China pushes back against India's naming of locations in Zangnan

Some experts have called India's unilateral naming of 27 locations in Zangnan region on its official map an act of "self-deception" and warn it runs counter to improved bilateral ties, according to a Global Times report.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says the move won't change the fact that Zangnan region belongs to China.

The Indian government last Friday mapped 27 standardised place names in its so-called Arunachal Pradesh state and said the updated Survey of India map included "four mountain passes and a high-altitude lake."

A professor at the centre for South Asia and Indian Ocean Studies under Shanghai International Studies University says in an interview it is India's unilateral administrative move to strengthen its claim of control, and doesn't alter the legal status of the area.

In Beijing, a foreign ministry spokesman contends China does not recognise the so-called "Arunachal Pradesh" illegally set up by India.

He reaffirms China's territorial sovereignty over Zangnan region, adding India's move of attempting to replace names long used by China with its so-called "standard names" is illegal, null and void.