New Delhi, May 15 -- India on Wednesday rejected China's move to rename 27 locations in Arunachal Pradesh, saying such "vain and preposterous" actions will not change the reality of the state being an integral and inalienable part of the country. On May 11, China's civil affairs ministry renamed 27 places in Arunachal Pradesh, including 15 mountains, four passes, two rivers, a lake and five inhabited areas. This was the fifth time China has renamed places in Arunachal Pradesh, and the first such move since the two countries reached an understanding last October to end a more than four-year-long military standoff in Ladakh sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC). External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal responded to China's latest action by saying that Beijing has "persisted with its vain and preposterous attempts to name places in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh". He added, "Consistent with our principled position, we reject such attempts categorically. Creative naming will not alter the undeniable reality that Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India." China began the practice of renaming locations in Arunachal Pradesh, which Beijing refers to as "Zangnan" and claims as part of South Tibet, in 2017. China renamed six locations in 2017, 15 in 2021, 11 in 2023 and 30 more in March 2024. These actions are seen as part of China's efforts to assert its territorial claim on the strategic state in India's northeastern region....