India Firmly Rejects China’s Renaming of Places in Arunachal Pradesh

 New Delhi,– The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Wednesday issued a strong response to China's continued attempts to rename locations within the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, reaffirming that such unilateral actions will not change the established and internationally recognized status of the region.

Responding to media inquiries, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated, “We have taken note of China's ongoing efforts to assign new names to places in Arunachal Pradesh. These actions are baseless and reflect a futile attempt to assert claims over Indian territory. We categorically reject such attempts.”

He further emphasized, “Inventive nomenclature does not alter the fact that Arunachal Pradesh is, has always been, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India.”

The official statement comes in response to China’s continued efforts to assert sovereignty over parts of Arunachal Pradesh, most recently through the renaming of 30 locations in April 2024, using Chinese and Tibetan nomenclature. This marks the fourth such instance since 2017, when Beijing first issued a list of so-called ‘standardised’ names for six locations within the Indian state.

Subsequent lists were released in 2021 and 2023, covering 15 and 11 locations respectively. India has consistently dismissed these moves, reiterating that Arunachal Pradesh is an essential part of its sovereign territory, and that no renaming exercise will impact this legal and historical position.

India continues to maintain that any attempts to alter the status quo along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) through such symbolic actions are unacceptable and will be firmly opposed through diplomatic channels.