India on Tuesday hit back at China’s rejection of New Delhi’s decision to formally identify 27 places and geographical features in Arunachal Pradesh, asserting that the northeastern state was an “inalienable and integral part of India” and that “nothing can change this indisputable reality”.Responding to China’s description of India’s move as “illegal, null and void”, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi’s position on Arunachal Pradesh remained unequivocal.“Arunachal Pradesh is an inalienable and integral part of India and this is a fact which is self-evident. At the same time, let me also underline that nothing can change this indisputable reality,” Jaiswal said at the weekly media briefing.His remarks came days after India formally identified 27 locations in Arunachal Pradesh on the Survey of India map using their standard names, in a move that assumes significance amid Beijing’s repeated attempts to rename places in the state.China had on Monday rejected the Indian exercise, with Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun saying Beijing does not recognise Arunachal Pradesh, which it refers to as “Zangnan”.Describing India’s decision to use its own names for the locations as “illegal, null and void”, Guo asserted that the move could not alter China’s claim over the region.India, however, has consistently rejected Beijing’s territorial claims and its attempts to assign Chinese names to places in Arunachal Pradesh, calling such exercises “vain and preposterous” and maintaining that nomenclature could not alter the ground reality.The 27 locations identified by India include Long Ju, an early flashpoint along the Line of Actual Control in 1959, and Maja village in Upper Subansiri district.The list also covers strategically significant high-altitude passes, including Dzo La, Riza La, Pukur La and Thag La. Thag La witnessed one of the opening battles of the 1962 India-China war.Jairampur, an important logistics hub in Changlang district and gateway to the eastern border region, has also been formally identified.Other locations include Sambho Sarovar, Bara Kundun, Chhota Kundun, Dhan Bari, Pritnagar, Teritnagar, Ramnagar, Jaswant Garh, Sagar, Padma, Jyotinagar and Baisakhi.The list also includes the Sher-e-Thapa Memorial, dedicated to 1962 war hero Trilok Singh Thapa, besides Chhota Ropuk, Bara Ropuk, Shivaji Nagar, Jattvibepura, Kamlang Nagar and Buddhamandir.Beijing’s renaming campaign began in 2017, when China issued its first list of six “standardised names” for locations in Arunachal Pradesh. It followed this with a list of 15 names in 2021 and another 11 in 2023.New Delhi has repeatedly dismissed the Chinese naming exercises as attempts to create “baseless narratives” regarding Indian territory, stressing that changing names cannot alter either the ground reality or Arunachal Pradesh’s status as an integral part of India.