NEW DELHI – India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has issued a strong rejection of China's recent attempt to rename 30 places within the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. On May 10, 2024, New Delhi dismissed China's actions as "mischievous" and asserted that assigning "fictitious names" would not alter the reality that Arunachal Pradesh is, and always will be, an integral and inalienable part of India.

The latest move by China's Ministry of Natural Resources involved the release of a list containing standardized names for 30 locations in what Beijing refers to as "Zangnan," or "South Tibet," which corresponds to Arunachal Pradesh. This list, published on May 9, 2024, included specific names in Mandarin, Tibetan, and pinyin, along with precise geographic coordinates. The locations encompassed residential areas, rivers, mountains, and mountain passes, escalating an ongoing territorial dispute between the two nuclear-armed nations.

This is the fourth time China has unilaterally released such a list of standardized names for places within Arunachal Pradesh. Previous lists were issued in:

  • 2017: Six places
  • 2021: 15 places
  • 2023: 11 places

Each previous instance prompted a firm and consistent response from India, reiterating its sovereign claims over the northeastern state. India's official stance maintains that the state's status as an undisputed part of India is a settled matter, and such renaming exercises lack any legal or historical basis.

Arunachal Pradesh, a strategically important region, has been at the heart of a long-standing border dispute between India and China. While India administers the state, China claims approximately 90,000 square kilometers of the territory as its own. This claim is one of the key points of contention along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de facto border between the two countries. Beijing's recurring efforts to rename places are widely viewed as an attempt to assert its territorial claims and strengthen its narrative on the international stage.

The MEA's spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, stated, "China has persisted with its senseless attempts to rename places in Arunachal Pradesh. We have rejected such attempts in the past, and we reject this also. Assigning invented names will not alter the reality that Arunachal Pradesh is, has been, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India."

Despite multiple rounds of military and diplomatic talks aimed at de-escalating tensions along the LAC, particularly following clashes in 2020, such actions by China continue to underscore the complex and unresolved nature of the India-China border issue. The latest renaming effort comes at a time when both nations are engaged in discussions to resolve friction points along their shared border. India's position remains resolute: any unilateral alteration of names or geographical features by China will not change the ground reality or India's sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh. The region continues to be governed by India, with its own legislative assembly and administrative structures.