China Renames 11 Places in Arunachal Pradesh

At the time when New Delhi and Beijing are in the middle of their worst bilateral chill in decades, China has renamed at least 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh, reports emerged on Tuesday.

The renamed places include five mountain peaks, two rivers, two land areas and two residential areas of Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as South Tibet.

It is not the first time that China has unilaterally renamed places in the northeastern state of India as they had already done it in April 2017 and December 2021.

The country’s civil affairs ministry in a short statement said, “According to the relevant regulations of the State Council (China’s cabinet) on the management of geographical names, our ministry, together with relevant departments, has standardised some geographical names in southern Tibet.”

Although the names have been changes, it won’t have any direct on the places in the state.

On February this year, two United States Senators had teamed up to introduce a bipartisan Senate resolution reaffirming America's recognition of Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India, Oregon's Senator Jeff Merkley said in a press statement.

Merkley teamed up with Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) to introduce a bipartisan Senate resolution that comes after the clash between India and China in the Eastern Sector along the Line of Actual Control in six years.

Also Read: US Senate Passes Resolution Reaffirming Arunachal as Integral Part Of India

"America's values supporting freedom and a rules-based order must be at the center of all of our actions and relationships around the world--especially as the PRC government pushes an alternative vision," said Senator Merkley, who serves as the Co-Chair of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. "This resolution makes clear that the United States views the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh as part of the Republic of India--not the People's Republic of China--and commits the U.S. to deepen support and assistance to the region, alongside like-minded international partners and donors," Merkley said.

"At a time when China continues to pose grave and gathering threats to the Free and Open Indo-Pacific, it's critical for the United States to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our strategic partners in the region--especially India," said Senator Hagerty. "This bipartisan resolution expresses the Senate's support for unequivocally recognizing the state of Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India, condemning China's military aggression to change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control, and further enhancing the U.S.-India strategic partnership and the Quad in support of the Free and Open Indo-Pacific," he added.

Also Read: Arunachal Govt Developing Infrastructure Along International Borders