Officials got into action as the incident on Pem Wang Thongdok came to light and they told that a “strong demarche” was issued by the Government of India to the Chinese side after her detention. File
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
A day after an Indian citizen from Arunachal Pradesh was detained at the Shanghai international airport as Chinese officials refused to recognise her Indian passport, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India had taken up the case with the Chinese authorities “strongly” and reiterated that Arunachal Pradesh is an “inalienable” 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,” said Mr. Jaiswal after the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the individual concerned — Pem Wang Thongdok — was treated as per Chinese laws.
Also read: ‘Whole process according to laws and regulations,’ says China denying allegation
Ms. Thongdok had announced on social media on Sunday (November 23, 2025) that she was detained at the Shanghai airport saying, “I was held at Shanghai airport for over 18 hrs on 21st Nov, 2025 on claims by China immigration & @chinaeasternair. They called my Indian passport invalid as my birthplace is Arunachal Pradesh which, they claimed, is Chinese territory.” Significantly, China Eastern Airlines started its Shanghai-Delhi service on November 9, 2025 after the Indian and Chinese leaderships met on August 31, 2025 on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s summit in Tianjin, reviving air connectivity after a gap of five years.
Officials got into action as the incident on Ms. Thongdok came to light and on Monday (November 24, 2025) they told The Hindu that a “strong demarche” was issued by the Government of India to the Chinese side after Ms. Thongdok was detained. Ms. Thongdok was transiting through the Shanghai international airport to Japan when the reported incident took place.
“The detention issue has been taken up strongly with the Chinese side. Chinese authorities have still not been able to explain their actions, which are in violation of several conventions governing international air travel. The actions by the Chinese authorities also violate their own regulations that allow visa-free transit up to 24 hours for nationals of all countries,” said Mr. Jaiswal.
Published – November 25, 2025 11:39 pm IST
