New Delhi: India has hit out at China for its renewed effort to rename places in Arunachal Pradesh. It has now become an annual event for China to stake claim on Arunachal Pradesh and rename a few locations on the map.
“Creative renaming will not alter the undeniable reality that Arunachal Pradesh is and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated in an official post on X, on Wednesday.
“We have noticed that China has persisted with its vain and preposterous attempts to name places in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Consistent with our principled position, we reject such attempts categorically,” Jaiswal has been quoted as saying.
According to officials, China is clearly doing this to bother India at a time when there is tension with Pakistan. China extended its support to Pakistan even after it became clear to the world that terror hubs do exist there and receive support from the Pakistan Army.
China is also peeved as its military equipment, used by Pakistan against India, did not have the desired effect. While all missiles were intercepted, Pakistan’s Chinese-origin Air Defence (AD) system was also taken out by India during Operation Sindoor.
China has adopted this tactic to disturb India even in the past. In 2024, it issued maps with new names for 30 locations in Arunachal Pradesh. China calls Arunachal Pradesh ‘Southern Tibet’, something that India strongly objects to.
There have also been minor skirmishes between the Indian Army and China’s People’s Liberation Army along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh over incursion attempts by the latter.
