The newly elected NDA government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved the renaming of 30 places in Tibet, signaling a strong response to China’s nomenclature aggression in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.
The names approved by Delhi, which is based on historical research and affiliation to the Tibet region, will be released by the Indian army and updated on their maps along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Ties between the two neighbors hit a low except for trade ever since the eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash in the Pangong Tso area. The two sides have so far held 21 rounds of military talks to resolve the standoff.
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This move comes as a retort to China’s renaming of 30 places in Arunachal Pradesh earlier in April, a decision that drew strong objections from India. Under Modi 3.0, India aims to assert its territorial claims by assigning its own names to locations in occupied Tibet.
The list comprises 11 residential areas, 12 mountains, four rivers, one lake, one mountain pass, and a piece of land, presented in Chinese characters, Tibetan, and pinyin. China’s previous actions include releasing lists of standardized names for places in Arunachal Pradesh since 2017, with the latest list containing almost as many new names as the three prior combined.
Despite China’s repeated claims, India has consistently affirmed Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part and inalienable of the country. The Ministry Of External Affairs has maintained that assigning “invented” names does not alter this reality. This strong response from India comes as China’s expansionist policies in regions like the South China Sea have garnered global disapproval.
Taking charge as Minister of External Affairs for the second time, Minister S. Jaishankar today reaffirmed the country’s robust stance on issues concerning China and Pakistan, stating that both border issues and cross-border terrorism, will be dealt with by India.
“As far as Pakistan and China are concerned, the relations with those countries are different, and the problems there are also different. Our focus with regard to China will be on finding a solution for the border issues and with Pakistan, we would want to find a solution to the issue of years-old cross-border terrorism,” Jaishankar said after assuming office.
