In a move seen as a reiteration of its claim over Arunachal Pradesh, China has standardised the names of 11 places in the state, which it calls “Zangnan, the southern part of Tibet.” The change occurs barely one week after India hosted a G20 summit in Arunachal, which China skipped.
The names were released by China’s ministry of civil affairs in Chinese, Tibetan and Pinyin. According to Global Times, this is in accordance with regulations on geographical names issued by the State Council.
Government sources in Delhi said this wasn’t the first time China had carried out such an exercise and that assigning manufactured names won’t change the situation on the ground. “Arunachal Pradesh has always been and will continue to be an integral part of India,” said a source.
Additionally, the move occurs just weeks before the Chinese defence minister is anticipated to attend a summit of the SCO, an organisation of Eurasian nations that India is now leading. At the SCO conference in July, Chinese President Xi Jinping is additionally anticipated to travel to India.
Elaborating on the naming process, Global Times said: “Experts noted that it is a legitimate move and China’s sovereign right to standardise geographical names. ”
Two land locations, two residences, five mountain summits, and two rivers are all listed with exact coordinates. Types of locations, names, and their subordinate administrative districts have also been noted.
“This is the third batch of standardised geographical names in Zangnan issued by the ministry. The first batch of six places was released in 2017 and the second of 15 places in 2021,” the newspaper added.
