Arunachal Pradesh is an inalienable part of India: MEA on China’s attempt to rename places in state

Arindam Bagchi, official spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MEA), stated on Thursday that Arunachal Pradesh is an intrinsic part of India, and that China’s imaginative nomenclature will not affect the ground truth. The MEA representative was replying to a query about China’s attempt to rename Arunachal Pradesh locations.

“This is not the first time that China is making such attempts, and we have criticised such attempts. Arunachal Pradesh is an inalienable part of India. China giving its own inventive names will not change the ground reality. I would like to re-emphasise that,” Bagchi said during the MEA Weekly Media Briefing on Thursday.

Arindam Bagchi’s comment comes after China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs announced the names of 11 Arunachal Pradesh locations as “Zangnan, the southern part of Tibet.”

On Sunday, the ministry published the names of 11 locations and provided specific coordinates for two residential neighbourhoods, five mountain summits, two rivers, and two other localities. According to the news article, China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs has revealed the names of the categories of localities and their subordinate administrative districts.

The US also strongly condemned China’s efforts to advance a claim over Indian territory in Arunachal Pradesh by renaming locations, according to the White House 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.

In a regular press conference, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning 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 standardised the names of some parts of Zangnan. This is within China’s sovereign rights.”

During the MEA weekly briefing on Thursday, Arindam Bagchi also reacted to a query about a Chinese diplomat’s statement that the situation on the India-China border is stable and that emergency control has been lifted.

Bagchi said: “The restoration of normalcy in our relationship will require restoration of peace and tranquility in the border areas which has been disturbed since April 2020. As External Affairs minister said, the presence of a large number of troops there in contravention of agreements is an abnormality.”

“We have been holding discussions on the diplomatic and military tracks. But till the situation in the border areas sees a return to peace and tranquility, we cannot foresee normalcy in the overall relationship,” Bagchi added.