Credit: Irani Sonowal
Itanagar, April 1: China has issued a fourth list containing 30 new names for various places in Arunachal Pradesh, a move that coincides with recent heightened tensions as Beijing seeks to reaffirm its claims over the Indian state.
India has consistently rejected China’s practice of renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh, affirming that the state is an integral part of India and that assigning “invented” names does not alter this fact.
The Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs released this latest list of standardized geographical names in Zangnan, the Chinese term for Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing claims as part of South Tibet. According to the state-run Global Times, the ministry’s official website posted 30 additional names for the region.
Scheduled to come into effect on May 1, the implementation measures include Article 13, which prohibits the direct quoting or translation without authorization of place names in foreign languages that may compromise China’s territorial claims and sovereignty rights, the report stated.
China had previously released three lists of standardized names for places in Zangnan, with the first list of six places issued in 2017, followed by a list of 15 places in 2021, and another list for 11 places in 2023.
Recent tensions escalated after Beijing lodged a diplomatic protest with India over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh, where he inaugurated the Sela Tunnel at an altitude of 13,000 feet, providing all-weather connectivity to strategically important Tawang and improving troop movement along the frontier region.
In response to China’s claims, India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar dismissed them as “ludicrous,” stating that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India. The US also reaffirmed its recognition of Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory, which drew criticism from China, emphasizing that the boundary issue between China and India should be resolved bilaterally.
The latest release of names by the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs stipulates that translations of place names in foreign or minority languages should adhere to standards set by related State Council organs. Standard translations are to be publicized through notices, the national geographical names database, and official publications, according to the implementation measures.
