Why is China suddenly renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh?
On 30th December 2021, China strategically renamed 15 places located in the state of Arunachal Pradesh (“an integral and inalienable part of India” as per India’s Ministry of External Affairs) claiming the region as their own territory. They call that area ‘South Tibet.’ The places renamed include residential areas, a pass, mountains and rivers. This decision was taken just two days before Beijing’s new border law titled ‘Land Border Law’ was to put into effect on 1st January 2022. This law is China’s way of strengthening their border control and posits direct concern for countries like India who share land border with China. This also impacts India’s ongoing concern regarding its Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Why did China rename places in an Indian state?
According to several reports, China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs made an announcement that it had ‘standardised’ names of 15 places situated in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh using Chinese characters and Tibetan and Roman alphabets. Previously, in 2017, China had renamed six other places in Arunachal Pradesh. This is being considered as China’s move as part of the ongoing Indo-Chinese border stand-off in the northern parts of Ladakh since May 2020.
According to the Chinese officials, these places are part of the 90,000 square kilometres of area in Arunachal Pradesh that don’t belong to India, but are parts of ‘Zangnan’ or Tibet Autonomous Region, in and around the southern part of Xizang which fall under the jurisdiction of China. In fact, Chinese maps even show Arunachal Pradesh as part of China. This is part of China’s efforts to assert their unilateral claim towards this Indian territory.
All the 15 places that have been renamed are said to be in accordance with the regulations of geographical names as issued by the State Council of Chinese Cabinet. Among the changes, 8 are for residential areas, 4 for mountains, 2 for rivers and 1 for a pass. According to latest reports, China has guaranteed that more such “standardisation of names” will happen in 2022. In fact, according to the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs, this has been tagged as China’s “legitimate move” as well as “sovereign right.”
Why is China’s new border law significant for India?
China’s new border law, also called the ‘Land Border Law’ that came into effect on 1st January 2022 affects the country’s ongoing territorial disputes with India to a great extent. According to the border law, China and all its neighbouring countries should abide by “delimitation treaties, delineate land borders on the spot and conclude boundary demarcation treaties.” The law also states that if any personnel who illegally crosses the border set forth by them are identified as part of armed forces, China’s military agencies will deal with them severely.