New Delhi/Beijing: India on Thursday categorically rejected China’s move to rename 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh and asserted that the state has always been and always will be an integral part of India as “fabricated” names do not reflect the fact. will change.
China has announced names of Chinese characters, Tibetan and Roman alphabets for 15 more places in India’s northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, prompting a strong reaction from India. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of South Tibet.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, ‘We have seen such reports. This is not the first time that China has attempted to change the names of places in Arunachal Pradesh. China tried to change the name in this way in April 2017 also.
He said, ‘Arunachal Pradesh was and always will be an integral part of India. Coining up the names of places in Arunachal Pradesh will not change this fact.
The latest move comes ahead of China’s new border law, which was passed in October this year and comes into force from January 1, 2022.
India had expressed concern that China’s “unilateral decision” to implement the new border law could have “impacts on our existing bilateral arrangement on border management”.
On October 27, Bagchi had said, “We also hope that China will refrain from acting on the pretext of this law, which can unilaterally change the situation in the India-China border areas.”
This latest action by China has been taken against the backdrop of the ongoing standoff between the two countries on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh in May 2020. In June 2020, more than a dozen Indian and Chinese soldiers were killed in a violent clash in the Galwan Valley.
During the skirmish on 15 June 2020 in the Galwan Valley of Ladakh, 20 Indian Army personnel were martyred. Later China also admitted that five of its military officers and soldiers had died in this incident. This was the most violent clash on the India-China border in nearly 45 years.
Since then there have been several diplomatic and military level talks. At some points of the dispute, both sides have reduced troops in an effort to defuse tensions, yet at other points of the standoff in eastern Ladakh, Indian and Chinese troops continue to face each other.
Meanwhile, Indian Army officials and satellite images have confirmed that Chinese forces have increased their strength in the areas along the Arunachal border.
Chris Biggers, a geospatial intelligence expert, told India Cable, “Our surveillance shows the presence of a PLA (ground force) in Gyantse and other units have been deployed near the Gamba.” Hawkeye 360 began detecting radio frequency activity in Gamba in August 2020, when we first discovered a new deployment to the east of the area’s field garrison.
In fact, China has announced names of Chinese characters, Tibetan and Roman alphabets for 15 more places in India’s northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh. China claims south of Arunachal Pradesh as Tibet.
China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs announced on Wednesday (December 29) that it changed the names of 15 place names in Zangnan (Chinese name for Arunachal Pradesh) to Chinese characters, the state-run Global Times reported on Thursday. The Tibetan and Roman alphabets are standardized.
It was said in the news that this is in accordance with the rules on geographical names issued by the Chinese cabinet ‘State Council’.
The official names of 15 places, which have been given exact longitude and latitude, include eight residential places, four mountains, two rivers and a mountain pass, the news said.
This is the second set of standardized names of places in Arunachal Pradesh by China. Standardized names of six places were first issued in 2017.
China claims Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet, which is strongly rejected by the Ministry of External Affairs and says the state is an inseparable part of India.
China regularly opposes visits of top Indian leaders and officials to Arunachal Pradesh to substantiate its claim.
India and China share a 3,488-km-long Line of Actual Control (LAC) on the border, which is a dispute between the two.
According to the Global Times news, the eight place names that China has standardized are Sengkejong and Daglungzong in Kona County of Shannan region, Manigang, Duding and Migpen in Medog County of Nyingchi, Goling, Danga and Nyingchi in Jiyu County. Mezag of Lunzhe County of Shannan Prefecture is included.
It said that there are four mountains – Wamori, Deu Ri, Lungzhub Ri and Kunmingxingje Fang.
The two rivers whose names have been standardized are Sheongmo Hee and Dulan Hee and are named after a mountain pass in Kona County.
The news quoted Lian Xingmil, an expert from Beijing’s China Tibet Science Research Center, as claiming that the announcement was part of a national survey of names of places that have existed for hundreds of years.
He said it was a legitimate move and it was China’s sovereignty to give them standardized names. Standardized names for more places in the region will be announced in the coming times.
(with input from news agency language)
read this also…
Categories: world, india, special
.
