The Ministry of External Affairs on late Tuesday evening categorically reiterated that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India, responding sharply to China’s renewed territorial claim over the region, while the latter rejected allegations that an Indian woman holding an Arunachal-born passport was mistreated at Shanghai airport.
The incident in question involved Prema Wangjom Thongdok, a UK-based Indian citizen, who was travelling from London to Japan on November 21. According to her account, what was supposed to be a routine three-hour layover in Shanghai turned into a harrowing experience when Chinese immigration officials declared her passport “invalid” solely because it mentioned Arunachal Pradesh as her place of birth.
Addressing the matter at a regular press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning denied any wrongdoing by Chinese authorities. “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 Ning stated, using Beijing’s name for the region it claims as “South Tibet”.
In a swift and firm rebuttal, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal dismissed China’s territorial assertion and highlighted the violation of transit norms. “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,” Jaiswal said.
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He further pointed out that India has taken up the matter of the woman’s detention 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,” the MEA spokesperson added.
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu also reacted strongly to the episode, expressing “deep shock” and terming the treatment meted out to the woman as “appalling”. He described the incident as amounting to “racial mockery”.
India has consistently and unequivocally rejected all Chinese claims over Arunachal Pradesh, maintaining that the north-eastern state has been, is, and will remain an integral and inalienable part of the country. In recent years, China has intensified its efforts to assert sovereignty over the region by unilaterally renaming dozens of towns, villages, rivers, lakes, and mountains within Arunachal Pradesh—moves that New Delhi has repeatedly dismissed as baseless and devoid of any legal effect.
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