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The United States has recognized Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India and strongly opposes any unilateral attempt to advance land claims by renaming towns, the White House said. The US reaction came in response to Beijing's announcement of Chinese names for 11 other places in Arunachal Pradesh that the neighboring country claims as the southern part of Tibet. China's Ministry of Civil Affairs released the official names of the 11 sites on Sunday.
"The United States has long recognized this territory (Arunachal Pradesh) (as an integral part of India). And we strongly oppose any unilateral attempt to advance territorial claims by renaming the localities," said Karine Jean-Pierre, secretary White House press release. Tuesday.
"So again, it's something that we've been advocating for a long time," Jean-Pierre told reporters at his daily news conference.
India roundly rejected China on Tuesday for renaming parts of Arunachal Pradesh, saying the state is an integral part of India and assigning "made-up" names does not change that reality.
"We have seen such reports. This is not the first time China has made such an attempt. We categorically reject it," Foreign Ministry (MEA) spokesman Arindam Bagchi said.
"Arunachal Pradesh is, has been and always will be an integral and inalienable part of India. Attempts to assign invented names will not alter this reality," he said. This was the third batch of standardized geographic names for Arunachal Pradesh issued by the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs.
The first batch of standardized names of six places in Arunachal Pradesh was published in 2017 and the second batch of 15 places was published in 2021.
The renaming of China's locations in Arunachal Pradesh came amid the ongoing standoff on Ladakh's eastern border that began in May 2020.
In the wake of the stalemate, India has also stepped up its overall military readiness along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Arunachal Pradesh sector.
Indian and Chinese troops are locked in a nearly three-year standoff on some hotspots in eastern Ladakh, even as the two sides have completed troop withdrawals from several regions after extensive diplomatic and military talks.
India has maintained that its relations with China can only be normal if there is peace in the border areas.
