Yet another provocation, China renames 30 places in Arunachal; MEA responds

NEW DELHI: In yet another act of provocation, China has released a fourth list of 30 new names of various places in Arunachal Pradesh in India. The act of renaming the places within the Indian territory is China's latest attempt to claim places in Arunachal Pradesh. Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) criticised China's move and stated that Arunachal is an integral part of the country.

This is not the first time China has attempted to rename the places in the Indian territory. It was the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs, which is tasked with establishing and naming administrative divisions, that renamed the places in Arunachal Pradesh. The new names of the places were published on the website of the Chinese Ministry of Interior.

China has been claiming that Arunachal Pradesh is part of South Tibet which is under its control. China also claims that the new names will come into effect from May 1. China had released the first list of the standardised names of six places in Zangnan - China's official name for Arunachal - in 2017, the second list of 15 places in 2021 followed by another list with names for 11 places in 2023. India countered that the Arunachal is an integral part of the country and giving new names to the places in the state will not change this reality.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Arunachal Pradesh in March this year. The Prime Minister also inaugurated the Sela tunnel in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang district. China was very dissatisfied with this. The act of renaming places in Arunachal comes after this.