NEW DELHI: Arbitrary actions by China are “most unhelpful” towards efforts being made by both countries to build mutual trust and normalise bilateral ties, the ministry of external affairs said on Wednesday, referring to the recent detention of an Indian citizen from Arunachal Pradesh at the Shanghai airport by Chinese authorities who declared her Indian passport invalid, claiming the north-eastern state was part of Chinese territory.
“Arbitrary actions by China involving an Indian citizen from Arunachal Pradesh are most unhelpful towards efforts being made by both sides to build mutual trust and understanding, and gradually move towards normalisation of bilateral relations,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a weekly media briefing. He was responding to a question on what impact such incidents could have on bilateral relations.
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.
Arunachal Pradesh, Jaiswal reiterated, was an integral and inalienable part of India and no amount of denial by China will alter the indisputable reality. The MEA made that assertion on Tuesday too, hours after China reiterated its claim over the territory while refuting allegations that an Indian woman was harassed at the Shanghai airport.
Jaiswal touched upon how peace and tranquility in the border regions was a prerequisite for the continued and overall development of India-China bilateral relations, in response to a question on the ongoing talks under the Special Representatives mechanism.
{{/usCountry}}Jaiswal touched upon how peace and tranquility in the border regions was a prerequisite for the continued and overall development of India-China bilateral relations, in response to a question on the ongoing talks under the Special Representatives mechanism.
{{/usCountry}}“Our position in this regard has always been very clear and consistent. Since October 2024, both sides have worked closely to maintain peace and tranquility in the border regions and it is on this basis that progress has been made particularly in people-centric engagements,” he said. The two sides reached an understanding in October 2024 to end the standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in the Ladakh sector.
India has consistently rejected Chinese claims over Arunachal Pradesh. 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.
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.
The MEA made a strong demarche with the Chinese side, in Beijing and in Delhi, on the same day the incident took place, and the Indian consulate in Shanghai also took up the matter locally and extended the fullest assistance to the stranded passenger, as previously reported by HT.