Arunachal Pradesh has emerged as one of the most strategically sensitive areas in India-China relations. The northeastern Indian state borders Bhutan, China, and Myanmar and is claimed by Beijing as part of what it calls southern Tibet.
India recently standardized the names of 27 geographical locations, including four mountain passes, a lake, a memorial, and several other geographical features, on Survey of India maps. The move, announced on Aug. 7, was intended to facilitate, according to a Government of India release, “accurate recognition and better awareness among the public at large.”
While this is the first time India has formally undertaken such a coordinated effort to name geographical locations on Survey of India maps, China has been doing so since 2017. In its latest move, Beijing announced names for 23 locations in Arunachal Pradesh on April 10, which India described as “mischievous attempts.”
After India formally named 27 locations this month, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Aug. 10 that the move was “illegal, null and void” in what Beijing calls Zangnan, or “southern Tibet.”
“Zangnan region is China’s territory. China does not recognize the so-called ‘Arunachal Pradesh’ illegally set up by India,” said Guo in his remarks.
For the best of our weekly content！
You are now signed up for our newsletter
Check your email to complete sign up
The “Zangnan” framing also reflects the Chinese authorities’ shift to calling Tibet “Xizang” in English. “Xizang” is the romanization of the Chinese word used to refer to Tibet.
“Zangnan region is China’s territory. China does not recognize the so-called ‘Arunachal Pradesh’ illegally set up by India,” Guo said in his remarks.
The cartographic dispute comes just days after the two Asian neighbors resumed border trade on Aug. 1 through the Nathu La, Lipulekh, and Shipki La mountain passes, reopening trade routes across a wider stretch of the Himalayas.
Nathu La in Sikkim, in the eastern Himalayas, is a major trade transit point. The traditional Lipulekh Pass is located in Uttarakhand in the central Himalayas, while the historic trade route through Shipki La in Himachal Pradesh has served as a trade corridor since the 17th century.
‘Trust deficit’ continues
While the reopening of historic trade routes represented a boost for bilateral ties following the thaw in relations after the deadly 2020 Galwan Valley clash, the renewed dispute over Arunachal Pradesh highlights the continuing trust deficit between India and China, according to experts.
“The ongoing war of words between India and China over Arunachal Pradesh carries significant strategic, political, and socio-economic implications across domestic and international domains,” Sampa Kundu, an Indian strategic-affairs scholar specializing in Southeast Asian affairs, told Vision Times.
China began formally claiming Arunachal Pradesh in 2006, when a Chinese envoy said the territory was part of China. Beijing subsequently renamed locations in the state in 2017, 2021, and 2023, arguing that the region has historically been part of China, as has been been reported by the The Epoch Times.
In his remarks, Guo reiterated the same position.
“India’s move of attempting to replace names long been used by China with its so-called “standard names” is illegal, null and void. Still less will it change the fact that the Zangnan region belongs to China,” he said.
Kundu said the Chinese response indicates that the dispute between India and China remains far from resolved, while India’s “tit-for-tat” response suggests that Beijing no longer has an uncontested ability to shape the narrative.
“At the strategic level, persistent rhetorical clashes and retaliatory cartographic maneuvers deepen the existing trust deficit, complicating military and diplomatic efforts to de-escalate tensions along the Line of Actual Control,” she said.
Upcoming BRICS summit and border dispute
Meanwhile, Arunachal Pradesh has become both a geopolitical and domestic political issue in India ahead of the upcoming BRICS summit in New Delhi next month. The dispute has also generated debate in the Indian Parliament and prompted warnings from a regional political party in Arunachal Pradesh.
Shekhar Sinha, an Indian strategic-affairs commentator, told Vision Times that China was conveying its “anger on some issue” that was not to its liking. He linked the move to the upcoming 18th BRICS summit, scheduled to take place in New Delhi on Sept. 12–13.
“It is also a reminder to India that their claim on Arunachal ( Southern Tibet) is alive,” said Sinha. “Third point is that whenever an important event is to take place- China does remind its claim. Now the BRICS meeting is scheduled and also the Boundary Negotiator’s meeting- NSA and Wang Yi. A reminder at this juncture suits them.”
On the domestic front, the People’s Party of Arunachal (PPA), a regional political party, has alleged that People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops have been denying Indian military personnel access to key patrolling points in the Taksing sector, according to The Arunachal Times.
Taksing is a remote settlement surrounded by dense forest along the upper Subansiri River near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between India and China.
According to The Arunachal Times report, Indian and Chinese forces had a “physical confrontation” at a patrolling point known as “Shera 5 Point” in Taksing in 2023. Indian troops subsequently withdrew and did not return, while Chinese forces dismantled Indian patrolling markers and have since prevented Indian troops from conducting patrols in the area.
“The FFC [Fact-Finding Committee of PPA] described this as a clear illustration of how incremental Chinese intrusions are being consolidated on the ground,” the report said.
The allegation that PLA troops have denied Indian forces access to border patrolling points was also raised by Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the Indian Parliament. He expressed concern over the issue and demanded an explanation from the Indian government on Aug. 14, according to a Times of India report.
Sinha said the Chinese behavior was part of Beijing’s pre-BRICS diplomacy.
The “Chinese always do skirmishes on the border prior to or immediately after an important event. This was waiting to happen,” he said.
India has invited Chinese leader Xi Jinping to the upcoming 18th BRICS summit, and Xi is expected to attend, according to Reuters.
Kundu said India’s decision to formally name 27 geographical locations also reinforced its position regarding the 1914 McMahon Line, drawn after the 1914 Simla Convention involving British India, China, and Tibet. The proposed boundary extended roughly 550 miles along the eastern Himalayas. India considers the McMahon Line part of its border with China, while Beijing rejects it.
“It codifies India’s sovereign administrative control over these border points on international platforms, rejecting any Chinese legal pretense to the region,” she said.
India announces $5 billion border railway plan
India is planning a $5 billion railway development project along its borders with China, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, Bloomberg reported on Aug. 2, describing the initiative as a “strategic push.”
The railway upgrades and development projects across Punjab, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam, and several northeastern states would account for more than 22 percent of India’s overall railway expenditure over the next two years, according to the report.
Sinha said that on the Chinese side of the LAC, border villages are connected “even by rail” and that improving connectivity on the Indian side should not “raise heckles.”
Original article
Comments