India has hit back at China for ‘renaming’ as many as 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh.
The ministry of external affairs (MEA) has said that China ‘renaming’ places in Arunachal Pradesh “won’t alter facts”.
The MEA has asserted that Arunachal Pradesh has “always been” and will “always be” an integral part of India.
“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,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
Also read: China renames 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh
“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,” he said.
China has ‘renamed’ at least 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh.
The new names termed to be “standardised” were released on Thursday along with the coordinates and a map.
China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs made the announcement just a few days ahead of the new border law in that country.
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It may be mentioned that on Chinese maps, Arunachal Pradesh is named as Zangnan or South Tibet.
China over the years has been claiming Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet which is firmly rejected by the External Affairs Ministry which says the state is an “inseparable part of India”.