World

India slams China, says inventing names for places in Arunachal Pradesh won’t change reality

India on Tuesday reminded China once again that inventing names to some places in Arunachal Pradesh will not change the reality as the northeastern border state has always been, and will always be an integral part of the country.

The Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs, responsible for social administrative affairs under the State Council, “standardized some geographical names in southern Tibet” on Sunday with all 11 places falling in India’s Arunachal Pradesh.

This is the third time that the Chinese ministry has announced “publicly used place names in southern Tibet” with similar attempts made in April 2017 and December 2021.

“We have seen such reports. This is not the first time China has made such an attempt. We reject this outright. Arunachal Pradesh is, has been, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. Attempts to assign invented names will not alter this reality,” said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi in a statement.

India has repeatedly criticised Beijing’s continuous interference in the affairs of north-eastern states, especially Arunachal Pradesh.

As reported by IndiaNarrative.com earlier, in October 2021, New Delhi had reacted strongly to the comments made by the spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry on then Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu’s visit to the state.

Replying to a question put by a local TV channel, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian had said that Beijing “firmly opposes the Indian leader’s visit” to an area that it has “never recognized”.

The MEA then said that objecting to the visit of Indian leaders to a state of India does not stand to reason and understanding of Indian people.

“We have noted the comments made today by the Chinese official spokesperson. We reject such comments. Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India. Indian leaders routinely travel to the state of Arunachal Pradesh as they do to any other state of India,” the MEA had said.

India had also made it clear that the current situation along the LAC in the Western Sector of the India-China border areas has been caused by unilateral attempts of the Chinese side to alter the status quo in violation of the bilateral agreements.

At the same time, New Delhi continues to bolster strategic connectivity to the northeastern states.

In January, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the signature steel arch bridge over Siyom river in Arunachal Pradesh which is not only of huge strategic importance along the India-China border but also provides connectivity to remote areas of the region.

Singh also dedicated 27 infrastructure projects constructed by Border Roads Organisation (BRO) at a cost of Rs 724.3 crore in the seven border states.

Siyom bridge in Arunachal Pradesh is of huge strategic importance along the India-China border (Image courtesy: BRO)

This included three bridges on the north Sikkim Lachen Axis and an 80-feet Thangu permanent bridge on strategic Kalep-Gaigong Road which will assure all-weather connectivity to local commuters and also enable speedy induction of troops and military equipment to forward areas.

The Defence Minister has also been visiting the forward posts along LAC in the region to make an on-ground assessment of the operational preparedness.

India continues to reiterate that it expects the Chinese side to work towards early resolution of the remaining issues along the LAC in Eastern Ladakh while fully abiding by bilateral agreements and protocols rather than trying to link unrelated issues.

Also Read: India to China – Inventing names to places in Arunachal Pradesh won’t change the reality

Ateet Sharma

Ateet Sharma reads the pulse of the geopolitical contests in Eurasia, and India’s outreach in the region and beyond.

Recent Posts

VINBAX 2024: Vietnam-India bilateral army exercise concludes at Kaushalya Dam

The fifth edition of the historic Indo-Vietnam Joint Field Training Exercise, VINBAX-2024, successfully concluded its…

12 hours ago

India-Russia strengthen defence ties at 22nd Working Group meeting on military technical cooperation

The 22nd meeting of the India-Russia Working Group on Military technical cooperation and defence industry…

13 hours ago

“I want to have strong representation of India at World Nuclear Exhibition 2025”: Sylvie Bermann

Sylvie Bermann, President of the World Nuclear Exhibition expressed confidence in India's nuclear supply chain…

14 hours ago

PoJK: Joint Awami Action Committee protests against government following new ordinance, many injured

Joint Awami Action Committee core member Shaukat Nawaz Mir has condemned the attack of police…

14 hours ago

PM Modi meets 31 world leaders, heads of organisations during his 3-nation foreign visit

Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in 31 Bilateral Meetings and informal interactions with global leaders…

17 hours ago

India- Australia conduct 11th Indian Air Force-Royal Australian Air Force Air Staff Talks

India and Australia conducted the 11th edition of the Indian Air Force and Royal Australian…

17 hours ago