Islamabad, 15 May, 2025: In a major setback for India, China has defended its latest move to rename places in Arunachal Pradesh, saying the region referred to by Beijing as “Zangnan”is a part of its territory and the naming is within its sovereign rights.
Tensions between India and China over this area go back decades. The two countries share a largely unsettled 3,800-kilometre border and even fought a war in 1962.
In recent years, their soldiers have clashed at multiple points, including a deadly encounter in 2020 that claimed 20 Indian and 4 Chinese lives.
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China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the region carries historic, geographic, and administrative relevance as an inherent part of Chinese territory.
The ministry emphasized that renaming places in Zangnan is purely a domestic matter and falls within China’s rightful governance framework.
China has been renaming sites in Arunachal since 2017.
Its most recent list came out in April 2024 and included 30 new Chinese names for various towns, villages, and landmarks. Altogether, 89 locations have been renamed so far.
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According to the International Campaign for Tibet, the region was part of Tibet before the Shimla Convention of 1914, a colonial-era agreement signed between Tibet, China, and Britain during a period of rivalry between the British and Russian empires.
India has firmly rejected China’s claims, repeatedly asserting that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India.
This ongoing renaming effort is seen as another attempt by Beijing to assert control over the area and is likely to cause more strain in already troubled ties.
