BEIJING (TIP): China has released “standardised” names of six towns of Arunachal Pradesh in Mandarin Chinese and Tibetan languages to buttress its claim over what it regards as “South Tibet“.

The ministry tried to explain that it was a routine administrative work and part of an ongoing census on names of localities. But a Chinese expert, Xiong Kunxin, a professor of ethnic studies at the Minzu University of China in Beijing, contradicted the foreign ministry saying that the renaming exercise was aimed to “reaffirm Chinese sovereignty” over the area that belongs to India.

The ministry of civil affairs in Beijing issued an order on April 14 saying that, “The official names of the six places using the Roman alphabet are Wo’gyainling, Mila Ri, Qoidengarbo Ri, Mainquka, Bumo La and Namkapub Ri”. It did not give the existing names of the six towns in Arunachal Pradesh.

China had used a similar ploy naming islands in South China Sea or pulling out ancient records showing old Chinese names of islands to support its claims over the sea areas, and fight back similar claims from other countries including Vietnam, Indonesia and Philippines. China also began announcing weather forecasts of the disputed area to prove that they are part of Chinese territory.

The new names will be shown in the international diplomatic arena as proof of China’s claims, informed sources said. China might even pull out old maps and records to show that these names existed for hundreds of years. At present, it has scant historical record to support its claims besides the fact that the 6th Dalai Lama was born in Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh, and the Tawang monastery was linked to monasteries in China in the past.

“The standardization came amid China’s growing understanding and recognition of the geography in South Tibet. Naming the places is a step to reaffirm China’s territorial sovereignty to South Tibet,” the state backed Global Times quoted Xiong in an article on April 20, 2017.(PTI)