NEW DELHI: India on Sunday firmly rejected China’s renaming of places in Arunachal Pradesh, calling it a “mischievous attempt” and asserting that such “baseless narratives cannot alter the undeniable reality” on ground.“India categorically rejects any mischievous attempts by the Chinese side to assign fictitious names to places which form part of the territory of India,” ministry of external affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.“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,” he added, responding to media queries.Jaiswal also said that the move undermines efforts to stabilise ties between the two countries. “These actions by the Chinese side detract from ongoing efforts to stabilize and normalize India-China bilateral ties. China should refrain from actions which inject negativity into relations and undermine efforts to create better understanding,” he said.This is the sixth time China has renamed locations in Arunachal Pradesh in a bid to reinforce its claim over the state, which it refers to as ‘Zangnan’. Earlier in May 2025, India had similarly rejected Beijing’s attempt to rename 27 places, calling it “preposterous.”China has carried out similar exercises in 2017, 2021, 2023 and 2024, often following tensions along the border. For example, the first such exercise in 2017 followed the Dalai Lama’s visit to the state. In 2023, the same attempt followed a G20 meeting that India hosted in the state.The repeated renaming is widely seen as part of Beijing’s strategy to bolster its territorial claims through coercive diplomacy.
