New standardized names for ‘Arunachal Pradesh” legitimate, appropriate: China

BEIJING (China), April 19 (APP): A spokesman of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday that issuance of new standardized names for six places in ‘Arunachal Pradesh’ by Chinese authorities is legitimate and appropriate.
‘China holds a consistent and clear position on the eastern section of
the China-India boundary. The competent authorities in charge of managing China’s geographical names were exercising their lawful rights in publicly releasing these names in accordance with Regulations on the Management of Geographical Names and relevant regulations of the State Council’, Lu Kang said during his regular press briefing here.
The spokesperson said, these names are passed down by ethnic minority groups who have long been living and working in the region, and they have been calling these places as such for generations.
These names reflect from another angle that China’s territorial claim
over South Tibet is supported by clear evidence in terms of history, culture and administration, he added.
Lu Kang said, with regard to the Indian government going ahead and
allowing the 14th Dalai Lama to visit the controversial eastern part of the China-India boundary, China’s solemn position on that has been repeated multiple times.
Responding to a follow-up question, he said, the Chinese government is conducting the second nationwide survey on geographical names, an important task of which is to standardize the geographical names in the languages of ethnic minority groups.
Going forward, relevant authorities will step up their research and
verification on geographical names recorded in Zang language. More standardized names will be released when the time and condition is right, he added.
About latest situation in Korean Peninsula, he said, China is gravely
concerned about these recent developments regarding the North Korean nuclear and missile activities.
China is committed to realizing denuclearization of the Korean
Peninsula, preserving peace and stability of the Peninsula, and resolving the relevant issue through dialogue and consultation.
He stressed that with the current situation on the Peninsula already so
complicated and sensitive, China firmly opposes any words or actions that would escalate rivalry and tension.
The spokesperson asked all relevant parties to make tangible efforts to
ease the situation.