India has given a befitting reply to China’s renaming of 30 places in Arunachal Pradesh. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will be an Indian state in future also.
Speaking to reporters in Surat on Monday, Jaishankar said that nothing will be achieved by changing the name. He asked if he changed the name of someone else’s house, will it become his?
Jaishankar’s Statement
India’s Foreign Minister said, “If I change the name of your house today, will it become mine? Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will remain a state of India. Nothing happens by changing the name nor does it have any effect. You all know that our army is deployed there (LAC). The army knows what they have to do there.”
China gave new names to 30 places of Arunachal
The Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs recently released the fourth list of standardized geographical names in Jangnan, what we know as Arunachal Pradesh. China calls Arunachal Pradesh Jangnan and claims the state as part of southern Tibet.
Additional names for 30 places in Arunachal Pradesh were posted on the official website of the ministry. The report says that the new names will be effective from May 1. Names in foreign languages that may harm China’s territorial claims and sovereignty rights shall not be directly quoted or translated without authorization.
Second list of new names of 15 places released in 2021
The Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs released the first list of standardized names of six places in Arunachal Pradesh in 2017. The second list of new names of 15 places was released in 2021. After this, another list of names of 11 places was released in 2023.
China’s recent statements to assert its claim over Arunachal Pradesh began during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state. On March 9, PM Modi had inaugurated the Sela Tunnel built at an altitude of 13 thousand feet in Arunachal Pradesh. China lodged a diplomatic protest against PM Modi’s visit.
America recognizes Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory
Also, China’s Foreign and Defense Ministry issued several statements to assert its claim on the area. However, the Indian government rejected China’s comments regarding Arunachal Pradesh as absurd. The Ministry of External Affairs said that Arunachal Pradesh was, is and will always be an integral part of India. China has also clashed with America on this issue.
Last month, when the US said it recognized Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory, China protested. Said that the India-China border dispute is an issue between the two countries. Washington has nothing to do with this.
The ground reality is not going to change
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju has also reacted on this matter. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju condemned China’s renaming of several areas in Arunachal Pradesh and said the ground reality will not change the baseless claims made by China.
Rijiju said, “I strongly condemn the geographical names given illegally by China to 30 places inside Arunachal Pradesh. China has been making all baseless claims, but this will not change the ground reality and historical facts.”
-Rahul Dubey