Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Thursday said Arunachal Pradesh is an inalienable part of India, and China giving its own inventive names will not change the ground reality.

The MEA spokesperson was responding to a question on China’s attempt to rename places in Arunachal Pradesh. “This is not the first time that China is making such attempts, and we have criticised such attempts. Arunachal Pradesh is an inalienable part of India. China giving its own inventive names will not change the ground reality. I would like to re-emphasise that,” Bagchi said during the MEA Weekly Media Briefing on Thursday.

The statement of Arindam Bagchi comes after China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs came up with the names of 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh, which it referred to as “Zangnan, the southern part of Tibet.”

The ministry announced the names of 11 places on Sunday and also gave precise coordinates, including two residential areas, five mountain peaks, two rivers and two other areas. China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs also listed the category of places’ names and their subordinate administrative districts, as per the news report.

United States also strongly opposed China’s attempts to advance a claim over Indian territory, Arunachal Pradesh by renaming localities, the White House said on Tuesday.

“This is another attempt by the Chinese claim on US, Indian territory. So the United States, as you know, has recognized that territory for a long time and we strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to advance a territory claim by renaming localities. And so, again, this is something that we have long stood by a few things,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

In a regular press conference, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said, “Zangnan (Arunachal Pradesh) is part of China’s territory. In accordance with relevant stipulations of the administration of geographical names of the State Council, competent authorities of the Chinese government have standardised the names of some parts of Zangnan. This is within China’s sovereign rights.”

Arindam Bagchi during the MEA weekly briefing on Thursday also responded to a question on a statement by a Chinese diplomat that the situation on India-China border is stable, emergency control has been removed.

Bagchi said: “The restoration of normalcy in our relationship will require restoration of peace and tranquility in the border areas which has been disturbed since April 2020. As External Affairs minister said, the presence of a large number of troops there in contravention of agreements is an abnormality.”

“We have been holding discussions on the diplomatic and military tracks. But till the situation in the border areas sees a return to peace and tranquility, we cannot foresee normalcy in the overall relationship,” Bagchi added.