China invokes ‘sovereignty claim’ after India objects to renaming of places in Arunachal Pradesh

In a move that may escalate diplomatic tensions between India and China, Beijing on Wednesday said it was within its "sovereign rights" to rename 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh
The Chinese attempt provoked reactions from India and the US
The White House also took strong note of China's decision and has always recognized the territory as Indian

In a move that may escalate diplomatic tensions between India and China, Beijing on Wednesday said it was within its "sovereign rights" to rename 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh and make the state part of their territory, a day after New Delhi strongly protested. to the decision that "made up names do not change reality".

China on Tuesday announced the renaming of places in India's northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh, which the Xi Jinping administration named "Zangan," part of southern Tibet.

A statement from China's Ministry of Civil Affairs announced the renaming of the sites. “Zangnan is part of Chinese territory. In accordance with the relevant provisions of the Administration of Geographical Names of the State Council, the relevant authorities of the Chinese government have standardized the names of some parts of Zangnan. This is within China's sovereign rights," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning said at a press conference.

The Chinese attempt provoked reactions from India and the US.

India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) rejected the claim outright, saying that Arunachal Pradesh was and will be an integral part of the country. “We have seen such reports. This is not the first time that China has made such an attempt. We fundamentally reject this. Attempts to assign fictitious names will not change this reality, said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.

The White House also took strong note of China's decision and has always recognized the territory as Indian.

“This is another attempt by the Chinese on us Indian territory. So the United States, as you know, has recognized this territory for a long time, and we strongly reject any unilateral attempts to assert a claim to the territory by renaming locations. And so again, it's something that we've stood behind a few things for a long time," White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said at a press briefing earlier in the day.

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