India rejects China’s ‘fictitious’ renaming of places, reaffirms Arunachal as integral territory

The Ministry of External Affairs on Sunday strongly dismissed what it described as “mischievous attempts” by China to assign new names to locations within Indian territory, asserting that such actions carry no legitimacy.

Responding to media queries, official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi “categorically rejects” the move, underlining that renaming places does not alter ground realities.

He reiterated that regions targeted by Beijing’s latest exercise, including Arunachal Pradesh, remain an “integral and inalienable part” of India.


"India categorically rejects any mischievous attempts by the Chinese side to assign fictitious names to places which form part of the territory of India. Such attempts by China at introducing false claims and manufacturing baseless narratives cannot alter the undeniable reality that these places and territories, including Arunachal Pradesh, were, are, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India," Jaiswal said in an official statement shared on X.

The Central government further flagged concerns over the broader diplomatic impact of such steps, noting that they risk undermining ongoing attempts to stabilise bilateral ties between the two countries.

"These actions by the Chinese side detract from ongoing efforts to stabilize and normalize India-China bilateral ties," the statement read.

India urged China to avoid actions that could inject further strain into the relationship and hinder efforts to build mutual understanding.

"China should refrain from actions which inject negativity into relations and undermine efforts crate better understanding," the MEA added.