Guwahati News Desk: The new “standardised” names of 15 places in the Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh were issued by China on Thursday, to be used henceforth on the official Chinese maps.
In addition, the 15 new “standardised” names, along with their exact coordinates and a map, were released by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, days ahead of a new border law coming into force.
The Ministry of External Affairs of India said the move by Beijing “does not alter” the fact that Arunachal is an integral part of India.
The spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “This is not the first time China has attempted such a renaming of places in the state of Arunachal Pradesh. China had also sought to assign such names in April 2017.”
He added, “Arunachal Pradesh has always been, and will always be an integral part of India. Assigning invented names to places in Arunachal Pradesh does not alter this fact.”
Moreover, the recent move is being considered to be a part of broader moves taken up by Beijing to step up its territorial claims.
Furthermore, the 15 places named on Thursday included of eight residential areas, four mountains, two rivers and one mountain pass.
