China has once again objected to India’s actions regarding Ladakh, saying it does not recognise the Union Territory of Ladakh created by India in 2019.
At a press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning also criticised India’s recent decision to formally name 28 places and geographical features in Ladakh.
Mao Ning made the statement in reply to a question that referred to India’s home ministry including these places in official maps. China claims that they include some areas that are disputed or under China’s effective control.
The Chinese spokesperson said India’s move is ‘illegal and unacceptable’ and does not change the facts on the ground. According to her, the areas concerned in the western sector of the China-India border have always been part of China.
The places whose names India’s home ministry officially recorded on 2 October include the Gogra and Hot Springs areas. Both were key centres of border tension and military confrontation between India and China in 2020.
Located near the Line of Actual Control (LAC), these areas are of particular importance for Indian army patrols and military activity.
According to the news agency PTI, the other places include several geographical features, among them Chap Chhingel Pass, Kanishka Peak, Parpik Glacier, Karon Pir mountain, Alisha Giri, Shekmerik Pass, Shakorga Valley, Zorawar Peak and Dara Karpo.
Rejecting China’s position, India said: ‘However much China denies it, it cannot change the established fact that Ladakh is an integral and inalienable part of India.’
Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the 28 places in Ladakh identified by the home ministry have been included with standard names in the official maps of the Survey of India.
According to him, the process was completed after consultation with the Ladakh administration and local stakeholders, and its aim is to make the correct identification of places easier and increase public awareness.
India began formally naming places in Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh after China gave Chinese names to mountains, rivers, towns and other geographical features in Arunachal Pradesh.
China calls Arunachal Pradesh ‘South Tibet’ or ‘Zangnan’, while India considers it an integral part of its territory.
On 5 August 2019, India abolished Article 370 of the constitution, ending Jammu and Kashmir’s special constitutional status. The former state was then divided into two parts, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, and both were declared Union Territories.
China strongly objected at the time to making Ladakh a separate Union Territory.
On 6 August 2019, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said: ‘China has always opposed India’s inclusion of Chinese territory in the western sector of the China-India border into its administrative jurisdiction.’
She said: ‘India has undermined China’s territorial sovereignty by unilaterally changing its domestic law. Such a move is unacceptable and will not take effect.’
In May 2020, tension between India and China rose sharply in various border areas of Ladakh. In a bloody clash in the Galwan Valley on 15 June 2020, 20 Indian and four Chinese soldiers were killed.
After the incident, relations between the two countries remained under severe strain, although 25 rounds of high-level talks have been held to normalise the situation. Even so, the old border dispute between the two countries remains unresolved.
Senior Chinese journalist Shen Shiwei wrote on the social media platform X: ‘Why does China’s foreign ministry say it does not recognise the unilaterally and illegally established “Union Territory of Ladakh”? Because India has unilaterally and illegally included Chinese territory in its map.’
However, India has consistently rejected this position and calls Ladakh part of its sovereign territory.
