India rejects China’s fifth attempt in eight years to rename places in Arunachal

New Delhi, May 14: India, on Wednesday, outrightly rejected China's attempts to rename some places in Arunachal Pradesh, saying such “preposterous” attempts will not alter the “undeniable” reality that the state “was, is, and will” always remain an integral part of India.

New Delhi's reaction came in response to Beijing announcing Chinese names for some places in Arunachal Pradesh, which the neighbouring country claims as the southern part of Tibet.

"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," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

Jaiswal was responding to a press query on the issue. "Creative naming will not alter the undeniable reality that Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India," he said.

Reacting sharply to the development, Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu has condemned the Chinese move in a post on social media.

"Another gimmick from China. Being a proud citizen of Bharat and a native of Arunachal Pradesh, I strongly condemn this act of naming places within Arunachal Pradesh, which have been an inalienable integral part of India. Proud citizens and patriots of Arunachal Pradesh are rejecting such antics," he wrote.

Earlier on May 11, China’s civil affairs ministry allegedly renamed 27 locations within Arunachal Pradesh, including 15 mountains, four mountain passes, two rivers, a lake, and five inhabited areas.

This marks the fifth such instance of Beijing attempting to rebrand places in Arunachal Pradesh, which it continues to claim as part of “South Tibet”.

Earlier such exercises were carried out in 2017, 2021, 2023, and most recently in April 2024, when China released a list of 30 sites with new Chinese nomenclature.

India, however, has consistently rejected these symbolic assertions, reiterating that such actions do not change the ground reality.

Meanwhile, the Centre, on Wednesday, banned a Chinese state-run social media handle of "Global Times" news outlet for allegedly disseminating unverified information about the Indian military.

This action follows a strong caution issued by the Indian Embassy in China to the media outlet, urging them to verify facts before posting on social media.

-With inputs from agencies