GUWAHATI: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday, December 30, reacted to China renaming 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh saying that assigning “invented names” does not alter the fact that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India.
As per a report by the TOI, “Arunachal Pradesh has always been, and will always be an integral part of India,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
The China Ministry of civil affairs had announced standardised names for 15 places in Arunachal to be used in Chinese maps. This is the second time the country has renamed places of Arunachal. “It had also sought to assign such names in 2017,” Arindam Bagchi said.
China passed a new border law on October 23 citing, “protection and exploitation of the country’s land border areas”, which will come into effect from January 1, 2022. However, the new law is not meant specifically for the border with India.
The country asserted that its border law will not impact existing border arrangements. But India is apprehensive regarding China’s intentions.