Arunachal was, is and will remain part of us: India reminds China
India has firmly rejected China's latest attempt to rename places in Arunachal Pradesh, with the Ministry of External Affairs calling it a “vain and preposterous” move that will not change the region’s status as an integral part of India.
This is not the first time that Beijing has attempted this ‘name-changing’ exercise; however, it’s the first such attempt since the October 2024 understanding to disengage the two militaries in Eastern Ladakh that had, in turn, led to the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping. The two leaders had then tasked National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi to sort out the boundary question.
India on Wednesday dismissed China’s latest effort to rename several locations in Arunachal Pradesh, asserting that the state remains an inalienable part of the country. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a statement calling it so-called “creative naming.”
“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,” the MEA said.
The statement came after Chinese authorities released yet another list of standardised names for areas within the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. China claims the state, saying it is "South Tibet." India has rejected that claim outright.
India has consistently maintained that such exercises are politically motivated and hold no legitimacy under international law or bilateral agreements. The MEA reaffirmed that the Indian government will continue to uphold the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and categorically rejected any attempt by China to alter facts on the ground through nomenclature.
In April of last year, the two sides had carried out a tit-for-tat re-naming of several places. China had kicked off that round by giving Chinese names to towns in Arunachal Pradesh. India had retorted by re-naming 30 places in Tibet.
