External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar firmly dismissed China’s territorial claims on Arunachal Pradesh following the release of a fourth list by the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs, renaming 30 places in the northeastern state. “If today I change the name of your house, will it become mine? Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always be an integral part of India. Changing names does not alter facts. Our army is deployed there on the Line of Actual Control,” Jaishankar stated during a briefing in Surat, Gujarat.
China refers to Arunachal Pradesh as ‘Zangnan’ and considers it a part of South Tibet.
Previous month, Jaishankar had dismissed China’s territorial claim on Arunachal Pradesh as ‘ludicrous’, emphasizing that the state is an inherent part of India. “This is not a new issue. I mean China has laid claim, it has expanded its claim. The claims are ludicrous to begin with and remain ludicrous today,” he stated.
