New Delhi: India on Tuesday rejected Beijing’s objection to New Delhi announcing standard names of 28 places and features in Ladakh, asserting that the Union territory is an “integral and inalienable” part of the country.
Last week, the Union home ministry assigned the standard names to the places and geographical features in Ladakh, including certain key border friction points along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) such as Gogra and Hot Spring.
India’s reaction came hours after China strongly opposed New Delhi assigning the standardised names.
“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,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
He said the press release by the Ministry of Home Affairs dated October 2 that China referred to, is “self-explanatory”.
“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.
“Identifying these places formally on the Survey of India map of UT of Ladakh is aimed at facilitating their accurate recognition and better awareness among the public at large,” he said.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in Beijing that China strongly opposed India’s decision to assign standardised names to the locations and geographical features in Ladakh.
“China has never recognised the so-called ‘Union Territory of Ladakh’ unilaterally and illegally established by India, and firmly opposes the so-called ‘standardised names’ publicised by India,” she said.
“This 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,” Mao said.
Pertinently, Gogra and Hot Spring are among the major strategic locations and were friction points during the 2020 standoff between Indian and Chinese forces. The locations are crucial for Indian patrolling along the LAC.
The eastern Ladakh border standoff erupted on May 5, 2020, following a violent clash between Indian and Chinese troops in the Pangong Lake area. Both sides began the disengagement process in 2022.
The other locations identified by India include Alisha Giri, a high-altitude peak; Brangsa; Chapchingal Pass; Kanishka Peak; Karun Pir mountain; Kuksel; Martand Giri; Parpik glacier; Skamri Glacier; Shachmirik Pass; Shkorga Valley; Zorawar Peak; Dehra Compass; and Drak Karpo.
The list also includes Jolmori, Kumarayana Point, Panglung, Rinchen Zangpo, Sakyasri Giri, Guru Rinpoche, Shamal Lungpa (a patrol and staging route in the 1950s), Yangpa River, Marpa Lotsava Ri, Milarepa Kangri, Shiva Ri and Maheshwara Ri.
