China declares Arunachal woman’s passport invalid; India responds firmly (Source: X/ ANI)
India has formally objected to Beijing after a woman from Arunachal Pradesh was detained at Shanghai airport on November 21, with authorities there declaring her Indian passport invalid.
The woman, identified as Prema Wangjom Thongdok, said she was stopped by immigration officials and kept for more than 18 hours. She stated she was mocked and even told to apply for a Chinese passport. She wrote on X that she was held because “my birthplace is Arunachal Pradesh which they claimed is Chinese territory.”
Thongdok, who lives in the United Kingdom, was travelling to Japan for a vacation with a three-hour layover in Shanghai. She had a valid Japanese visa but was not allowed to board her connecting China Eastern Airlines flight. The situation was resolved only after Indian officials intervened, she said.
India has consistently rejected China’s territorial claims, maintaining that Arunachal Pradesh is an inseparable part of the country.
She told ANI that when she questioned the officials, they said “Arunachal is not part of India” and mocked her, adding comments like “you should apply for the Chinese passport, you’re Chinese, you’re not Indian.”
Thongdok, who has lived in the UK for 14 years, said she had travelled through Shanghai a year earlier without any issues.
She added that the experience was humiliating, involving questionable behaviour from immigration and airline staff. After she contacted the Indian embassies in Shanghai and Beijing, officials arrived within an hour, offered assistance and food, and helped her leave the country after the 18-hour ordeal.
According to officials, India’s foreign ministry issued a strong demarche to China in both Beijing and Delhi the same day, while the Indian consulate in Shanghai provided full support to the stranded passenger.
New Delhi stressed that the grounds for her detention were unreasonable, as Arunachal Pradesh is undisputed Indian territory and its residents are fully entitled to hold Indian passports and travel internationally.
India also underlined that China’s actions violated the Chicago and Montreal civil aviation conventions. Officials added that such incidents create unnecessary hurdles at a time when both sides are working toward restoring normal relations.
In recent years, China has taken actions such as renaming towns and locations in Arunachal Pradesh in attempts to strengthen its territorial claims over the region.
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