The US has expressed strong opposition to China’s recent announcement of thirty new names for Arunachal Pradesh amid Beijing’s stepped-up assertions in recent weeks to re-emphasise its claim over the Indian state. “The United States of America strongly opposes any unilateral attempts to advance territorial claims by encroachments and incursions across the Line of Actual Control (LAC),” US State Department Spokesperson Vedant Patel said.
“China has persisted with its senseless attempts to rename places in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. We firmly reject such attempts. Assigning invented names will not alter the reality that Arunachal Pradesh is, has and always been an integral and alienable part of India,” the MEA spokesperson said in a statement.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said, “China has given some kind of names to some places in Arunachal Pradesh. But I don’t understand why they are doing that. We are very upset and we totally reject this kind of malicious activities conducted by the Chinese government. Our government from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has responded very appropriately.
But what I feel is China is very nervous because earlier these border areas were totally left undeveloped during the rule of the Congress, and during Modi’s time all major highways, roads, bridges, all 4G networks, water supply, electricity, all basic amenities are being provided in the border areas, especially in Arunachal Pradesh, which was neglected for so long.”
He noted that India, under PM Modi has emerged as a great power and asserted that India will not create problems for others, however, it will surely respond appropriately if the country is disturbed. Rijiju said the people of Arunachal Pradesh are Indians (Indian Citizens) and nobody can change the status. China had last week for the 4th time released new names for places in the Indian state, looking to reinforce its claim of sovereignty over the state it calls Zangnan.
China had last released names for villages in Arunachal Pradesh in 2023, shortly after India hosted a G20 Meeting in the state. The Foreign Minister of India, S Jaishankar had responded on April 1, 2024 by reiterating India’s position that Arunachal Pradesh has been and always be an integral part of India.
“If I change the name of your house, will it become mine?” Arunachal Pradesh was an Indian state is an Indian state and will remain so in the future. Nothing will be gained by changing the names said the minister, while on a visit to Gujarat.
Arunachal Pradesh holds strategic importance such as cultural and historical ties with Tibet and is of interest to both China and India, sharing real time intelligence and strengthening cooperation as part of its Indo-Pacific strategy to counter Chinese influence in the region.
The Biden administration’s National Defence Strategy emphasises support for allies and partners facing acute forms of grey zone coercion from China including areas like East China Sea, Taiwan Strait, South China Sea, and the disputed land borders with India. The US proactive sharing of intelligence with India regarding LAC exemplifies this commitment countering Chinese territorial ambitions.
