evidence: Today it is Arunachal Pradesh, an Indian state with more than a million people that China continues to claim as its territory, and where the latest flare-up between the two sides in more than a year took place. [...] But China has not given up its claims on Arunachal Pradesh and still refers to most of the region as "South Tibet". Last year the Chinese ministry of civil affairs renamed several places in the disputed area, with state media saying that China's territorial claims had a "historical and administrative basis". Some analysts say Beijing sees Arunachal Pradesh as playing a role in an eventual border deal with India that would see Delhi accepting Chinese sovereignty over Aksai Chin - the strategically-located ice desert rich in minerals which has been occupied since the 1950s - in return for Beijing accepting Indian sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh.