After renaming 11 sites unilaterally in April 2017 and December 2021, China has changed the names of 11 locations in Arunachal Pradesh. Chinese spokesman Mao Ning stated on April 5 that Chinese territory included Indian Arunachal Pradesh (Zangnan in Han Chinese), and Beijing had standardized the names of various portions of this province as part of its sovereign rights. China has changed the names of 32 sites in Arunachal Pradesh since 2017, as part of its campaign to assert control over what it refers to as South Tibet (Xizang in Chinese).
History Behind Aksai-Chin
The bilateral position is that Beijing (as per Vice Minister’s dialogue in 1987) has staked a claim on both the western and eastern sectors after in 1960 (Chou En-Lai) and in 1984 (Deng Xiaoping) proposed that China was willing to give up its claims on the eastern sector if India accepts claims of the middle-kingdom in the western sector. This is despite claims and counterclaims on the 3488 km long Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.
Since Communist China’s soldiers occupied Tibet in 1950, the Indian position has remained the same, in contrast to China’s shifting stance on the resolution of the land border. According to the 1865 Johnson Line, India claims Arunachal Pradesh and all of Aksai China as its own.
Why India should not rename Places in Aksai Chin?
Should India not also refer to the “Sinicized” names of geographic locations within Occupied Aksai Chin by their former Ladakhi names, especially in light of the fact that China is solidifying its claim in East Ladakh by the first May 2020 transgression in addition to not allowing the Indian Army to patrol within its defined limits and by renaming geographic locations in Arunachal Pradesh since 2017. After all, East Turkestan, Kashgar, and Hotan all have Sanskrit names, as does the Tibetan language, which is a derivation of Sanskrit rather than Mandarin Chinese (called Sinkiang in Tibetan and Xinjiang in Chinese).
While India has released a map that includes both Aksai Chin in the east and Occupied Kashmir as well as Northern Areas in the west, it hasn’t published one since 1954 that specifically names the towns and geographic areas that makeup Aksai Chin. In 1957, a roadway was built connecting Lhasa in occupied Tibet with Kashgar or Kashgiri in East Turkestan. In the 1962 conflict, the PLA physically invaded Aksai Chin, and since then, China has attempted to impose the 1959 line (as established by Chou En-Lai) on East Ladakh.
Also read: Should India Develop Tactical Nuclear Weapons To Counter China?
It’s interesting that the Chinese aggression in the arts comes at a time when the opposition parties in India, primarily the Congress, are urging the Narendra Modi administration to take action against Beijing for the violation in May 2020 as well as the Ongoing conflict in Arunachal Pradesh. The truth is that when Congress was in control, the whole Aksai Chin region and even some areas of Arunachal Pradesh were lost.
Beijing is not only engaging in psychological warfare against India but also informing its domestic audience that President Xi Jinping will use the potent PLA to restore China’s geographical claims on both Arunachal Pradesh and Taiwan. This is despite the fact that the Indian spokesperson rejected the April 2 Chinese renaming exercise by reiterating that Arunachal Pradesh was a fundamental part of India.
Though China has significantly improved its military capabilities along the Laos–Asia–China (LAC) border and turned Tibet into a fortress, it cannot afford to wage a one-sided war of aggression against India to annex Arunachal Pradesh or impose the 1959 line. It is a surefire prescription for annihilation.
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