China’s Arunachal move ‘illegal’

India rejects neighbour’s attempt to rename six towns in the border State

New Delhi: Chief Executive Officer and Head of the Council of the Ministers of Afghanistan, Abdullah Abdullah is received by Joint Secretary, PAI, Gopal Baglay as he arrives at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on Sunday. PTI Photo by Kamal Singh(PTI1_31_2016_000095A)

India on Thursday rejected China’s move to rename six towns in Arunachal Pradesh, giving them new Chinese names in its official record.

“Assigning invented names to the towns of your neighbour does not make illegal territorial claims legal,” said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Gopal Baglay. “Arunachal Pradesh is and will always be an integral part of India,” he added.

‘Clear evidence’

Mr. Baglay was responding to questions about an announcement by the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs that said it would “standardise” the names of towns in Arunachal, which China refers to as ‘South Tibet’, as Wo’gyainling, Mila Ri, Qoidêngarbo Ri, Mainquka, Bümo La and Namkapub Ri respectively, on its version of the map that India contests.

Going further, the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang even said that the names reflected, “China’s territorial claim over South Tibet is supported by clear evidence in terms of history, culture and administration.”

Dismisses claim

The government dismissed China’s claim clearly on Thursday, with Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu accusing Beijing of trying to “get some sort of publicity” from the notice on renaming towns.

“We are an independent country, we are a sovereign country, Arunachal Pradesh is totally part and parcel of India and every inch of Arunachal’s land belongs to India. China has no business to name any of the districts,” Mr. Naidu said at a press conference on Thursday.

Escalation of tensions

Beijing’s move is being seen as an escalation of tensions by China that has been angered by the government’s decision to allow the Dalai Lama to visit the Tawang monastery this month.

In a series of statements, China reacted sharply to the Dalai Lama’s travels in Arunachal Pradesh, all of which is Indian territory that China continues to dispute.

“This is definitely an upping of the ante by China,” said expert Alka Acharya, cautioning, “We will have to watch closely where this decision to announce new names would lead next.”

When asked if the growing Chinese reactions on Arunachal Pradesh would have an impact on border talks between the two neighbouring countries, the MEA spokesperson said, “There is an established boundary mechanism that has made some progress. And we would expect that the boundary question would be addressed in a mutual and honourable manner.”

Mr. Baglay added that China had not officially conveyed any decision on the ‘renaming’ to the Indian embassy or the MEA.

Next round of talks

The next round of boundary talks between Chinese State Councillor Yang Jiechi and National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval is expected to take place later this year in Delhi, and Mr. Doval is expected to attend the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) group’s NSA-level meeting to be held in Beijing in July.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will attend the BRICS ministerial meeting before that in June.

(With Sidhartha Roy)