BEIJING: In a move seen by many as a calculated assertion of power, China has renamed 27 places in Arunachal Pradesh —Indian administered territory — in a step to reassert its territorial claims over parts of the disputed Himalayan region.
In a media briefing on Tuesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said that Beijing had “standardised some place names in (Arunachal Pradesh), which is entirely within China’s sovereignty” – repeating what has been Beijing’s standard response.
Beijing has renamed places in Arunachal Pradesh in the past as well, and the issue has been an irritant in ties between the two countries.
This latest action marks the fifth time Beijing has attempted to rename areas within what it calls “Zangnan,” which it claims as part of the Tibetan Autonomous Region – a claim New Delhi has repeatedly dismissed.
The Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs said it published the new names in accordance with state guidelines on geographic nomenclature.
The renamed locations include 15 mountains, five residential areas, four mountain passes, two rivers, and a lake—each assigned names in Chinese characters, Tibetan, and pinyin, complete with exact coordinates and a high-resolution map.
While China justifies the move as a routine administrative update, the timing has raised eyebrows across the region, coming days after India suffered a significant military and diplomatic embarrassment in its recent clash with Pakistan.
Pakistan’s retaliatory military operation, Bunyanum Marsoos, reportedly left Indian forces rattled and provoked an unusual wave of national soul-searching within India. Observers suggest Beijing may be capitalising on India’s moment of vulnerability to reassert its own territorial ambitions.
India’s foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was quick to condemn the renaming exercise and said that “vain and preposterous,” reiterating that “Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India.”
Despite recent gestures toward mending ties—including diplomatic meetings and plans to resume flights and pilgrimage access—Beijing’s renaming move has cast a fresh shadow over the fragile relationship.
This is not the first time China has attempted to redraw the narrative through symbolic control.
Since 2017, Beijing has released multiple lists renaming locations in Arunachal Pradesh — six in 2017, 15 in 2021, 11 in 2023, and 30 earlier this year, in March. India has consistently dismissed these attempts as meaningless provocations.
