(MENAFN- Live Mint) A woman from Arunachal Pradesh, currently residing in the UK, alleged that she was held by immigration officials at Shanghai airport in China for nearly 18 hours after they refused to acknowledge her Indian passport during a transit stop. The incident has sparked concerns over China's repeated challenges to India's territorial claims.

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Prema Wangjom Thongdok, who was en route from London to Japan on 21 November, said her scheduled three-hour stopover turned into a harrowing experience after immigration officers declared her passport“invalid” simply because it mentioned Arunachal Pradesh as her birthplace.

Thongdok, whose family is from Rupa in the West Kameng district, alleged that Chinese authorities insisted that Arunachal Pradesh“belongs to China” and pressured her to acknowledge their claim before they would continue processing her transit.

In a detailed post on X on Sunday, she claimed,“I was held at Shanghai airport for over 18 hours on 21st November 2025 by China immigration and China Eastern Airlines. They called my Indian passport invalid because my birthplace is Arunachal Pradesh, which they claimed is Chinese territory.”

She claimed that she was confined to the transit area without clear explanations, access to proper food, or basic facilities.

She also claimed that her passport was confiscated and she was prevented from boarding her connecting flight to Japan despite carrying a valid visa. What should have been a routine transit, she said, turned into a distressing standoff with airport authorities.

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She eventually reached the Indian consulate in Shanghai with the help of a friend in the UK. Officials there assisted her in catching a late-night flight out of the Chinese city, according to reports.

Prema has since written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior authorities, calling the incident a“direct affront to India's sovereignty and to the people of Arunachal Pradesh”.

She has urged New Delhi to take up the matter strongly with Beijing, demand accountability, seek disciplinary action against those involved and request appropriate compensation for the harassment she faced.

India reacts

India has issued a strong demarche to the Chinese side, in Beijing and in Delhi, over the incident of the Indian national Prema Wangjom Thongdok, who hails from Arunachal Pradesh, facing harassment from Chinese immigration officials at Shanghai Pudong Airport, sources told ANI on Monday.

The sources said India's Consulate in Shanghai also took up the matter locally and extended assistance to the stranded passenger.

“It was stressed that the passenger had been detained on ludicrous grounds. Arunachal Pradesh is indisputably Indian territory and its residents are perfectly entitled to hold and travel with Indian passports,” ANI reported.

“A strong démarche was made with the Chinese side, in Beijing and in Delhi, on the same day the incident took place. Our Consulate in Shanghai also took up the matter locally and extended the fullest assistance to the stranded passenger,” a source told ANI.

ANI reported, citing sources, that it has also been highlighted that the actions of the Chinese authorities are in contravention of the Chicago and Montreal Conventions relating to civil aviation.

China's false claims

The episode occurs against the backdrop of China's longstanding and repeatedly asserted claim over Arunachal Pradesh, which it terms 'South Tibet'. India has consistently rejected these assertions, maintaining that the state is an integral and inalienable part of the country.

China has frequently tried to assert its position through diplomatic and administrative measures, often provoking strong responses from India.

Incidents such as renaming villages in Arunachal, issuing 'standard maps' claiming Indian territory, and objecting to Indian leaders' visits to the state have repeatedly strained bilateral relations.

This incident also echoes China's long-criticised practice of issuing stapled visas instead of stamped visas to residents of Arunachal Pradesh, an act India has denounced as an affront to its sovereignty.

Several athletes, students, and officials from the state have previously been denied entry into China after refusing stapled visas, prompting India to protest and even cancel bilateral exchanges on multiple occasions.

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These recurring actions have often sparked public anger within the state and triggered diplomatic warnings from New Delhi, which maintains that China must respect the sensitivity of the border issue and refrain from such unilateral measures.

Thongdok's experience has reignited concerns that China may be extending its stapled-visa logic to international transit points, potentially targeting travellers from Arunachal Pradesh even when they are simply passing through Chinese airports, an official in Itanagar said.

What had MEA said earlier?

India has consistently dismissed China's assertions over Arunachal Pradesh, reiterating that the northeastern state is, and will always be, an integral and inseparable part of the country.

In response to media questions earlier in May regarding China's move to rename locations in Arunachal Pradesh, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that India unequivocally rejects such actions.

“We have noticed that China has persisted with its vain and preposterous attempts to name places in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh. Consistent with our principled position, we reject such attempts categorically,” he said.

“Creative naming will not alter the undeniable reality that Arunachal Pradesh was, is, and will always remain an integral and inalienable part of India,” he added.

(With inputs from agencies)

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