India rejects China's objection to naming 28 places in Ladakh, calls it integral part of India

India has firmly rejected China's objection to the standard names it assigned to 28 places and geographical features in Ladakh, saying the Union Territory is an integral and inalienable part of the country.

The exchange began on Tuesday when Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a regular briefing in Beijing that China had never recognised the Union Territory of Ladakh set up by India. She described the naming exercise as illegal and void and said it did not change China's position on the western sector of the boundary.

New Delhi's response

Hours later, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Ladakh was an integral and inalienable part of India, adding that "no amount of denial" by the Chinese side could change that fact. He said the 28 places had been identified on the Survey of India's official maps in consultation with the Ladakh administration and local stakeholders, to help people identify them accurately.

The government announced the names on 2 October. The list includes peaks, mountains, passes, glaciers, a valley, a river and a lake. Some of the features lie along the Line of Actual Control, including Gogra and Hot Spring, which were friction points during the military standoff that began in 2020.

A familiar dispute

This is not the first such exchange. Beijing has objected to Ladakh's status since India reorganised the former state of Jammu and Kashmir into two Union Territories in 2019, and India has consistently said the matter is internal. The two countries have also traded objections over place names in Arunachal Pradesh, with China issuing its own lists of names for locations in the state.

The latest exchange comes as both sides have been working to steady ties after disengagement at friction points along the border was completed.

Why it matters

The names themselves do not change positions on the ground, but the war of words shows how sensitive the boundary question remains even as India and China try to rebuild trade and political contacts.