India has sharply rebuked China after Beijing refuted allegations that an Arunachal Pradesh-origin woman was wrongfully detained at Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) reiterated that Arunachal Pradesh is an “integral and inalienable part of India,” dismissing China’s denial as irrelevant to the “indisputable reality.”
In a statement issued by MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, India took note of the remarks from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs surrounding the “arbitrary detention of an Indian citizen from Arunachal Pradesh, who held a valid passport and was transiting through Shanghai International Airport on her onward journey to Japan.”
The Indian passenger, Pema Wangjom Thongdok, a UK-based Indian citizen, was travelling from London to Japan on November 21. According to her account, a three-hour layover turned into a distressing ordeal when Chinese immigration officials allegedly declared her passport “invalid” because it listed Arunachal Pradesh as her place of birth.
China Denies Detention Allegations
Responding to the incident, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning had claimed that Thongdok was never detained, harassed, or subjected to compulsory measures.
“We learnt that China’s border inspection authorities have gone through the whole process according to the laws and regulations and fully protected the lawful rights and interests of the person concerned,” she said.
MEA Rejects China’s Claims
India firmly countered China’s stand, saying:
“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 ministry added that despite raising the matter with China, Beijing has “still not been able to explain their actions.”
The MEA further asserted that the treatment of the Indian citizen violated multiple international air travel conventions. It also contradicted China’s own regulations, which allow visa-free transit for up to 24 hours for nationals of all countries.
According to earlier reports by HT, India lodged a strong demarche with Chinese authorities in both Beijing and New Delhi on the same day of the incident. The Indian consulate in Shanghai also intervened immediately, providing full assistance to the stranded traveller.
Officials familiar with the matter described the detention as “ludicrous,” stating that Arunachal Pradesh is unquestionably Indian territory, and its residents have every right to hold and travel using Indian passports.
Arunachal CM Pema Khandu Condemns Incident
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu issued a strong statement expressing shock over the treatment experienced by Thongdok.
“I am deeply shocked by the unacceptable treatment of Ms. Prema Wangjom Thongdok, a proud Indian citizen from Arunachal Pradesh, by Chinese immigration authorities at Shanghai Pudong Airport. Subjecting her, despite a valid Indian passport, to humiliation and racial mockery is appalling,” he said in a post on X.
Khandu reiterated that Arunachal Pradesh “is, and will always be, an integral part of India,” adding that any suggestion otherwise is “baseless and offensive.”