China releases 30 more names for places in Arunachal Pradesh

Srinagar, Apr 01: Amid Beijing’s claims over the Indian state, China has released a forth list of 30 news names of various places in Arunachal Pradesh.

As reported by state-run Global Times the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs released the fourth list of standardized geographical names in Zangnan, the Chinese name for Arunachal Pradesh which Beijing claims as part of south Tibet.

Pertinently India has been rejecting China renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh, asserting that the state is an integral part of the country and assigning “invented” names does not alter this reality.
The official website of the ministry posted 30 additional names for the region.

Set to take effect from May 1, the implementation measures stipulate in Article 13 that “place names in foreign languages that may harm China’s territorial claims and sovereignty rights shall not be directly quoted or translated without authorisation,” the report said.

The Chinese Civil Affairs Ministry released the first list of the standardised names of six places in Zangnan was released in 2017, while the second list of 15 places was issued in 2021 followed by another list with names for 11 places in 2023.

The recent statements by China to reassert its claims over the state started with Beijing lodging a diplomatic protest with India over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Arunachal Pradesh, where he dedicated to the nation the Sela Tunnel built at an altitude of 13,000 feet in Arunachal Pradesh.

The tunnel will provide all-weather connectivity to strategically located Tawang and is expected to ensure better movement of troops along the frontier region.

Chinese Foreign and Defence ministries have issued a flurry of statements to highlight China’s claims over the area.

On the latest release of names by the Chinese civil affairs ministry, the Global Times report said the translation of names of the place in foreign languages or minority languages should comply with standards formulated by related organs of the State Council, which is the central cabinet of China.

Standard translations are made public through notices, the national database for geographical names and official publications on geographical names, according to the implementation measures, it said.

The State Council issued a revised regulation on place names in April 2022, which applies to naming, renaming, usage, cultural protection and other management of geographical names within Chinese territories, it said.