India rejects China's attempt to rename 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh

Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, in a statement, also said that attempts by China to “assign invented names will not alter this reality” of Arunachal Pradesh being an integral part of India.

The statement read: "We have seen such reports. This is not the first time China has made such an attempt. We reject this outright.

"Arunachal Pradesh is, has been, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. Attempts to assign invented names will not alter this reality."

China on Monday came up with a third set of names for 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh, which it referred to as "Zangnan, the southern part of Tibet".

China's Ministry of Civil Affairs released the standardised names in Chinese, Tibetan, and Pinyin characters following regulations on geographical names issued by the State Council, China's cabinet.

The list includes precise coordinates for two land areas, two residential areas, five mountain peaks, and two rivers, along with their subordinate administrative districts.

This is the third batch of standardised geographical names for Arunachal Pradesh, issued by China’s civil affairs ministry, with the first batch of six places announced in 2017 and the second batch of 15 places in 2021.

The official names of the 11 places were released on Sunday by the ministry.

India has earlier too dismissed the Chinese attempts at renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh.

The Chinese move comes as the Bhutan King is visiting India on an official visit, and will hold talks with PM Modi on Tuesday.

China and Bhutan have been in talks to resolve their around 500 km border issue, and Beijing has been trying very hard to cosy up to Thimphu, and create a wedge in the close India-Bhutan ties.