(TibetanReview.net, Aug12’26) – Following China’s raising of objections to its listing of 27 standardised placenames in its Tibet-border state of Arunachal Pradesh on Aug 7, India has reiterated its position Aug 11 that the state of its border with Tibet will reflect on the state of the “larger bilateral ties”. Maintenance of peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is of “utmost importance” for the overall development of bilateral relations, the PTI news agency Oct 11 cited India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal as saying at a regular media briefing.
“In matters relating to the border areas between India and China, we have always emphasised in discussions with the Chinese side that we consider these issues as most serious,” Jaiswal has said.
In light of this Indian stance, the MEA has also rejected China’s criticism of New Delhi identifying 27 places and features in Arunachal Pradesh by their standard names, and reiterated that the state is an “inalienable and integral” part of India and nothing can change this “indisputable reality.”
“The maintenance of peace and tranquillity in these areas is of the utmost importance. We have also stated that the state of the border affairs will reflect on the state of our larger bilateral ties,” Jaiswal has said.
He has noted that this was reiterated at the meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on India-China border affairs (WMCC) held in New Delhi on Aug 6.
In its Aug 7 announcement of the 27 standard names, an official statement said, “Identifying them formally on the Survey of India map of Arunachal Pradesh is aimed at facilitating their accurate recognition and better awareness among the public at large.”
As regards China’s attempts to stake claim to Arunachal Pradesh on the supposition that it is “southern part of the Tibet autonomous region” through six exercises since 2017 to replace a total of 112 placenames in the state, India has consistently termed them “vain and preposterous” attempts while asserting that these will not alter the “undeniable” reality that the state “was, is, and will” always remain an integral part of India, noted the ndtv.com Aug 11.