'Arunachal Is Inalienable...': India Hits Back At China After Female Citizen Detained At Shanghai Airport

New Delhi, November 25: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has issued a sharp response after the Chinese Foreign Ministry commented on the detention of an Indian citizen from Arunachal Pradesh at Shanghai International Airport. The woman who held a valid Indian passport was travelling to Japan and was stopped during transit.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the Indian government has taken the matter very seriously. He stated that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India, and no amount of denial by China can change this “self-evident fact.” India firmly rejected China’s claims or suggestions questioning India’s sovereignty over the state.

According to the MEA, China has failed to give any clear explanation for the arbitrary detention. The spokesperson pointed out that China’s actions violate international air travel conventions as well as China’s own transit rules, which allow visa-free transit for up to 24 hours for citizens of all countries.

India has raised the issue strongly with Chinese authorities and demanded accountability for the detention, calling the incident unacceptable and against established international norms.

Woman Shares Ordeal

Prema Wangjom Thongdok from Arunachal Pradesh said that Chinese immigration officials at Shanghai Pudong Airport declared her Indian passport invalid and delayed her travel to Japan.

She said in a video, "... When I tried to question them and ask them what the issue was, they said, 'Arunachal is not part of India' and started mocking and laughing and saying things like 'you should apply for the Chinese passport, you're Chinese, you're not Indian..."

"I am an Indian citizen residing in the UK for about 14 years, and I was travelling from London to Japan via a transit in Shanghai... One of the officials from the Chinese immigration came over and singled me out of the queue. I asked her what was happening, and she went on to say, 'Arunachal- not India, China-China, your visa is not acceptable."

She also said, "Your passport is invalid'... When I tried to question them and ask them what the issue was, they said, 'Arunachal is not part of India' and started mocking and laughing and saying things like 'you should apply for the Chinese passport, you're Chinese, you're not Indian'... I have transited through Shanghai in the past with no issues at all. I couldn't get in touch with my family for a very long time... The airline staff of China Eastern and about two other immigration officers were speaking in their language and saying and pointing out and saying Arunachal and laughing and calling it China, not India."

"That was a very humiliating, questionable behaviour from the immigration staff as well as the airline staff... I called up the Shanghai and Beijing Indian embassies and within an hour, the Indian officials came to the airport, got me some food and spoke through the issues with them and helped me get out of the country. A very long ordeal, 18 hours, but glad that I'm out of there..." she said.