India rejects China renaming places in Arunachal: A look at how northeastern state has remained under a constant threat from Beijing

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A day after China renamed 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh, New Delhi said that “invented names” did not change the fact that the state has been and always will be an integral part of India.

India’s reaction came in response to Beijing announcing Chinese names for 15 more places in Arunachal Pradesh which the neighbouring country claims as South Tibet.

“We have seen such. 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,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.

China claims that Arunachal Pradesh is “South Tibet” – an area that falls under its administrative control. Last year, the country had said that it did not recognise Arunachal Pradesh as a part of India.

Bagchi was responding to a media query on reports that China has renamed some places in Arunachal Pradesh in its own language.

China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs announced on Wednesday that it had standardised in Chinese characters, Tibetan and Roman alphabet the names of 15 places in Zangnan, the Chinese name for Arunachal Pradesh, according to state-run Global Times.

This is in accordance with regulations on geographical names issued by the State Council, China’s cabinet, it said in a report.

China had for the first time assigned Chinese names in Arunachal Pradesh in April 2017, just after the Dalai Lama’s visit to the state. The latest move comes ahead of China’s new border law – passed in October this year – coming into effect from January 1, 2022.

India had expressed concern that “China’s unilateral decision” to promulgate the new border law could have “implications on our existing bilateral arrangements on border management”.

China’s renaming of the places in Arunachal Pradesh came in the midst of the lingering eastern Ladakh border standoff that began in May last year.

Constant threat from China

China has been stepping up its infrastructure development in areas where previously, border transgressions were reported frequently. Concern over Chinese intrusions in the border state has been brought to the notice of the Centre from time to time.

In 2003, former Chief Minister Gegong Apang highlighted the situation in Maja and the adjoining region to Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee while making a case for early resolution of the dispute.

Longju, Asaphila, Migyitun, Namka Chu, Chantze and other areas in Arunachal have witnessed frequent border transgressions since the late 1990s.

Recently, China upped the ante by building “defence villages” in the border areas. An NDTV report said, “China has constructed a second enclave or cluster of at least 60 buildings in Arunachal Pradesh”. It added the new enclave did not exist in 2019 according to the satellite images, but could be seen a year later.

China has built a large 100-home civilian village inside disputed territory between the Tibet Autonomous Region and India's Arunachal Pradesh, claimed the US Department of Defense in its annual report to Congress on military and security developments involving China.

These and other infrastructure development efforts along the India-China border have been a source of consternation in the Indian government and media, it stated.

The report also specifically points out that China has attempted to blame India for provoking the standoff through India's "increased infrastructure development" near the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Asserting that its deployments to the LAC were in response to Indian provocation, Beijing has refused to withdraw any forces until India's forces have withdrawn behind its version of the LAC and ceased infrastructure improvements in the area, it stated.

Chinese state-controlled media forcefully asserted China's intent to refuse any territorial concessions demanded by India.

According to The Quint, China, since July 2017, has been aiming to set up 628 xiaokang (well-off) society villages all across Tibet border areas, one-third of which are closer to the 3,488-km Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India. About 21 border counties were identified with India for the construction of these party-army outposts.

Why Arunachal Pradesh?

Arunachal Pradesh, also known as the North-East Frontier Organization (NEFA), is the largest state in the northeast and shares international borders with Tibet in the north and northwest with Bhutan in the West and Myanmar in the East.

However, China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet.

Beijing's main interest is in the Tawang district, which is located in the northwestern part of Arunachal Pradesh and on the border of Bhutan and Tibet. Defence experts say this is because of strategic and geopolitical reasons as Tawang is an entry point into India’s northeast.

With inputs from agencies

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