China releases fourth list of names for Arunachal Pradesh

China releases fourth list of names for Arunachal Pradesh, India rejects claims, and U.S. recognises Indian territory.

China has released a fourth list of 30 new names of various places in Arunachal Pradesh amid Beijing’s stepped-up assertions in recent weeks to re-emphasise its claim over the Indian State.

India has been rejecting China renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh, asserting that the State is an integral part of the country and assigning "invented" names does not alter this reality.

The Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs released the fourth list of standardised geographical names in Zangnan, the Chinese name for Arunachal Pradesh which Beijing claims as part of south Tibet, state-run Global Times reported on Sunday.

The official website of the Ministry posted 30 additional names for the region.

Also Read | China continues to harp on its claim over Arunachal Pradesh

Set to take effect from May 1, the implementation measures stipulate in Article 13 that "place names in foreign languages that may harm China's territorial claims and sovereignty rights shall not be directly quoted or translated without authorisation," the report said.

The Chinese Civil Affairs Ministry released the first list of the standardised names of six places in Zangnan was released in 2017, while the second list of 15 places was issued in 2021 followed by another list with names for 11 places in 2023.