Reality will not be altered by inventing names: India hits out at China

India on Tuesday outrightly rejected China's move to rename 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh, saying such steps will not alter the reality that the northeastern state is an integral part of the country.

Responding to media queries, ministry of external affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi asserted that "Arunachal Pradesh is, has been, and will always" be an integral part of India.

"We have seen such reports. This is not the first time China has made such an attempt. We reject this outright. Arunachal Pradesh is, has been, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. Attempts to assign invented names will not alter this reality," MEA said in a statement.

China has released a third set of names in Chinese, Tibetan and pinyin characters for Arunachal Pradesh, as part of its efforts to reemphasise its claim over the Indian state.

China's Ministry of Civil Affairs on Sunday released the standardised names of 11 places for Arunachal Pradesh, which it calls "Zangnan, the southern part of Tibet" in accordance with regulations on geographical names issued by the State Council, China's cabinet.

The official names of the 11 places were released on Sunday by the ministry, which also gave precise coordinates, including two land areas, two residential areas, five mountain peaks and two rivers and listed the category of places' names and their subordinate administrative districts, state-run Global Times reported on Monday.

The Global Times, which is part of the ruling Communist Party's mouthpiece People's Daily group of publications, quoted Chinese experts as saying that the announcement of names is a legitimate move and China's sovereign right to standardise the geographical names.

This is the third batch of standardised geographical names for Arunachal Pradesh issued by China's civil affairs ministry. The first set of names was announced by China in 2017, days after the Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal Pradesh, and the second batch of 15 places was issued in 2021.

The Dalai Lama fled from Tibet through Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh and sought refuge in India in 1959 after China took military control of the Himalayan region in 1950.