Beijing has stated its policy to improve relations with India remains unchanged, even while defending its recent actions of assigning new names to several locations within India's Arunachal Pradesh. This move has been met with strong condemnation from New Delhi.
China Defends Naming Actions
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun reiterated Beijing’s long-standing claim over Arunachal Pradesh, referring to it as “Zangnan,” which China considers part of southern Tibet. Guo asserted, “Zangnan is China’s territory, and it is entirely within China’s sovereignty to standardise names in the region.” This statement comes after China released multiple batches of renamed locations in the area since 2017.
Despite the diplomatic friction, Guo maintained that bilateral relations remain stable and emphasized China’s commitment to enhancing ties with India. He expressed hope that both nations would collaborate towards steps conducive to bilateral relations.
India Categorically Rejects Renaming
India’s External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal categorically rejected China’s attempts to assign what he termed “fictitious names” to places within Arunachal Pradesh. Jaiswal stressed that such actions are aimed at creating “baseless narratives” and false claims, asserting unequivocally that “Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always remain an integral part of India.”
He further cautioned that these renaming exercises do not alter facts on the ground and could undermine ongoing efforts to improve India-China relations, which have been strained since the 2020 eastern Ladakh border standoff.
Ongoing Territorial Frictions
The latest dispute over Arunachal Pradesh's names is not an isolated incident. Relations between India and China have been tense since the military confrontation in eastern Ladakh in 2020. More recently, in March, China announced the creation of Cenling county in Xinjiang, located near Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the western sector.
India has previously protested similar administrative changes, including the creation of Hean and Hekang counties, stating that parts of these jurisdictions fall within its Union Territory of Ladakh. While diplomatic engagement between the two countries has seen some improvement in recent months, recurring disputes over territorial claims and symbolic actions like renaming continue to pose significant challenges to fully normalizing ties between the two Asian giants.