India has strongly criticised China over teh detention of an Indian citizen from Arunachal Pradesh at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, stating the action violates international travel norms.
Responding to media queries, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi had taken up the matter “strongly” with Beijing.
“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.
He added that China has failed to explain why the woman – who held a valid passport and was in transit – was detained, violating international aviation conventions and China’s own 24-hour visa-free transit rules.
18-hour ordeal at Shanghai Airport
The detained passenger, Pema Wangjom Thongdok, a UK-based Indian citizen from Arunachal Pradesh, was travelling from London to Japan on November 21 when her three-hour layover turned into an 18-hour standoff.
‘Arunachal is not India’: Thongdok recounts
Thongdok told ANI that Chinese immigration officials at Shanghai Pudong International Airport declared her Indian passport “invalid”, mocked her nationality, and held her for nearly 18 hours, preventing her from boarding her connecting flight.
Prema Wangjom Thongdok, an Indian citizen residing in the UK for 14 years, said she was singled out by Chinese immigration staff during transit on November 21, despite carrying a valid Indian passport and a visa for Japan.
Describing the incident, thongdok claimed officials questioned her birthplace and insisted she was “not Indian”.
“When I tried to question them and ask what the issue was, they said, ‘Arunachal is not part of India,’ and started mocking and laughing,” she said.
“They told me,’You should apply for a Chinese passport – you’re Chinese,you’re not Indian.'”
She said a female immigration officer pulled her out of the queue without clarification and repeatedly told her that her passport and visa were “not acceptable” because her birthplace was Arunachal Pradesh.
Humiliation and alleged racial mockery
Thongdok alleged that both immigration officers and China Eastern Airlines staff laughed at her and pointed to her passport while saying “Arunachal – China, not india.”
“That was very humiliating, questionable behavior from the immigration staff as well as the airline staff,” she said.
She added that she was confined in the transit area without clear facts or proper facilities and was unable to contact her family for hours.