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Shi Jiangtao

New Delhi has issued names for 27 locations in Arunachal Pradesh on its official maps, including sensitive sites near the disputed border with China, in a move that an analyst warned could complicate efforts to repair bilateral ties.
The Indian government announced the move on Friday, just a day after officials from the two countries held a working-level consultation in New Delhi to discuss border management and reaffirm the need for peace along the Line of Actual Control.
Beijing has long referred to the northeastern border state as Zangnan, or southern Tibet.
In a statement, India’s Ministry of Home Affairs said the Survey of India had issued standard names for the locations to ensure “accurate recognition” and improve public awareness of their geographical and historical significance.
The list includes 21 land areas, four mountain passes, a high-altitude lake and a memorial. The names have been added to official Survey of India maps.
Among them are Longju, a village that was the scene of a 1959 border confrontation, as well as the nearby villages of Maja and Bisa and the high-altitude Thag La, the strategic pass where the 1962 border war between India and China erupted.
The list also includes the Sher-e-Thapa Memorial, which commemorates an Indian soldier who fought in that conflict, and Sambho Sarovar, a high-altitude lake.
Beijing rejected the move as illegitimate, saying on Monday that “Zangnan region is China’s territory”.
“China does not recognise the so-called Arunachal Pradesh illegally set up by India. India’s [attempt] to replace names long used by China with its so-called standard names is illegal, null and void. Still less will it change the fact that Zangnan region belongs to China,” foreign ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said.
Indian media described the step as a response to Beijing’s own mapping campaign since 2017 to assign standardised names to places in Arunachal Pradesh.
According to the state-owned Global Times, China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs has issued six lists of names covering 112 locations, including villages, mountain passes, rivers and peaks.
In essence, India is using maps and place names to construct a narrative of expansion, relying on its own mythology rather than established international norms
Liu Zongyi, Shanghai Institutes for International Studies
New Delhi has consistently rejected China’s renaming exercises, with Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Randhir Jaiswal on Saturday describing them as “vain and preposterous”.
“Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India. Assigning invented names will not alter this reality,” he said.
Beijing rejects Indian sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh, which borders China’s Tibet autonomous region, and claims the area as historically part of China. Three of the areas included in India’s list of names – Longju, Maja and Bisa – are under Chinese control.
Liu Zongyi, a senior fellow at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, said India’s latest move was “primarily aimed at reinforcing its territorial claims” and creating the impression that its sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh was already settled.
He said the naming exercise was based on what Beijing considered the “illegal McMahon Line” and built on India’s 1987 establishment of the “so-called Arunachal Pradesh”.
According to Liu, the move served both external and domestic purposes.
“By issuing these names, New Delhi seeks both to declare sovereignty externally, including over some sites under China’s actual control, to demonstrate continuity of its claims, and to foster a domestic perception that the territory is beyond dispute,” he said.
He said several of the chosen locations carried “clear military and strategic significance”, such as mountain passes and logistical hubs that could support future Indian deployments and infrastructure projects in the region.
He added that the inclusion of a war memorial reflected an element of “political education and nationalist messaging”.
“In essence, India is using maps and place names to construct a narrative of expansion, relying on its own mythology rather than established international norms,” Liu said.
He contrasted this with China’s approach, which he argued was rooted in sovereignty and historical legitimacy, and in Beijing’s rejection of the British colonial-era McMahon Line, which India regards as the basis of its eastern boundary with China.
“By publishing standardised names, China reaffirms its sovereignty over Zangnan to the international community and underscores its right to exercise lawful authority there in the future,” Liu said.
Pending a comprehensive border settlement, the two countries have fought a war and several deadly clashes over their competing perceptions of the Line of Actual Control.
Liu described the latest naming controversy as evidence that New Delhi’s position on the territorial dispute remained entrenched despite recent efforts to improve relations.
“Rather than seeking resolution through negotiation, it attempts to legitimise its occupation by asserting ‘possession itself equals sovereignty’. This shows that, despite outward gestures of easing relations, India’s stance on fundamental questions remains unchanged,” Liu said.


New Delhi and Beijing have been trying to sustain a cautious improvement in ties after years of tension along the Himalayan frontier.
India is preparing to host next month’s summit for Brics, the bloc of emerging economies that also includes China. Meanwhile, special representatives from the two countries are expected to hold their 25th round of boundary talks in Beijing in the coming months.
There have also been limited signs of practical engagement. Border trade through Nathu La resumed on August 1 after a six-year suspension, while Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar pledged at a July 22 meeting in Manila to consolidate positive momentum in bilateral ties.
On Thursday, senior diplomats co-chaired the 36th meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination on China-India Border Affairs in New Delhi, joined by representatives from defence, home affairs and immigration agencies.
According to China’s foreign ministry, the two sides discussed border management, cross-border cooperation and official demarcation. They agreed to prepare for the next round of special representative talks and to maintain communication through diplomatic and military channels.
At the New Delhi talks, India also urged China to resume sharing hydrological data amid concerns over Beijing’s construction of a massive dam on the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) River about 50km (31 miles) from the Arunachal Pradesh border, according to Bloomberg.


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New Delhi’s list of names for Arunachal Pradesh locations includes sensitive sites near its disputed frontier with China


New Delhi’s list of names for Arunachal Pradesh locations includes sensitive sites near its disputed frontier with China.


Why India’s new Himalayan border map threatens a fragile thaw in China ties

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}New Delhi’s list of names for Arunachal Pradesh locations includes sensitive sites near its disputed frontier with China

New Delhi’s list of names for Arunachal Pradesh locations includes sensitive sites near its disputed frontier with China