NEW DELHI: China on Monday rejected India’s decision to formally record 27 places and geographical features in Arunachal Pradesh under their Indian names, calling the exercise “illegal, null and void” and reiterating its claim over the frontier state.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said Beijing did not recognise Arunachal Pradesh, which China refers to as Zangnan, or “south Tibet.” Responding to questions on India’s latest naming exercise, Guo said the region belonged to China and that attempts to alter its names could not change what he described as the fact of Chinese sovereignty.
The remarks came days after India, acting on a Union Home Ministry order and in consultation with the Arunachal Pradesh government, formally recorded 27 significant locations and geographical features in the state on official maps under their standard Indian names.
The Survey of India exercise was aimed at removing ambiguity in geographical references and ensuring consistency in official maps and government records. It is also intended to facilitate administrative coordination, infrastructure planning and disaster management.
Among the locations named are Longju, Jaswant Garh, Kamlang Nagar, Sunpura and Pritnagar.
India has consistently rejected Chinese attempts to rename places in Arunachal Pradesh, maintaining that such exercises cannot alter the state’s status as part of India.
Responding to China’s earlier naming exercise in April, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal had said Arunachal Pradesh “was, is and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India”. The ministry had described China’s attempts to assign names to Indian places as a “mischievous” effort to manufacture a false narrative, warning that such actions inject negativity into bilateral ties.
Beijing claims around 90,000 sq km of Arunachal Pradesh and calls it Zangnan. It has periodically issued its own names for places in the state, beginning with six locations in 2017, followed by 15 in 2021 and 11 in 2023, with further lists issued since.
India’s position rests on the McMahon Line, drawn during the 1914 Simla Convention between British India and Tibet. China has never accepted the boundary.
The latest spat comes as India and China seek to stabilise ties after years of tensions along the Line of Actual Control. Border trade through Nathu La and Shipki La resumed on August 1, but Arunachal Pradesh remains firmly outside the broader thaw.
