The standard names for 11 locations in Arunachal Pradesh, also known as “Zangnan, the southern part of Tibet,” were issued by China’s Civil Affairs Ministry.
In an effort to retake the Indian state, China has published a third list of names for towns in Arunachal Pradesh in Chinese, Tibetan, and pinyin characters. On Sunday, the Chinese Civil Affairs Ministry published the standard names for 11 locations in Arunachal Pradesh, which it refers to as “Zangnan, the southern part of Tibet” in compliance with the country’s cabinet-issued rules on geographic names.
Two land regions, two residential areas, five mountain summits, and two rivers were among the eleven locations for which the ministry provided accurate coordinates and official designations. According to news agency PTI, quoting the Chinese government’s mouthpiece Global Times, it also included the names of the various types of localities and the administrative districts that make up those places.
The Chinese government has previously published a list of the names of locations in Arunachal Pradesh. The first batch of standardized names for 6 locations was issued by the Xi Jinping-led Chinese government in 2017, and the second batch of 15 locations was announced in 2021.
Following the Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh in 2017, China revealed the first list of names. Arunachal Pradesh will “always be” a part of India, according to India, which earlier rejected China’s effort to rename locations there.
Arindam Bagchi, a spokesman for the External Affairs Ministry, had noted this development in December 2021 and stated: “Arunachal Pradesh has always been and will always be an important part of India. This truth is unaffected by giving sites in Arunachal Pradesh made-up names.
According to Chinese experts cited by The Global Times, the declaration was legal and China has the sovereign right to standardize the geographic designations.
