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On May 14, 2025, China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs unveiled its fifth batch of “standardized” names for 27 places located in Arunachal Pradesh province of India, which it refers to as “Zangnan” in Mandarin and Tibetan languages. This move follows similar announcements in April 2017, December 2021, April 2023, and April 2024, reflecting a sustained cartographic invasion attempt by Beijing.
Historical Claims and Strategic ObjectivesThe naming exercise must be understood within the broader context of China’s approach to boundary negotiations and territorial revisionism vis-à-vis India. Beijing has long floated a “territorial swap” proposal with New Delhi. China’s claim on Arunachal Pradesh is to strike a swap deal with India, driven by its desire to not only retain but also formalise its illegal control of Aksai Chin while withdrawing its claim from Arunachal Pradesh. From the 1960 talks between Jawaharlal Nehru and Zhou Enlai, it was evident that the Chinese were willing to accept the McMahon line – the line demarcating the boundary between the two Asian giants in the Eastern sector – in return for India’s recognition of Chinese claims on Aksai Chin.
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