Beijing releases new names in Zangnan, sparking India protest
Listen to article
A renewed diplomatic row has erupted between India and China after Beijing released a fresh list of Chinese names for locations in Zangnan.
India considers Zangnan to be part of its territory under the name Arunachal Pradesh.
India's Ministry of External Affairs on Wednesday issued a strong rebuke, calling the move a "vain and preposterous attempt" to assert sovereignty over Indian land.
'We have noticed that China has persisted with its vain and preposterous attempts to name places in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh,' said ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in a written statement.
Our response to media queries on renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh by China (May 14, 2025)
🔗 https://t.co/5XtzF8ImUJ pic.twitter.com/1edyuqRpog — Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) May 14, 2025
'Consistent with our principled position, we reject such attempts categorically. Creative naming will not alter the undeniable reality that Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India,' he added.
The statement came after China's Ministry of Civil Affairs released a standardised list of names for 27 locations in the region, including 15 mountains, five residential areas, four mountain passes, two rivers, and one lake.
According to a statement from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Zangnan is part of China based on history, geography, and administrative jurisdiction.
The ministry said the naming of locations in the region is an internal matter.
'Zangnan is China's territory,' Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters in Beijing. 'The Chinese government has standardised the names of some places in Zangnan, which is entirely within the scope of China's sovereignty.'
India has consistently rejected China's territorial claims on Zangnan, which borders China's Tibet region. The two sides have clashed diplomatically and militarily over the region for decades.
The latest war of words also follows New Delhi's move to block several Chinese state-run media accounts on X, formerly Twitter. Among those blocked were the official accounts of Xinhua News Agency and the Global Times, both known for echoing Beijing's official positions.
The dispute over Zangnan is part of a broader, long-running border conflict between the two countries. In June 2020, a violent clash in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh left at least 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers dead — the most serious conflict between the two nations in over four decades.
Although relations began to thaw last year with renewed diplomatic engagements and military disengagement in some contested zones, the situation remains fragile.
India has repeatedly asserted that Arunachal Pradesh is a vital part of its territory and is governed under its constitutional framework. China, however, insists the area is part of historical Tibet, which it claims it annexed lawfully in the 1950s.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
5 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Modi opens Chenab bridge
This photograph taken and released by the Indian Press Information Bureau (PIB) on 6 June 2025 shows India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi holding national flag during the inauguration of the Chenab Rail Bridge in Reasi, Indian-Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Photo AFP Listen to article Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his first visit to the Indian-Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir on Friday since a conflict with arch-rival Pakistan, opening a strategic railway line to the contested region he called "the crown jewel of India". "Pakistan will never forget... its shameful loss," the Hindu nationalist premier told crowds a month since India launched strikes on its neighbour after an attack on tourists in Kashmir. "Friends, today's event is a grand festival of India's unity and firm resolve," Modi said after striding across the soaring bridge to formally launch it for rail traffic. "This is a symbol and celebration of rising India," he said of the Chenab Bridge which connects two mountains. New Delhi calls the Chenab span the "world's highest railway arch bridge", sitting 359 metres (1,117 feet) above a river. While several road and pipeline bridges are higher, Guinness World Records confirmed that Chenab trumps the previous highest railway bridge, the Najiehe in China. The new route will facilitate the movement of people and goods, as well as troops, that was previously possible only via treacherous mountain roads and by air. Around 150 people protested against the project on the outskirts of Muzaffarabad in Azad jammu and Kashmir. "We want to tell India that building bridges and laying roads in the name of development will not make the people of Kashmir give up their demand for freedom," said Azir Ahmad Ghazali, who organised the rally attended by Kashmiris who fled unrest on the Indian side in the 1990s. "In clear and unequivocal terms, we want to say to the Indian government that the people of Kashmir have never accepted India's forced rule." Modi also announced further government financial support for families whose relatives were killed, or whose homes were damaged, during the brief conflict --- mainly in shelling along the Line of Control. "Their troubles are our troubles," Modi said.
