On Thursday, China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs announced that it had ‘standardized’ names for 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh, which will be displayed on official Chinese maps. This is part of broader moves by Beijing to assert its claims over Indian territory. Beijing’s move ‘doesn’t alter’ the fact that Arunachal is an integral part of India, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said.
‘This is not the first time China has attempted such a renaming of places in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. China had also sought to assign such names in April 2017’, spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said. ‘Arunachal Pradesh has always been, and always will be an integral part of India. Assigning invented names to places in Arunachal Pradesh does not alter this fact’. Arunachal Pradesh is shown on Chinese maps as ‘Zangnan’ or ‘South Tibet’, and in 2017, Beijing issued six official names for places there, which at the time was seen as retaliation after the Dalai Lama visited the State.
As part of preparations for an upcoming border law, the Ministry of Civil Affairs released the new ‘standardized’ names, exact coordinates and a map on Thursday. India in October expressed concern over the new law, which takes effect on January 1, 2022, saying that ‘China’s unilateral decision to bring out a legislation which can have implications on our existing bilateral arrangements on border management… is of concern to us’.
An attempt was made to legitimize the Chinese military’s transgressions in Eastern Ladakh through the proposed law in March, a year into the crisis along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). As part of it, various Chinese civilian and military agencies are urged to take steps to ‘safeguard’ Chinese territory. This coincides with China’s increased efforts to bolster its control along disputed areas, which includes the construction of ‘frontier’ villages and civilian settlements.
The broader effort involves the use of standard maps by government agencies across the board. According to the Communist Party-run Global Times, the 15 places include eight residential areas, four mountains, two rivers and one mountain pass. During the illegal occupation of Zangnan, India has also established some illegal names in the area, according to Zhang Yongpan. He is a border specialist with the influential Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
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‘China must own the right to name places in the region,’ he told the paper, adding that the naming, as well as the border law, were ‘important moves made by the country to safeguard national sovereignty, better maintain national security and manage border-related matters at the legal level amid regional tension, including frictions with India’. Among the eight towns on the list are Sengkezong and Daglungzong in Cona county, Shannan prefecture; Mani’gang, Duding, and Migpain in Medog county, Nyingchi; Goling, Damba in Zayu county, Nyingchi; and Mejag in Lhunze county, Shannan; the mountains are Wamo Ri, Deu Ri, Lhunzhub Ri and Kumingxingze Feng;
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