China renames 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh: China has announced names of Chinese characters, Tibetan and Roman alphabets for 15 more places in the northeastern Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of South Tibet. India has rejected its claim and declared the state as its integral part. According to IANS, the Chinese government has taken this step two days before the implementation of the new border law.
Also read: China launches first bullet train in Tibet, close to Arunachal Pradesh
Chinese state-run Global Times reported on Thursday that China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs announced on Wednesday that it has standardized the names of 15 places in Chinese characters, Tibetan and Roman alphabets of Zangnan, the Chinese name for Arunachal Pradesh. This is in accordance with the rules on geographical names issued by the State Council of China’s cabinet.
The Global Times said that the official names of 15 places, which have been given precise longitude and latitude, have eight residential areas, four mountains, two rivers and a mountain pass. This is the second attempt by China to rename places in Arunachal Pradesh. The names of six places were earlier released in 2017.
China claims Arunachal Pradesh to be South Tibet, while the Indian Foreign Ministry has strongly rejected Beijing’s claim and described the state as an “Integral part of India”. Beijing opposes the visit 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). There is a dispute between the two countries regarding the LAC.
Let us tell you that in November, there were reports of China setting up a cluster of buildings in Arunachal Pradesh. The buildings are located about 6 km within India, in the region between the Line of Actual Control and the International Boundary.