China Renames 30 Locations in Ongoing Dispute With India

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Facts

  • China has renamed 30 locations — 11 residential areas, 12 mountains, four rivers, one lake, a mountain pass, and one area of land — in a territory named by India as Arunachal Pradesh, and claimed by China as Zangnan.1
  • China's Ministry of Civil Affairs published a list of standardized names and an accompanied map concerning the locations of the name changes in 'Southern Tibet' on Sunday — the fourth of its kind.2
  • China began issuing standardized names for places in Arunachal Pradesh with six locations in 2017, followed by 15 in 2021, and a third list of 11 in April 2023.3
  • India's Ministry of External Affairs has publicly opposed China's 'attempts' to rename places in Arunachal Pradesh, stating that the territory remains an 'integral and inalienable' region of India.4
  • The US has stated it 'strongly opposes' the decision by China. Tensions over the 1.9K mile (3.1K km) border between the two nations, known as the Line of Actual Control, led to a war in 1962, and skirmishes in 2020 resulted in at least 20 Indian and four Chinese military personnel being killed.5

Sources: 1Phayul, 2WWW, 3The Hindu, 4Outlook India and 5South China Morning Post.

Narratives

  • Anti-China narrative, as provided by The Indian Express. China's illegitimate renaming of locations in Arunachal Pradesh continues to disregard the basis of international law and shows open contempt for its neighbor. While Beijing attempts to use historical records and maps to support its claims, international jurisprudence indicates that cartographic materials alone hold no legal value in territorial disputes. China is continuing its bad-faith international behaviors.
  • Pro-China narrative, as provided by Global Times. China is standardizing the names of places in Zangnan as part of a national effort to manage place names to reflect China's sovereignty rights. Contrary to Indian claims, experts emphasize the historical and administrative bases for these new names. The Land Border Law, effective Jan. 1, 2022, solidified China's stance on border management and sovereignty. Beijing is fully in its right to make these cartographic changes.

Predictions