As China renames 11 places in Arunachal, here's a look at recent conflicts

In an effort to strengthen its claim on the bordering Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, China has renamed 11 places in the northeastern region that it claims to be a part of South Tibet.

China's Ministry of Civil Affairs on Sunday released the "standardised" names for 11 places in "Zangnam", which is Chinese nomenclature for the northeastern state. The announcement was made after getting approval from the State Council, according to the official statement.

The areas that were named included two residential areas, five mountain peaks, and two rivers.

The country also listed the category of names of places and their subordinate administrative districts, state-run Global Times reported on Monday.

This is the third batch of names in Chinese characters, Tibetan, and Pinyin announced by China.

The first batch of six names was released in November 2017, just a few days after the visit of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to Arunachal. The second one was released in December 2021, two days before China’s new land border law came into effect.

The latest development comes days ahead of the scheduled visit of China’s newly-appointed Defence Minister General Li Shangfu to India.

He is expected to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meetings this month. China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang will also be attending the SCO Foreign Ministers’ meeting in May, where India currently holds the presidency of the group.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is also expected to visit India for the SCO summit in July.

India's reaction to name change

Reacting to the latest move at renaming places, India said that China was inventing names that would not alter reality.

"We have seen such reports. This is not the first time China has made such an attempt. We reject this outright.." External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.

"Arunachal Pradesh is, has been, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India. Attempts to assign invented names will not alter this reality," he added.

 https://twitter.com/MEAIndia/status/1643129268321550339?cxt=HHwWhoDU5aTXyM0tAAAA

On the other hand, Chinese experts quoted in the Global Times said that the announcement of names is a legitimate move and China's sovereign right to standardise geographical names.

What is India-China border dispute

China and India share a disputed 3,488 km de facto border known as the Line of Actual Control (LAC), which is poorly demarcated. The presence of rivers, lakes, and snowcaps means that the line can shift.

However, China continues to claim Arunachal Pradesh as "South Tibet."

The soldiers on both sides, representing two of the world's largest armies, come face to face several times, the most recent being in December when Indian and Chinese troops clashed along the border in Tawang.

Prior to this skirmish, Chinese drones had reportedly moved quite aggressively towards Indian positions on the LAC in Arunachal Pradesh, which forced the Indian Air Force (IAF) to scramble its fighter aircraft deployed in the region.

The tension between the nuclear-armed neighbours boiled over in June 2020 in the northern region of Galwan, when hand-to-hand combat left 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese troops dead. That was the worst border clash between the two nations since 1967 and the first fatal confrontation along the disputed border in 45 years.

Past clashes between India, China

Galwan Valley: As many as 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of  Chinese soldiers died in a clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020. The clash began when Chinese patrols crossed the border and entered India.

Doklam: Indian and Chinese troops clashed in June 2017. The Chinese troops attempted to build a road near the Doklam plateau. Indian troops resisted the Chinese movement as the territory was close to an Indian highway. The clash lasted 72 days.

Burtse: In 2015, Indian and Chinese forces confronted in the Depsang plains of northern Ladakh at Burtse. The Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) demolished a temporary hut constructed by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) for surveillance. While the PLA increased its presence in the region, India also increased its deployments. The fighting went on for a week.

Chumar: Indian and Chinese forces clashed near the village of Chumar in eastern Ladakh. The Chinese had begun construction work in Indian territory, to which the Indian forces protested. The clash lasted 16 days.

(With agency input)