India on Sunday strongly rejected China’s attempt to assign what it termed ‘fictitious names’ to locations within Indian territory, reiterating that regions such as Arunachal Pradesh remain an ‘integral and inalienable part’ of the country.
Responding to media queries, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal urged Beijing to avoid actions that could harm bilateral relations and disrupt efforts to foster better understanding between the two nations.
In a statement, Jaiswal stated, “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.”
The MEA also stressed that such actions negatively impact ongoing efforts to stabilise ties between New Delhi and Beijing.
“These actions by the Chinese side detract from ongoing efforts to stabilise and normalise India-China bilateral ties. China should refrain from actions which inject negativity into relations and undermine efforts to create a better understanding,” Jaiswal added.
Recurring Issue Over Renaming Arunachal Pradesh
This is not the first instance of China attempting to rename locations in Arunachal Pradesh, which it refers to as Zangnan. In May last year, China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs released names for several places in the region.
At the time, India had dismissed the move as ‘vain and preposterous’, asserting that such actions would not change the reality of Arunachal Pradesh’s status.
Reiterating India’s consistent position, Jaiswal noted, “We have noticed that China has persisted with its vain and preposterous attempts to name places in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Consistent with our principled position, we reject such attempts categorically. Creative naming will not alter the undeniable reality that Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India.”
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