BEIJING: China has defended the renaming of 15 more places in Arunachal Pradesh by its Ministry of Civil Affairs, claiming that the state is actually southern Tibet, an “inherent part” of its territory.
The Chinese reaction came after India had rejected China renaming 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, Zhao Lijian at a media briefing in Beijing said that, “for standardised management of the area, the competent authorities in China in accordance with relevant regulations have published the names for the relevant area. These are matters that are within China’s sovereignty”.
Zhao said, “Zangnan (the southern part of China’s Tibet) is located in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It has been China’s territory since the ancient times.” China refers Arunachal Pradesh as Zangnan.
Zhao said, “The southern part of Tibet belongs to the Tibetan Autonomous Region of China and it has been China’s inherent territories.”
