India slams China for detaining Arunachal woman in Shanghai: 'Not helping in normalizing ties'

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal

Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) reiterated on Wednesday, days after the detention of Arunachal Pradesh’s Prema Wangjom Thongdok at Shanghai Pudong Airport for hours.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We want to say that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India, and this is a fact that is self-evident. No amount of denial by the Chinese side is going to change this indisputable reality."

"At the same time, I said that we did take up this matter; we did make a strong demarche with the Chinese side, both in Beijing and Delhi, when the incident took place,” he added.

Jaiswal said that Chinese behaviour with Prema, who leads IFPR reporting and prudential work for ACA Group in the UK, in Shanghai airport where airport staff along with immigration officials mocked her nationality and said her visa cannot be accepted, “does not help the process of normalising ties", according to a report by News 18.

Arunachal woman's detention at Shanghai airport

Prema Wangjom Thongdok, a UK-based Indian citizen, who was travelling from London to Japan on November 21, claimed her three-hour scheduled layover turned into a traumatising ordeal after immigration personnel declared her passport “invalid” because it listed Arunachal Pradesh as her birthplace.

In a statement on Tuesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning claimed the woman was not subjected to any compulsory measures, detainment or harassment. “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. Zangnan is China’s territory. China never acknowledged the so-called Arunachal Pradesh illegally set up by India,” Mao said.

Hitting back at China, MEA on Tuesday stated, “The issue of the detention has been taken up strongly with the Chinese side. Chinese authorities have still not been able to explain their actions, which are in violation of several conventions governing international air travel. The actions by the Chinese authorities also violate their own regulations that allow visa free transit up to 24 hours for nationals of all countries."

Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu, too, expressed “deep shock” over the incident and said that the “racial mockery” the woman was subjected to was “appalling”.

India has consistently rejected Chinese claims over Arunachal Pradesh, saying the north-eastern state is an integral and inalienable part of the country. In recent years, China has resorted to renaming dozens of towns and geographical features in the state as part of its efforts to lay claim to the region.