Beijing/ New Delhi (Gurpreet Singh): Beijing has formally rejected India’s recent official mapping of 27 geographical features and locations in Arunachal Pradesh using standard Indian nomenclature, asserting that the update has no impact on its territorial claims over the northeastern state. Speaking at a press conference, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun reiterated that China refuses to acknowledge the state of Arunachal Pradesh, referring to the territory as “Zangnan” and dismissing India’s official map updates as legally invalid.
The statement comes after India updated the Survey of India map to enhance public awareness and establish standardized geographical identification across the border region. The 27 designated locations include historically and strategically sensitive points along the Line of Actual Control, such as Long Ju—the site of an early border confrontation in 1959—alongside Maja village, Jairampur, and key high-altitude mountain passes including Thag La, Dzo La, Riza La, and Pukur La. The updated list also features notable cultural and memorial landmarks, such as Jaswant Garh, the Sher-e-Thapa Memorial, Sambho Sarovar, and Buddhamandir.
India has routinely dismissed Beijing’s ongoing attempts to assign Chinese names to locations in the region—a practice initiated by China in 2017—labeling such efforts as baseless and ineffective. Maintaining a firm diplomatic stance, New Delhi reaffirms that Arunachal Pradesh remains an integral and indivisible part of India, emphasizing that unilateral naming decisions cannot redefine territorial sovereignty or alter facts on the ground.
