GUWAHATI: China has hit back sharply at India for assigning standard names to 27 geographical locations in Arunachal Pradesh, with the state-run Global Times claiming these areas are in China’s ‘Zangnan’ region – Beijing’s term for Arunachal Pradesh and adjoining areas that it claims as part of Tibet Autonomous part.The daily reiterated that Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a routine press briefing on April 14 that the Zangnan region is China’s territory and “China does not recognise the so-called ‘Arunachal Pradesh’ illegally set up by India. It is fully within China’s sovereign rights for the Chinese govt to issue standard names for some of the places in Zangnan.”
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The reaction came three days after India’s Survey of India updated its official map to identify 21 land areas, four passes, a high-altitude glacial lake and a 1962 war hero monument in Arunachal Pradesh, which govt said was an exercise to ensure the “correct identification” of places and enhance public awareness of their geographical and historical significance.Global Times reported on Sunday night that the mapping by India came shortly after the 36th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on China-India Border Affairs (WMCC), held on Aug 6 in New Delhi, where officials from both sides discussed issues including boundary delimitation, border management and control, mechanism building and cross-border cooperation.“India’s latest move is essentially an attempt to reinforce its claims over disputed territory and counter China’s sovereignty position,” Guo Xuetang, a professor at Shanghai International Studies University, said.The latest “war of names” adds another layer to an already complex border dispute, even as both sides seek to keep military and diplomatic channels open.