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India rejects China’s ‘fictitious names’, says move can hit normalising of ties
A statement dismissing China’s “mischievous attempts” came against the backdrop of reports that Beijing has established a third new county in Aksai Chin
India on Sunday rejected China’s efforts to assign “fictitious names” to territories in the Aksai Chin region and Arunachal Pradesh, and said such attempts to manufacture “baseless narratives” will not alter the reality and can even hit efforts to normalise bilateral relations.
A statement by external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal dismissing China’s “mischievous attempts” came against the backdrop of reports that Beijing has established a third new county in the Aksai Chin region, claimed by the Indian side, and assigned names to 23 locations in Arunachal Pradesh. New Delhi has repeatedly countered moves by Beijing to assign new names to territories held or claimed by the Indian side.
“India categorically rejects any mischievous attempts by the Chinese side to assign fictitious names to places which form part of the territory of India,” Jaiswal said. “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 better understanding.”
Jaiswal said such moves by China, aimed 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”.
China’s ministry of civil affairs, which is responsible for standardising the names of geographical features in “southern Tibet”, the name Beijing uses for Arunachal Pradesh, issued a notification renaming 23 locations in the Indian state on April 10. These locations included rivers, mountains and towns.
On March 26, the government of China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region announced the creation of Cenling county, a strategic region located near the borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the western sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India, the South China Morning Post reported on Saturday.
While Jaiswal did not refer to any specific territories, people familiar with the matter said the external affairs ministry’s statement was a response to the creation of Cenling county and the renaming of locations in Arunachal Pradesh.
China’s move comes at a time when the two sides are gradually normalising their relations, which plummeted to an all-time low because of a military standoff on the LAC that began in 2020 and lasted more than four years. As part of this process of normalisation, the two countries have held talks aimed at resolving their long-standing border dispute.
In the past, India has rejected China’s moves to rename dozens of locations in Arunachal Pradesh, including towns, rivers and geographic features, arguing that such actions will not change the reality of the state being an integral part of the country. China has resorted to such renaming exercises in 2017, 2021, 2023, and 2024, usually during periods of strained relations. Indian officials believe these actions are aimed at buttressing China’s territorial claims.
Cenling is the third new county set up in Xinjiang since December 2024, after Hean and Hekang. In 2025, India protested against the establishment of Hean and Hekang on the grounds that parts of these counties fell within the Union territory of Ladakh. Hean encompasses much of the Aksai Chin plateau, which is claimed by India as part of Ladakh.
