‘Mischievous attempts’: India rebukes China over ‘fictitious names’ for areas in Arunachal Pradesh

India on Sunday strongly criticised China for assigning what it called “fictitious names” to locations within Indian territory, including areas in Arunachal Pradesh, terming the move a “mischievous attempt.”

In a sharply worded statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said New Delhi “categorically rejects” such actions by Beijing, asserting that renaming places cannot change the ground reality.

“These places and territories, including Arunachal Pradesh, were, are, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India,” the statement emphasised, adding that attempts to create “false claims” and “baseless narratives” would not stand.

The ministry also warned that such actions risk undermining ongoing efforts to stabilise bilateral ties, urging China to avoid steps that could “inject negativity” into the relationship.

India’s response came after Beijing announced a fresh set of Chinese names for multiple locations in Arunachal Pradesh—an exercise it has repeated several times in recent years.

New Delhi has consistently rejected such moves. In May 2025, it dismissed a similar attempt to rename 27 places as “preposterous,” reiterating its long-standing position on the region’s status.

China has carried out comparable renaming exercises in 2017, 2021, 2023 and 2024, often during periods of heightened tensions along the border. The first such move in 2017 followed a visit by the Dalai Lama to Arunachal Pradesh.

The latest diplomatic pushback also comes amid continuing friction in eastern Ladakh, where China has recently created a new administrative division in the Xinjiang region near the borders of Afghanistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

Although ties between the two countries have seen some improvement since the 2020 Galwan Valley clash, concerns over border activities persist. Recent high-level engagements, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of multilateral forums, have aimed at stabilising relations—but issues along the Line of Actual Control continue to cast a shadow.