India rejects China’s attempt to rename places, reaffirms Arunachal Pradesh an ‘integral and inalienable part’

New Delhi: India on Sunday rejected China’s “mischievous attempts” to assign “fictitious names” to places which are part of the country, reiterating that territories, including Arunachal Pradesh, remain an “integral and inalienable part” of it.

In response to media queries regarding China giving “fictitious names” to places, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal urged China to refrain from actions that cause negativity in bilateral ties and undermine efforts to create a better understanding between Beijing and New Delhi.

“India categorically rejects any mischievous attempts by the Chinese side to assign fictitious names to places which form part of the territory of India. Such attempts by China at introducing false claims and manufacturing baseless narratives cannot alter the undeniable reality that these places and territories, including Arunachal Pradesh, were, are, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India.”

“These actions by the Chinese side detract from ongoing efforts to stabilise and normalise India-China bilateral ties. China should refrain from actions which inject negativity into relations and undermine efforts to create a better understanding,” he added.

This is not the first time China has attempted such a renaming of places in India.

In May last year, the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs released names for some places of Arunachal Pradesh, which it refers to as Zangnan.

At the time, India had rejected China’s move to assign names to parts of Arunachal Pradesh, terming the action “vain and preposterous”.

The MEA had asserted that such “creative naming” will not change the reality that Arunachal Pradesh is an “integral and inalienable part of India”.

In response to media queries on renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh by China, Jaiswal said: “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. Creative naming will not alter the undeniable reality that Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India.”

IANS