evidence: China’s initial claims were relegated to the Tawang region, however, since the 1980s, Beijing has claimed all of Arunachal Pradesh as part of its "South Tibet" territory. Such claims can be considered a response by China to Arunachal Pradesh becoming a ‘state of India’ in 1987. Until 1972, the area was known as the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) before becoming a Union Territory on January 20, 1972 and being renamed Arunachal Pradesh. In 2006, the Chinese Ambassador to India, Sun Yuxi, stated that "in our position, the whole of what you call the state of Arunachal Pradesh is Chinese territory and Tawang (district) is only one place in it and we are claiming all of that – that’s our position" (China Daily, November 14, 2006). At present, China’s official claims over "Arunachal Pradesh" are based on the pretext that "Zangnan" is located in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Furthermore, Chinese officials have stated repeatedly that the area "has been China’s territory since the ancient times. China’s ethnic minorities such as the Moinba and Tibetan ethnic groups have lived and worked in this area for a long time" (FMPRC, December 31, 2021).