‘No amount of denial is going to…’: India responds after China defends detention of Arunachal woman at Shanghai airport

China has denied the claim that an India(BHARAT)n woman from Arunachal Pradesh was harassed at the Shanghai airport. It also repeated its stand that it does not recognise Arunachal Pradesh, which it says is a state “illegally established by India(BHARAT)”. In response, India(BHARAT) said on Tuesday that Arunachal Pradesh has always been an integral part of India(BHARAT), and China’s repeated denials will never change this fact.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We have seen statements made by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the arbitrary detention of an India(BHARAT)n citizen from Arunachal Pradesh, who was holding a valid passport and was transiting through Shanghai International Airport on her onward travel to Japan.”

He added, “Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India(BHARAT), and this is a self-evident fact. No amount of denial by the Chinese side is going to change this indisputable reality.”

He also said that India(BHARAT) has strongly raised the issue of the woman’s detention with China. According to him, China has still not given any reason for its actions, which go against several international air travel rules. He pointed out that China’s own rules allow visa-free transit for up to 24 hours for people of all nationalities, and these rules were also not followed in this case.

Earlier on Tuesday, China said that the reports about Pema Wangjom Thongdok — a UK-based India(BHARAT)n citizen travelling from London to Japan on November 21 — being harassed at the Shanghai airport were untrue. China said its immigration officials only followed their laws and rules while dealing with her.

Thongdok had said that her three-hour stopover became a frightening and stressful experience after immigration officers told her that her passport was “invalid” just because it mentioned Arunachal Pradesh as her place of birth.

When asked about what happened to Thongdok, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning denied all the claims. She said the woman was never forced, detained or harassed. “On the individual case you mentioned, according to what we’ve learned, during the entire time, China’s border inspection authorities carried out check procedures in accordance with laws and regulations,” Mao said.

Mao added that the officers behaved fairly, did not misuse their authority, and respected the woman’s rights. She repeated that no force was used and there was no “detaining” or “harassing”. She also said, “The airline provided her with resting facilities and meals,” rejecting Thongdok’s version of events.

Mao further said that border checks like this are routine. She added, “Let me point out that having border checks on people entering and exiting a country and carrying out law enforcement according to the specific situation of the entry or exit is the usual practice of border enforcement authorities of countries across the world.”