said such attempts are "preposterous" and will not change the "undeniable" reality that Arunachal Pradesh will remain an integral part of India.
The Indian government's reaction came after Beijing announced Chinese names for some places in Arunachal Pradesh. "We have noticed that China has persisted with its vain and preposterous attempts to name places in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said while responding to a media query on the issue.
"Consistent with our principled position, we reject such attempts categorically," he added. Notably, China claims certain areas of Arunachal Pradesh as the southern part of Tibet.
Randhir Jaiswal's X Post:
"Creative naming will not alter the undeniable reality that Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India," Jaiswal further stated.
For the unversed, Beijing in the past also attempted to rename several places in Arunachal Pradesh along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Four lists of changed names were reportedly released by China, with the first one published in 2017. In the initial list, China tried to rename six locations. The second list for changing the names of 15 locations was published in 2021 by China. In 2023, a list with 11 additional places was released by Beijing, and the last list was published in April 2024. In the last list, China reportedly proposed to change the names of 30 locations in Arunachal Pradesh.
India rejected China's move to rename places in Arunachal Pradesh every time.
