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‘Illegal’: China reacts as mountaineers name Arunachal Pradesh peak after 6th Dalai Lama
A 15-member team, led by Colonel Ranveer Singh Jamwal, has decided to name the summit "Tsangyang Gyatso Peak" after the Dalai Lama.
China has expressed displeasure after Indian mountaineers named a previously unnamed peak in Arunachal Pradesh after the 6th Dalai Lama, once again asserting its territorial claims over the region.
A team from the National Institute of Mountaineering and Adventure Sports (NIMAS) successfully climbed a 20,942-foot-high, previously unclimbed peak in Arunachal Pradesh, choosing to name it in honor of the 6th Dalai Lama, Tsangyang Gyatso, who was born in 1682 in the Mon Tawang area.
NIMAS, based in Dirang, Arunachal Pradesh, operates under the ministry of defence.
In a press release, the defence ministry stated that naming the peak after the 6th Dalai Lama pays homage to his enduring wisdom and significant contributions to the Monpa community and beyond.
When asked for his reaction, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a media briefing, "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," news agency PTI quoted Lin Jian as saying.
China calls Arunachal Pradesh Zangnan.
Also, China has been renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh since 2017 to assert its claims.
India has rejected China's claims over Arunachal Pradesh, saying it is an integral part of India and assigning "invented" names does not alter this reality.
NIMAS team scales 20,942-foot high virgin peak in Arunachal
The 15-day expedition to scale the peak is one of the most technically challenging summits in the region with sheer ice walls, treacherous crevasses and a 3-km-long glacier in the Gorichen range of Arunachal Pradesh Himalayas in Tawang-West Kameng region, a defence release said on Thursday.
The 15-member team, led by Col Ranveer Singh Jamwal, has decided to name the summit "Tsangyang Gyatso Peak" after the Dalai Lama.
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, the release stated.
NIMAS has informed the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) about the ascent and the decision to name the peak.
Formalities for naming the peak are being completed to ensure that "Tsangyang Gyatso Peak" is recognized on the official map.
