Actions by China unhelpful in normalising ties: MEA on detention of Indian national at Shanghai airport

A day after India rejected China's response to the detention of an Indian national from Arunachal Pradesh at the Shanghai airport, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Wednesday said that actions by Beijing are unhelpful in normalising ties.

On November 21, Pema Wangjom Thongdok, a UK-based Indian citizen, claimed that her three-hour scheduled layover at Shanghai International Airport turned into a traumatising ordeal.

Pema, who was travelling from London to Japan, said that when she was transiting, immigration personnel declared her passport 'invalid' solely because it listed Arunachal Pradesh as her birthplace.

Addressing a weekly briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that arbitrary actions by China are most unhelpful towards efforts made by both sides to build mutual trust and understanding and gradually move towards normalisation of bilateral relations.

Jaiswal stated that maintenance of peace and tranquility in the border region is the prerequisite for the continued and overall development of Indian-China bilateral relations.

He added that since October 2024, both sides have worked to maintain peace and tranquility in the border regions. “It is on this basis that progress has been made in people-centric engagement.”

“Yesterday we made a statement, you would have seen, regarding the arbitrary detention of an Indian citizen from Arunachal Pradesh, who was holding a valid passport and . We want to say that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India, and this is a fact that is self-evident,” Jaiswal said.

Stating that no amount of denial by the Chinese side is going to change this indisputable reality, he said, "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.”

Pema somehow managed to connect to the Indian consulate in Shanghai through a UK-based friend.

The Indian Consulate in Shanghai also took up the matter locally and extended the fullest assistance to the stranded passenger, they said.

Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Tuesday said he was "deeply shocked" by the incident and called it a "violation of international norms and an affront to the dignity of Indian citizens."