‘Baseless narratives cannot change reality’: India rejects China’s renaming of Arunachal Pradesh places

New Delhi: India on Sunday firmly rejected China’s renaming of the Arunachal Pradesh region, calling it a “mischievous attempt” and asserting that such “baseless narrative cannot change the undeniable reality on the ground”.“India categorically rejects any mischievous attempt by China to give fictitious names to parts of Indian territory,” Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.Responding to media queries, he added: “China’s attempts to make false claims and create baseless narratives cannot change the undeniable reality that these places and territories, including Arunachal Pradesh, were, are and will remain an integral part of India.”Jaiswal also said the move undermined efforts to stabilize relations between the two countries. He said: “These actions by China undermine the ongoing efforts to stabilize and normalize bilateral relations between India and China. China should avoid taking actions that inject negative factors into the relationship between the two countries and undermine efforts to enhance understanding.”The diplomatic pushback comes amid ongoing tensions over border issues, particularly in Ladakh, and new developments in China’s administrative moves in the Xinjiang region, ANI reported.Beijing has reportedly established a new county in Xinjiang called “Gaofeng” near the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). According to the South China Morning Post, the county received approval from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region government on March 26.The move has significant geopolitical implications due to its proximity to the Karakoram Mountains, Afghanistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. It also marks the third time China has established a new county in Xinjiang in just over a year.The development has once again drawn attention to Beijing’s long-standing territorial claims over Arunachal Pradesh, which it calls “South Tibet.” Earlier, India had rejected a similar attempt by China to rename 27 places in the state in May 2025, calling it “ridiculous”China has conducted such name changes in 2017, 2021, 2023 and 2024, usually following periods of diplomatic friction. For example, the first such exercise was conducted in 2017 after the Dalai Lama visited the state. In 2023, India also attempted the same after hosting a G20 meeting in the state.The repeated name changes are widely seen as part of Beijing’s strategy to bolster its territorial claims through coercive diplomacy.