China slams India’s move of formally naming 27 places in Arunachal Pradesh

China on Sunday (August 9, 2026) slammed India’s latest move of identifying 27 locations in Arunachal Pradesh by their standard names on its official map as “self-deception which runs counter to the improving momentum in bilateral relations and could complicate efforts to properly handle border issues.”

In response to frequent attempts by China to rename some places in Arunachal Pradesh, India on Friday (August 7, 2026) formally identified 27 places — including land, passes, a lake and a monument — in the border State by their standard names on the official Indian map.

The Global Times, China’s Communist Party-run newspaper carried a report which said, “China has been carrying out standardization of geographical names in the region for a long time. At a time when China-India relations are showing signs of improvement and leaders from both countries are expected to engage through multilateral platforms, any unilateral action by India that escalates the border situation shows no point and will not serve the broader interests of bilateral relations.” Qian Feng, director of the Research Department at Tsinghua University’s National Strategy Institute, was quoted.

Mr. Qian said India should avoid turning border issue into a larger dispute, as such actions could stifle the improving political ties between the two countries, the report further said.

“China does not recognize Arunachal Pradesh”

According to the report, Since 2017, China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs has released six batches of standardized names for locations, with a total of 112 names announced as of April 2026. These names cover villages, mountain passes, rivers and peaks, accompanied by standardized Chinese and Tibetan names as well as geographic coordinates. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a routine press briefing on April 14 that China does not recognize Arunachal Pradesh.

Quoting Mr. Guo, the report added, “China-India relations are generally stable at the moment. China’s commitment to improving and growing China-India relations has not changed. We hope the two sides will work in the same direction and act more in ways conducive to bilateral relations.”

The newspaper also added that, India’s latest naming of 27 locations is a unilateral administrative move and does not alter the legal status of the area, quoting Guo Xuetang, a professor at the center for South Asia and Indian Ocean Studies under Shanghai International Studies University.

According to Mr. Guo Xuetang, India’s move is an attempt to strengthen its claim of control over the area and create additional leverage in future boundary negotiations. However, such actions have no practical meaning and will only undermine the atmosphere for negotiations between the two countries, the report added.

The report further said that Mr. Guo said the only way to resolve the China-India boundary issue is through equal negotiations and a fair settlement based on historical and legal principles, while unilateral actions that create tensions or change the status quo will only harm mutual trust and border stability.