• Source:JND
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Shanghai Airport Row: India has raised serious concerns over the treatment of its citizens transiting through Chinese airports an Indian woman passenger from Arunachal Pradesh was detained while transiting in China. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has demanded assurances from Chinese authorities against selective targeting, arbitrary detention, or harassment.

Addressing the issue during a press briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that India expects China to uphold international air travel regulations and has advised Indian nationals to exercise caution while travelling to or transiting through the country.

The incident involves Pem Wang Thongdok, who was travelling from London to Japan on November 21. Her itinerary included a scheduled three-hour layover at Shanghai airport. According to her account, what should have been a routine transit turned into an 18-hour ordeal with Chinese immigration authorities.

Thongdok later took to social media platform X to describe her experience publicly. In her post, she said she was held at Shanghai airport for over 18 hours by Chinese immigration officials and China Eastern Airlines, who allegedly declared her Indian passport “invalid” because her place of birth was Arunachal Pradesh. She claimed officials told her that the region was considered Chinese territory, leading to her prolonged detention.

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Earlier this week, responding to media queries on statements issued by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the MEA said it had taken note of the developments and was closely following the matter. Randhir Jaiswal said Thongdok was travelling on a valid Indian passport and was only transiting through Shanghai to continue her journey to Japan.

'Arunachal Pradesh Is Integral Part Of India'

“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.

The MEA flagged that Chinese authorities have so far failed to provide a satisfactory explanation for their actions. Jaiswal noted that the detention appeared to violate multiple international conventions governing air travel and contradicted China’s own regulations, which allow visa-free transit of up to 24 hours for nationals of all countries.

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