India, April 12 -- India on Sunday rejected China's attempts to "assign fictitious names" to locations which are a part of the Indian territory. The statement by the ministry of external affairs came even as reports stated that China had established a new county in its Xinjiang province near the borders of Afghanistan, Arunachal Pradesh, and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

"India categorically rejects any mischievous attempts by the Chinese side to assign fictitious names to places which form part of the territory of India," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.

The spokesperson said that "baseless narratives" would not alter the sovereign status of these regions, saying they would always remain an integral part of India.

"Such attem...