Zangnan vs. Arunachal Pradesh: China, India butt heads over territory claim, renaming

China doubled down on its “sovereign” claim over Arunachal Pradesh, calling the area Zangnan, a day after India rejected Beijing’s attempt to rename parts of its territory.

China’s comment on renaming the northeastern Indian state came during a regular media conference where China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said: “Zangnan (Arunachal Pradesh) is part of China’s territory.”

For all the latest headlines follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

“In accordance with relevant stipulations of the administration of geographical names of the State Council, competent authorities of the Chinese government have standardized the names of some parts of Zangnan. This is within China’s sovereign rights.”

On Tuesday, Indian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi called Arunachal Pradesh an “integral and inalienable part of India,” in response to media reports that said China had renamed several places in the state.

Also, during a Tuesday media briefing, US Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated the Biden government’s position on China’s claim saying: “we strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to advance territorial claims by renaming localities.”

China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs on Sunday standardized the names of 11 places including the names of five mountains in southern Tibet, which shares a disputed border with India.

In recent years, Indian and Chinese troops have clashed along parts of their long border in the Himalayas. In December last year, the troops had minor scuffles in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh, also claimed by Beijing.

The poorly demarcated 3,800-km (2,360-mile) frontier between the nuclear-armed countries had stayed largely peaceful after a war in 1962, before clashes in 2020 sent relations nosediving.

With Reuters

Read more:

India positioning to take on China in $447 billion space economy

India rejects attempts by China to rename places in eastern Arunachal Pradesh state

The Last of Us: Man in India infected with deadly plant fungus in world’s first