India slams China’s “preposterous” renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh

New Delhi, May 14: India has strongly rejected China’s latest move to rename locations in Arunachal Pradesh, calling the act “vain and preposterous” in a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Wednesday.

Responding to media queries about Beijing’s decision to assign new Chinese names to several places in the northeastern state Arunachal Pradesh, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal reiterated India’s long-standing stance on the matter.

“We have noticed that China has persisted with its vain and preposterous attempts to name places in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh,” Jaiswal said. “Consistent with our principled position, we reject such attempts categorically. Creative naming will not alter the undeniable reality that Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India.”

This marks yet another diplomatic flare-up between India and China. China has issued several rounds of renaming in past years, often coinciding with border tensions along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). Analysts interpret the timing of such actions as both symbolic posturing and a pressure tactic ahead of any bilateral or multilateral negotiations.

India, however, has remained firm in its position. In previous instances, New Delhi dismissed China’s renaming exercises as “senseless” and reiterated that such unilateral moves have no bearing on the ground realities or the legal status of the territory.