China on Tuesday (October 13, 2026) strongly opposed India’s decision to assign standardised names to 28 strategic locations and geographical features in Ladakh, claiming that the areas belonged to it.
“China has never recognised the so-called ‘Union Territory of Ladakh’ unilaterally and illegally established by India,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told a media briefing in Beijing. Beijing, she said, “firmly opposes India’s announcement of so-called standard names”.
The step, taken by the government in consultation with the Ladakh administration, aims at streamlining official cartography, facilitating precise identification, and fostering better public awareness of the sensitive border region.
Ms. Mao was responding to a question on India’s Ministry of Home Affairs announcing standardised names for 28 places and geographical features in Ladakh.
“The move is illegal and invalid and cannot change the fact that the relevant areas in the western sector of the China-India boundary have always belonged to China,” she said.
