23 October 2025
China’s latest maneuver to assert sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh—a legitimate part of India—is as absurd as it is alarming. In a desperate display of territorial hunger, Beijing has begun renaming mountains, rivers, villages, and cities across the Indian state on its maps in Chinese names , hoping that words might achieve what weapons could not.
A Legacy of Aggression: The 1962 Invasion
The roots of this territorial dispute stretch back to the 1962 Sino-Indian War, when China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched a full-scale invasion across the Himalayas. At that time, Arunachal Pradesh was known as the North-East Frontier Agency. Despite its overwhelming military force, China’s occupation of large portions of the region was short-lived. Under international scrutiny and Indian resistance, the PLA eventually withdrew, exposing Beijing’s inability to sustain its claim through direct conflict.
However, the scars of that war remain, and so does China’s obsession. For over six decades, Beijing has refused to accept the McMahon Line—the internationally recognized boundary separating Tibet (now under Chinese control) from India. Instead, China continues to falsely describe Arunachal Pradesh as “South Tibet,” a linguistic weapon designed to confuse history and manipulate global perception.
From Guns to Maps: A Covert War of Names
Having failed to conquer Arunachal Pradesh through force, China has turned to a subtler yet equally hostile strategy—changing names. In recent years, Beijing’s Ministry of Civil Affairs has issued multiple lists “renaming” dozens of locations across the Indian state, including mountains, rivers, villages, and passes. Each fabricated name is an attempt to overwrite Indian heritage with Mandarin imitations, asserting false ownership through maps and official documents.
This cartographic warfare is a form of psychological aggression. By flooding maps, media, and international reports with these fake Chinese names, Beijing aims to slowly normalize its illegitimate claim. It’s propaganda disguised as geography—a method reminiscent of colonial powers that rewrote local names to impose dominance. But this time, it’s being done digitally and diplomatically, without a single bullet fired.
The Global Pattern of Chinese Expansionism
Arunachal Pradesh is not the only victim of China’s name games. From the South China Sea to Taiwan, from Ladakh to the Senkaku Islands, Beijing has repeatedly used cartographic manipulation to assert claims over territories it does not own. Its infamous “Nine-Dash Line” in the South China Sea and recent maps including parts of Malaysia, Vietnam, and the Philippines follow the same template—rename, redraw, repeat until resistance weakens.
This pattern exposes a dangerous truth: China’s ambition to expand its boundaries knows no limits. What it cannot seize by war, it seeks to claim through deceit. The renaming of Arunachal Pradesh is just another chapter in Beijing’s campaign of fabricated geography, designed to distort international law and erode the sovereignty of its neighbors.
India’s Unyielding Stand
Despite China’s provocations, India has remained resolute. New Delhi has repeatedly dismissed Beijing’s renaming tactics as “senseless and baseless,” asserting that Arunachal Pradesh has always been, and will always remain, an integral part of India. The Indian Army continues to strengthen its presence along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), ensuring that Beijing’s ambitions remain confined to paper maps.
India’s response goes beyond military readiness—it’s a defense of truth. Every village, every river, and every mountain in Arunachal carries Indian heritage, languages, and traditions. No amount of Chinese renaming can erase centuries of cultural identity and historical continuity.
The battle for Arunachal Pradesh is not just about borders—it’s about truth versus deception, respect versus aggression. China’s renaming campaign is a dangerous precedent that challenges the sovereignty of nations everywhere. If unchecked, it normalizes the rewriting of history by authoritarian regimes for political gain.
India’s resilience in the face of such deceit stands as a reminder: maps can be redrawn, but reality cannot be renamed.
References / Source Materials (for context and credibility):
- Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India – Official statements on China’s “standardized” names in Arunachal Pradesh (April 2023, April 2024).
- The Hindu, The Indian Express, and Hindustan Times – Coverage on China’s repeated renaming attempts and India’s response.
- BBC News – China renames places in India’s Arunachal Pradesh (April 2023).
- Reuters – India rejects China’s renaming of places in Arunachal Pradesh (2023).
- Brookings Institution & Council on Foreign Relations reports on China’s cartographic and territorial expansionism.
- Historical archives on the 1962 Sino-Indian War and the McMahon Line boundary dispute
