The Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs announced on Saturday that it had renamed 30 additional locations along the border with India, as reported by the South China Morning Post. These newly standardized names apply to areas within Arunachal Pradesh, referred to as Zangnan by China, claiming it as part of the Tibetan autonomous region.
Quoting the ministry, SCMP reported, "In accordance with the relevant provisions of the State Council [China’s cabinet] on the management of geographical names, we in conjunction with the relevant departments have standardized some of the geographical names in Zangnan of China."
The renaming process encompassed 11 residential districts, 12 mountains, four rivers, one lake, one mountain pass, and a parcel of land, with names provided in Chinese characters, Tibetan script, and pinyin.
This development follows a recent response by the Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday, dismissing China's claims on Arunachal Pradesh as "baseless." Reiterating India's stance, spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal emphasized that Arunachal Pradesh remains an integral and inalienable part of India, regardless of China's repeated assertions.
Earlier in the week, China persisted in claiming Arunachal Pradesh as its territory, despite India denouncing such claims as "absurd" and "ludicrous." External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had previously criticized China's claims, reaffirming Arunachal Pradesh as a natural part of India during a speech at the Institute of South Asian Studies of the National University of Singapore.
