India and China have once again engaged in a war of words over the renaming of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. The two giants, with a history of frosty relations and a recent reconnection after four years of open hostility – including deadly border clashes – have quickly returned to a tense standoff.
China has released 27 new names, which include 15 mountains, four passes, two rivers, a lake, and five inhabited areas.
This is not the first time China has renamed places in Arunachal, which it claims as its own territory. China refers to the region as South Zangnan. It also refers to Tibet, under Chinese control, as ‘Zangnan’.
The Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs released the first list of standardised names for six places in Zangnan in 2017. A second list of 15 places followed in 2021, and another list with names for 11 places was issued in 2023.
India, in its latest statement, has dismissed these renaming attempts as “vain and preposterous,” asserting that such moves will not alter the “undeniable” reality that the state “was, is, and will always remain” an integral part of India.
China’s Foreign Ministry responded by saying the move falls within China’s “sovereign rights.”
The timing of China’s latest move is notable, as relations with India had only recently begun to thaw. However, it is perhaps not entirely surprising that it comes at a time when India and Pakistan were on the brink of full-blown war. While China has advocated dialogue, it continues to be one of Pakistan’s strongest allies.
What the future holds is difficult to predict, but for now, it would be in the best interest of both countries to maintain the status quo.