China reacts as Indian team names Arunachal peak after Dalai Lama

New Delhi: China was on Thursday miffed over Indian mountaineers naming a previously unnamed peak in Arunachal Pradesh after the 6th Dalai Lama, reiterating its territorial claims over the area.

A team from the National Institute of Mountaineering and Adventure Sports (NIMAS) scaled an unnamed and unclimbed 20,942 ft high peak in Arunachal Pradesh and decided to name the summit after the 6th Dalai Lama Tsangyang Gyatso, who was born in 1682 in the region of Mon Tawang.

NIMAS, located at Dirang in Arunachal Pradesh, functions under the Ministry of Defence.

Naming the peak after the 6th Dalai Lama is a tribute to his timeless wisdom and his profound contributions to the Monpa community and beyond, said a Defence Ministry press release.

When asked for his reaction, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a media briefing here, "I'm not aware of what you mentioned."

"Let me say more broadly that the area of Zangnan is Chinese territory, and it's illegal, and null and void for India to set up the so-called "Arunachal Pradesh" in Chinese territory. This has been China's consistent position," he said. China calls Arunachal Pradesh Zangnan.

Also, China has been renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh since 2017 to assert its claims.

India emphatically rejected China's claims over Arunachal Pradesh, saying it is an integral part of India and assigning "invented" names does not alter this reality.

PTI