Arunachal India’s part: EAM S Jaishankar as China renames 30 sites

Surat, April 1

Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will remain an Indian state in the future, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar asserted on Monday, days after China released 30 new names of various places in the border state. Addressing a press conference, Jaishankar said nothing would be gained by changing the names. “If I change the name of your house, will it become mine? Arunachal was an Indian state, is an Indian state and will remain so in the future. Nothing will be gained by changing names,” said the minister.

• Editorial: China’s name game 

He was responding to a question on Beijing’s latest move to re-emphasise its claim over the Indian state. The Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs released the fourth list of standardised geographical names in Zangnan, the Chinese name for Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing claims as part of south Tibet, state-run Global Times reported on Sunday.

The Chinese ministry had released the first list of six places in Zangnan in 2017, while the second list of 15 places was issued in 2021, followed by another with names for 11 places last year.

Responding to Ladakh-based climate activist Sonam Wangchuk’s allegation that China had encroached upon Indian territory, the EAM said the Indian Army knew what to do in such situations. “Every activist has his own thoughts. See, you all know that our Army is already deployed there to stop any attempt of infiltration along the Line of Actual Control. The Army knows what they are supposed to do,” he said. Queried on Indians being hired and forced to fight alongside the Russian Army on the Ukraine border, Jaishankar said the Indian Government had “strongly” raised the issue with Moscow after two Indians died in the war zone.

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