NEW DELHI: India on Tuesday rejected China’s latest claim over Ladakh, asserting that the Union Territory is an integral and inalienable part of the country and that Beijing’s objections cannot alter this established position.
Our response to media queries regarding comments made by the Chinese side on Ladakh.
🔗 https://t.co/guiOKfNImD https://t.co/V1tk6dkIKH
— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) October 13, 2026
Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal made the statement in response to remarks by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, who had criticised India’s decision to assign standard names to 28 places and geographical features in Ladakh.
“It is reiterated that the UT of Ladakh is an integral and inalienable part of India. No amount of denial by the Chinese side can change this established fact,” Jaiswal said.
Mao had termed India’s move illegal and invalid, claiming that the areas concerned in the western sector of the China-India boundary had always belonged to China.
Responding to the Chinese objections, Jaiswal said the Ministry of Home Affairs’ press release on the matter was self-explanatory.
He said the 28 places and geographical features in Ladakh had been identified by their standard names on the official maps of the Survey of India in consultation with the Union Territory administration and local stakeholders.
The exercise, he added, was intended to ensure the accurate identification of these places and improve public awareness about them.
India has formally identified 28 places and geographical features in Ladakh using standard names on official Survey of India maps. The move comes amid continuing differences between New Delhi and Beijing over territorial claims in the region.
India had earlier undertaken a similar exercise in Arunachal Pradesh, formally identifying 27 places and geographical features on official Survey of India maps.
