China says India policy unchanged as Arunachal renaming sparks row
External Affairs Ministry slams move as ‘mischievous’, reiterating Arunachal Pradesh is integral part of Indian territory
A file image of Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun. (Photo:@MFA_China/X)
Beijing, Apr 14: China on Tuesday said its policy to improve relations with India has not changed as it defended its move to publish new names for various regions in Arunachal Pradesh.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun told a press briefing that Zangnan is China's territory, and China has never recognised the "so-called Arunachal Pradesh".
Zangnan is the Chinese name for Arunachal Pradesh. China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet.
It is entirely within China's sovereignty to standardise the names of some places in the Zangnan region, Guo said, defending Beijing's move to publish six batches of names for Arunachal Pradesh.
He said at present, China-India relations are generally stable. China's policy committed to improving and developing China-India relations remains unchanged, Guo said.
"We hope the two sides will work in the same direction and act more in ways conducive to bilateral relations," Guo added.
India on Sunday categorically rejected China's efforts to assign "fictitious names" to Indian territory, asserting that such attempts to create "baseless narratives" cannot alter "undeniable reality" and could derail efforts to normalise bilateral ties.
New Delhi's sharp reaction came against the backdrop of Beijing establishing a third new administrative county in Aksai Chin, a region India maintains as its sovereign territory.
"India categorically rejects any mischievous attempts by the Chinese side to assign fictitious names to places which form part of the territory of India," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
On March 26, China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region announced the creation of Cenling county, a strategic region located near the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and Afghanistan.
It is also reportedly close to the western sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India.
Cenling, located near the Karakoram mountain range, is the third new county established by China in Xinjiang, a predominantly Muslim Uyghur region.
India last year lodged a protest with China over the creation of Hean and Hekang counties, stating that parts of their jurisdiction fall within its Union territory of Ladakh.
China has been publishing its names for various regions in Arunachal Pradesh since 2017 for which India has been consistently objecting, saying that "fictitious names" to Indian territory cannot alter "undeniable reality".