India has firmly reiterated that Ladakh is an integral and inalienable part of the country after China objected to New Delhi's decision to identify and standardise the names of 28 strategic locations and geographical features across the Union Territory for official mapping purposes.

The Ministry of Home Affairs, in consultation with the Ladakh administration, formally identified 28 locations, including mountain peaks, passes, land areas and water bodies. These names will be incorporated into the official maps produced by the Survey of India.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the initiative is intended to ensure the accurate identification of these locations and improve public awareness and recognition of important geographical features across Ladakh.

Responding to China's criticism, India underlined that the exercise concerns locations that lie within its sovereign territory and does not alter the established reality of the region's status.

The Ministry of External Affairs stated that the Union Territory of Ladakh remains an integral and inalienable part of India, stressing that no amount of denial by the Chinese side can change this established fact.

The move comes amid continuing differences between India and China over their unresolved boundary dispute in eastern Ladakh, where both sides have undertaken diplomatic and military engagements in recent years to maintain peace and stability along the Line of Actual Control.

The standardisation of place names is also expected to support governance, administration, mapping accuracy, infrastructure planning and emergency response efforts in strategically significant border regions.

India has consistently rejected attempts by other countries to rename or make territorial claims over areas it considers part of its sovereign territory, maintaining that such actions carry no legal validity and do not affect its territorial integrity.

Agencies