Express Tribune
5 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Trump says proud of stopping Pak-India war
U.S. President Donald Trump gestures, as he departs for Pennsylvania, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 30, 2025. Photo:REUTER Listen to article US President Donald Trump praised Pakistan's leadership during a meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at the White House on Thursday, repeating his stance that he saved the world from a major crisis by preventing a war between the nuclear-armed India and Pakistan. The US-German summit at the Trump's Oval Office was the first since Merz's election as the German Chancellor on May 6. Their talks covered a range of topics, including the wars in Europe, South Asia and the Middle East, besides the US-China trade issue and bilateral matters, according to media reports. During the meeting Trump insisted that the reduction in tension was possible because of his efforts and cooperation with the leaders of India and Pakistan. He praised the Indian and Pakistani leaderships and stressed that in the event of a nuclear conflict, the entire world could have been in danger. Taking pride in his role as the peacemaker, Trump regretted that he did not get the recognition he deserved for this important diplomatic achievement. "No one else could have done it," he said, referring to the ceasefire he had announced on May 10, and later confirmed by both the countries. Tensions between India and Pakistan reached a boiling point after an attack in the Indian-Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK) on April 22, which killed 26 people. India swiftly blamed Pakistan, but did not present any evidence. However, the situation escalated as missile strikes and air raids rocked both nations, resulting in dozens of casualties between May 7 and 10. Trump said his diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the situation involved intense talks with both sides. "Pakistan has very strong leadership. Some people won't like when I say that, but it is what it is," Trump said. "I spoke to very talented people on both sides," he added. "They stopped that war. I was very proud of that."
Express Tribune
5 hours ago
- Express Tribune
US can force India into 'dialogue with Pakistan'
Listen to article Head of a high-level parliamentary delegation Bilawal Bhutto Zardari on Friday said US President Donald Trump should encourage India to engage in a "comprehensive dialogue" with Pakistan. The delegation is visiting Washington DC to present Islamabad's position following a recent military standoff with New Delhi. Weeks after their worst military confrontation in decades, India and Pakistan have dispatched top lawmakers to press their cases in the United States, where President Donald Trump has shown eagerness for diplomacy between them. After crisscrossing the world, the delegations descended this week at the same time on Washington, which played a key mediatory role in a ceasefire after four days of fighting between the nuclear-armed adversaries in May. In strikingly similar strategies, the rival delegations are both led by veteran politicians who have been critical of their countries' governments and are known for their ease in speaking to Western audiences. Pakistan has embraced an active role for the Trump administration while India, which has close relations with Washington, has been more circumspect and has long refused outside mediation on the Kashmir dispute. "Just like the United States and President Trump played a role in encouraging us to achieve this ceasefire, I believe they should play their part in encouraging both sides to engage in a comprehensive dialogue," said former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, whose Pakistan People's Party says it belongs neither to the governing coalition nor opposition. "I don't quite understand the Indian government's hesitance," Bilawal told AFP. "I'm the first to criticise the United States for so many reasons, but where they do the right thing, where they do the difficult task of actually achieving a ceasefire, they deserve appreciation." Bilawal, recalling how his mother, former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, was killed in a terror attack, said Pakistan was ready to discuss terrorism with India but that Kashmir as a "root cause" also needed to be on the table. He said that India was establishing a dangerous new precedent in South Asia where whenever there is a terrorist attack in any country, "you go straight to war". "I think that the fate of 1.7 billion people and our two great nations should not left in the hands of these nameless, faceless, non-state actors and this new normal that India is trying to impose on the region," he said. The two delegations have no plans to meet in Washington. NEW NORMAL Trump has repeatedly credited his administration with averting nuclear war and said the United States had negotiated an agreement to hold talks between the two sides at a neutral site, an assertion that met India's silence. India's delegation is led by one of its most prominent opposition politicians, Shashi Tharoor, a former senior UN official and writer. He said he was putting the national interest first, despite disagreements domestically with Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Tharoor said he heard "total support and solidarity for India" during his meetings with US lawmakers and a "complete understanding of India's right to defend itself against terrorism." Tharoor also noted that former Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari, Bhutto Zardari's father, had advocated peace with India but was in power during the siege of Mumbai on November 26, 2008. "If they can't control what they're doing to us, why bother to talk to them?" said Tharoor, who pointed to the outsized role of the military in Pakistan. A high-level Pakistani parliamentary delegation, led by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman and former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari met with US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker, the Pakistan Embassy in Washington said in Tweet on Friday. During the meeting, Bilawal appreciated the role played by President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in facilitating the Pakistan-India ceasefire expressed the hope that it would create space for sustainable peace and stability in South Asia through dialogue. "Pakistan delegation held a productive meeting with Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker," the embassy said on X. "The delegation shared its concern over India's unprovoked aggression, continued hostile rhetoric, and unlawful suspension of IWT [Indus Water Treaty]," it added. (With additional input from News Desk)
