India rejected China’s resolution to rename about 30 posts in its northeastern Himalayan state of Arunachal Pradesh, calling the move “senseless” and reaffirming that the border province is an “integral part” of India.
Beijing claims Arunachal Pradesh, which it calls Zangnan, is part of southern Tibet, a claim New Delhi has rejected. China also escalated tensions a year ago by naming 11 localities in the state with Chinese names.
Troops from nuclear-armed neighbors engaged in minor skirmishes on their disputed border in the state in December 2022, and tensions eased after lengthy military and diplomatic talks.
Photo: Reuters
However, the state is the cause of friction between the Asian giants whose ties have collapsed since a bloody border clash between their troops in the western Himalayas in 2020.
China, in a statement on Saturday, said it had standardized the names of about 30 posts in what it calls southern Tibet, “in accordance with the applicable regulations on the control of post names of the State Council. “
“The assignment of invented names will not replace the truth that Arunachal Pradesh is, has been and will be an integral and inalienable component of India,” Indian External Affairs Minister Randhir Jaiswal said yesterday.
On Monday, India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told reporters that “changing the names would possibly be of no use. “
“If I replace your home call, is it my home?” he said.
Last month, following a stopover in Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state to inaugurate infrastructure projects, China said it opposed his activities in the region.
India described these arguments as “unfounded”.
The U. S. has also weighed in on the issue, saying it recognizes Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory and “strongly opposes” any unilateral attempt to reclaim the territory through military or civilian “incursions or invasions. “
China objected to the remarks, saying the case “has nothing to do with the United States. “
India and China share a largely ill-defined 3,800-kilometer territory over which they also fought a bloody war in 1962.
Twenty Indian infantrymen and four Chinese infantrymen were killed in hand-to-hand combat in 2020, prompting both countries to take up their positions and deploy more troops and aircraft along the border.