'Baseless narratives cannot alter reality': India rejects China's renaming of places in Arunachal Pradesh

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.

The diplomatic pushback comes amid ongoing tensions over border issues, particularly in Ladakh, and fresh developments involving China’s administrative moves in the Xinjiang region, ANI reported.

According to reports, Beijing has created a new county named "Cenling" in Xinjiang, near the borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The county was approved by the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region government on March 26, as reported by the South China Morning Post.

Located close to the Karakoram mountain range, the move carries significant geopolitical implications given its proximity to Afghanistan and PoK.

It also marks the third instance in just over a year that China has carved out a new county in Xinjiang.

The development has once again drawn attention to Beijing's longstanding territorial claims over Arunachal Pradesh, which it refers to as "Zangnan."

India had earlier, in May 2025, rejected a similar attempt by China to rename 27 places in the state, calling it "preposterous"

China has carried out such renaming exercises in 2017, 2021, 2023 and 2024, often following periods of diplomatic friction. 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.Also See: Veteran singer Asha Bhosle passes away at age 92 - Check Live Updates