‘No amount of denial by China…’: MEA says Ladakh is integral part of India, no one can change the facts

India on Tuesday rejected China’s objections to New Delhi assigning standard names to 28 places and geographical features in Ladakh. The government asserted that the Union territory is an integral and inalienable part of the country.

China had opposed the move, calling it illegal and invalid. It claimed that some of the locations were in disputed border areas or under its actual control. Beijing said the announcement could not alter its claims over the western sector of the India-China boundary.

Last week, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs assigned standard names to the 28 places and geographical features in Ladakh. These included key border friction points along the Line of Actual Control, such as Gogra and Hot Spring.

MUST READ | Map overhaul: Centre officially standardises 28 geographic locations across Ladakh   

India’s response came hours after China strongly opposed the decision. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "It is reiterated that the UT (Union Territory) of Ladakh is an integral and inalienable part of India. No amount of denial by the Chinese side can change this established fact."

"The announcement mentions that the 28 places/features located in the UT of Ladakh have been identified with standard place and feature names on the official map of Survey of India, and it has been done in consultation with the Union Territory of Ladakh and local stakeholders," Jaiswal said.

He added that formally identifying these places on the Survey of India map aims to facilitate their accurate recognition and improve public awareness.

DON'T MISS | From Nadur Kebab to Gur Gur Chai: Inside President Droupadi Murmu’s Kashmir-Ladakh feast for Swiss President Parmelin

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning had said in Beijing that China strongly opposed India’s decision to assign standardised names to locations and geographical features in Ladakh. She said China has never recognised the so-called Union Territory of Ladakh unilaterally established by India and firmly opposes the standardised names publicised by India.

Mao responded to a question about the Indian home ministry’s statement announcing standard names for 28 places, including locations in disputed border areas and places under China’s actual control. She said the move by India is illegal and void and does not change the fact that the western sector of the China-India boundary belongs to China.

She added that the move was illegal and invalid and could not change China’s position that the relevant areas have always belonged to it.