Vain and preposterous: India on China renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh
New Delhi (PTI): India on Wednesday outrightly rejected as "vain and preposterous" China renaming some places in Arunachal Pradesh and said such attempts will not alter the "undeniable" reality that the state "was, is, and will" always remain an integral part of India.
New Delhi's reaction came in response to Beijing announcing Chinese names for some places in Arunachal Pradesh, which the neighbouring country claims as the southern part of Tibet.
"We have noticed that China has persisted with its vain and preposterous attempts to name places in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
"Consistent with our principled position, we reject such attempts categorically," he said.
Jaiswal was responding to a media query on the issue.
"Creative naming will not alter the undeniable reality that Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India," he said.
In April last year too, India had reacted sharply when Beijing released a list of standardised names of 30 places in Arunachal Pradesh.
The Chinese Civil Affairs Ministry released the first list of the standardised names of six places in Zangnan in 2017, while the second list of 15 places was issued in 2021 followed by another list with names for 11 places in 2023.
China's release of the new list of names of places in Arunachal Pradesh comes amid efforts by the two countries to normalise ties hit by the eastern Ladakh border standoff.
After a gap of nearly five years, India and China last month decided to resume the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra, a move that was seen as an attempt to repair the relationship.
The Kailash Mansarovar Yatra was suspended initially in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequently because of the military standoff between the two sides along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.
The militaries of India and China completed disengagement of troops at the two remaining friction points of Demchok and Depsang under a pact sealed on October 21 last year.
Two days later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks in the Russian city of Kazan and agreed to revive various bilateral dialogue mechanisms.
Following the Modi-Xi talks, the two sides held a series of meetings in the last few months which were aimed at normalising the bilateral relations.
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3 Indians injured after fire breaks out in UAE's Fujairah due to drone attack
Dubai (PTI): Three Indian nationals were injured on Monday after a fire broke out on the Fujairah Petroleum Industries Zone (FOIZ) in the UAE following a drone strike originating from Iran, according to local media reports.
The relevant authorities in the eastern emirate of Fujairah confirmed that a fire has broken out in the FOIZ, resulting from a drone attack coming from Iran, the state-run WAM news agency reported.
Fujairah Civil Defence teams immediately responded to the incident and are continuing efforts to bring the fire under control, it added.
Three Indian nationals sustained moderate injuries after the fire broke out on the FOIZ, the Khaleej Times reported, quoting authorities in Fujairah.
The injured were taken to the hospital for treatment, it added.
In a post on X, the UAE's Ministry of Defence said that Iran launched four missiles toward various areas across the country. "Three were successfully engaged over the country's territorial waters, while one fell into the sea," it said.
The ministry urged the public to comply with all public safety procedures when warning messages are issued to the public.
Authorities have urged the public not to circulate rumours and to rely only on official sources for information, Gulf News reported.
