Important for
Prelims: International Relations
Mains: General Studies Paper II
NEWS: chinese shenanigans on arunachal pradesh upsc
China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs, released new names for 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh under the fig leaf of standardizing geographical names in “ZANGNAN” (a phony term invented by China to claim that Arunachal Pradesh is “South Tibet”).
China’s steps of naming places:
- Media reports: names include :
- two residential areas
- five mountain peaks
- two rivers
- two other areas”.
- In 2017, China had ‘renamed’ six places that lie in Arunachal Pradesh.
- China had standardized the names of 15 places in 2021, including population centers, mountains, rivers, and a mountain pass.
Location of places:
- Some of the places are located along the Pangchen-Tawang-Jang-Sela axis running down from the Line of Actual Control
- Near old Buddhist pilgrimage circuits near Taksing in Upper Subansiri district
- Mechuka-Tato tehsil in West Siang
- Towards the Lohit and Anjaw districts, near Walong.
Other steps around the globe by China:
- In 2020, China gave names to 80 geographical features in the Paracels and Spratlys in the South China Sea (maritime disputes with several states).
- In 1983, it had named 287 geographical features in the South China Sea.
- Using the term “Diaoyutai” for the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea in the 1950s, even before raking up the Senkaku issue with Japan.
What is Chinese modus operandi?
- It is to lay the groundwork through fictional renaming of alien territories as a basis for sham “historical” claims which are then pursued using the warfares” strategy of:
- Waging propaganda
- Psychological and legal warfare.
- Naming several under-sea features in the Indian Ocean using the names of Chinese musical instruments.
Mains Practice Question
Discuss the border disputes India has with China on the western , middle and the eastern sector. Suggest the way forward.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.