The external affairs ministry (MEA), Union minister Kiren Rijiju and Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu rejected attempts by China to rename places in Arunachal Pradesh on Tuesday. The MEA spokesperson said “invented names” will not alter the reality that the state “is, has been, and will always be” an integral and inalienable part of India.

The MEA made the statement while responding to media queries in the wake of China releasing a fourth list of 30 new names of various places in Arunachal Pradesh.

I strongly condemn China’s illegally ‘standardised’ geographical names given to 30 places inside Arunachal Pradesh. China has been making all baseless claims but that’s not going to change the ground reality and the ‘historical facts’. Arunachal Pradesh is inalienable part of…— Kiren Rijiju (मोदी का परिवार) (@KirenRijiju) April 1, 2024

“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 been, and will always be an integral and inalienable part of India,” MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was quoted as saying in the statement.

“I strongly condemn China’s illegally ‘standardised’ geographical names given to 30 places inside Arunachal Pradesh,” Rijiju said