China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs officially announced to standardize the names of the first batch of six places in southern Tibet on April 14 on its website, in accordance with the regulations of the State Council.

According to the announcement, the names of the six places in Chinese characters and the Tibetan and Roman alphabets, along with their location and size, were standardized.

The screen grab of China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs’ announcement.

The official names of the six places in the Roman alphabet are Wo'gyainling, Mila Ri, Qoidêngarbo Ri, Mainquka, Bümo La and Namkapub Ri.

Reaffirming China’s territorial sovereignty

"The standardization came amid China's growing understanding and recognition of the geography in South Tibet. Naming the places is a step to reaffirm China's territorial sovereignty to South Tibet," Xiong Kunxin, an ethnic studies professor at Beijing's Minzu University of China told the Global Times.

"These names have existed since ancient times, but had never been standardized before. Therefore, announcing the names is like a remediation," Guo Kefan, a research fellow at the Tibet Academy of Social Sciences, added.

China takes measures to safeguard its territorial sovereignty

The spokesperson of China’s Foreign Ministry, Lu Kang, voiced China’s clear-cut and consistent position on April 12 regarding the issue of the eastern part of the country’s border with India.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang speaks at a routine press conference in Beijing, China, on April 12, 2017. /MOFA PhotoI

"China also warned India it would take further measures to safeguard its territorial sovereignty and national security following offensive remarks made by the Dalai Lama while he was visiting a disputed zone," Lu said at a routine press conference.

According to media reports, an Indian official also repeatedly made inappropriate comments regarding China and the border dispute.