'Army safeguarding territory': Arunachal CM Pema Khandu rejects Chinese encroachment

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu

NEW DELHI: Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu on Saturday rejected reports of Chinese military encroachment in the state and said that the Army was effectively patrolling and safeguarding the territory.Speaking to reporters, Khandu said, “No signs of encroachment in Arunachal Pradesh; Indian Army effectively patrolling and safeguarding the territory.”Khandu’s remarks came a day after the Centre identified 27 locations in Arunachal Pradesh by their standard names on the official map of the country, amid China’s repeated attempts to rename places in the border state.

The government said the exercise was aimed at ensuring the correct identification of the locations and improving public awareness of their geographical and historical significance.”Identifying them formally on the Survey of India map of Arunachal Pradesh is aimed at facilitating their accurate recognition and better awareness among the public at large,” an official statement said.New Delhi has consistently rejected Beijing’s practice of assigning Chinese names to places in Arunachal Pradesh, calling the move “vain and preposterous”.India has maintained that such actions do not alter the “undeniable” fact that Arunachal Pradesh “was, is, and will” remain an integral part of the country.Several of the locations newly marked on the official map hold strategic importance because of their proximity to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and their role in past India-China military confrontations.Among them is Long Ju, one of the earliest flashpoints between the two countries. Chinese troops entered the area in 1959, three years before the 1962 India-China war.The official map also includes Maja village in Upper Subansiri district near Long Ju, Bisa village and the strategically significant mountain passes of Dzo La, Riza La and Pukur La.Another key location is Thag La, the high-altitude pass where one of the opening battles of the 1962 India-China war took place.Jairampur in Changlang district has also been formally identified. The town serves as an important logistics hub for the movement of security forces towards eastern Arunachal Pradesh and the Myanmar border.

Other locations added to the map include the high-altitude lake Sambho Sarovar, Bara Kundun, Chhota Kundun, Dhan Bari, Pritnagar, Teritnagar, Ramnagar, Jaswant Garh, Sagar, Padma, Jyotinagar, Baisakhi, Sher-e-Thapa Memorial, Chhota Ropuk, Bara Ropuk, Shivaji Nagar, Sunpura, Kamlang Nagar and Buddhamandir.India has repeatedly dismissed China’s attempts to assign what it calls “fictitious names” to places in Arunachal Pradesh, saying such efforts seek to create “baseless narratives” and cannot alter the “undeniable” reality on the ground. New Delhi has also warned that such actions could undermine efforts to improve bilateral ties.China first issued a list of six standardised names for places in what it calls Zangnan in 2017. It followed this with a second list covering 15 locations in 2021 and another naming 11 places in 2023. Beijing uses the term Zangnan to refer to Arunachal Pradesh, a claim India has consistently rejected.