India rejects China’s renaming of places along disputed border

Published April 4, 2023
A liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) delivery truck drives along India’s Tezpur-Tawang highway which runs to the Chinese border, in the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh May 29, 2012. — Reuters
A liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) delivery truck drives along India’s Tezpur-Tawang highway which runs to the Chinese border, in the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh May 29, 2012. — Reuters

India rejected on Tuesday the renaming by China of places in what India regards as its eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as part of its territory.

China and India fought a war along parts of their poorly demarcated 3,800-km (2,360-mile) frontier in 1962 and clashes in mountainous regions in recent years have seriously strained relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

The latest angry exchange of words was triggered on Sunday when China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs issued a statement in which it said it had “standardised” the names of 11 places, including five mountains, in what China calls its southern Tibet region.

The statement included a map that showed the 11 places renamed by China as being within “Zangnan”, or southern Tibet in Chinese, with Arunachal Pradesh included in southern Tibet and China’s border with India demarcated as just north of the Brahmaputra river.

India rejected that.

“Arunachal Pradesh is, has been and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India,” Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said on Twitter.

But a spokesperson at the Chinese foreign ministry said the name changes were “completely within the scope of China’s sovereignty”.

“The southern Tibet region is Chinese territory,” the spokesperson, Mao Ning, told a regular media briefing in Beijing on Tuesday.

At least 24 soldiers were killed when the two sides clashed in the Ladakh region, on the western part of their border, in 2020 but the situation calmed down after diplomatic and military talks.

In December last year, troops from the two sides engaged in scuffles in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh.

Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar said last month the situation in Ladakh was fragile and dangerous, with military forces deployed very close to each other in some places.

Opinion

Editorial

Tax tussles
Updated 21 Jun, 2025

Tax tussles

Lawmakers should try and fix the broken tax system rather than advocating for new amnesties.
Seniority crisis
21 Jun, 2025

Seniority crisis

THE Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court has determined that there is nothing wrong with Pakistan’s president...
Monsoon readiness
21 Jun, 2025

Monsoon readiness

OUR cities are once again staring down the very real prospect of waterlogged streets and stalled life with PMD’s...
Power lunch
Updated 20 Jun, 2025

Power lunch

However things develop in the Israel-Iran war, Pakistan must maintain its position, and stand by its neighbouring state.
Refuge denied
20 Jun, 2025

Refuge denied

ON World Refugee Day, it is essential we confront the scale of human displacement, which has now reached...
Income tax rate
20 Jun, 2025

Income tax rate

FINALLY, some clarity. After the confusion created over the applicable rate on the lowest income tax bracket due to...