The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) just issued one of its strongest recent statements to Beijing. Why? An Indian woman from Arunachal Pradesh was detained, harassed, and denied basic transit rights for over 18 hours at Shanghai’s Pudong Airport.
The Ordeal: A Political Passport Check
The passenger, Prema Wang Thongdok, who lives in the UK, was simply transiting from London to Japan. Her passport was valid, she had a Japanese visa, and she was eligible for China’s own 24-hour visa-free transit rule.
But Chinese immigration officials inexplicably targeted her birthplace: Arunachal Pradesh.
“They called my Indian passport invalid as my birthplace is Arunachal Pradesh which they claimed is Chinese territory.”
She was held, denied free passage, and her passport was challenged on outright political grounds. China is trying to enforce its territorial claims using an immigration desk. That’s the thing.
India’s Stance: No Amount of Denial
The MEA hit back hard, lodging a strong protest in both Beijing and New Delhi. They called the detention an “arbitrary” violation of international norms and China’s own rules.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal made the line perfectly clear. No fluff.
“Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India, and this is a self-evident fact. No amount of denial by the Chinese side is going to change this indisputable reality.”
The Core Conflict
The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Mao Ning, denied any wrongdoing and claimed Thongdok “was not subjected to any compulsory measures, detainment or harassment.” But then Mao repeated the territorial claim: “Zangnan is China’s territory.”
Let’s be real: China violated several conventions governing international air travel—rules meant to keep global traffic moving. New Delhi says the detention was based on “ludicrous grounds” and is throwing “unnecessary obstructions” into the efforts to stabilize bilateral ties.
This is a diplomatic flashpoint. Harassment of Indian citizens on political pretexts will not be tolerated. It’s ongoing.
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