Itanagar/ New Delhi, Nov 24: A woman from Arunachal Pradesh, who lives in the UK, alleged that immigration officials at China’s Shanghai airport detained her for nearly 18 hours after refusing to recognise her Indian passport during a transit halt, raising concerns over Beijing’s repeated attempts to challenge India’s territorial sovereignty.
Pema Wangjom Thongdok, who was travelling from London to Japan on November 21, claimed her three-hour scheduled layover turned into a traumatising ordeal after immigration personnel declared her passport “invalid” solely because it listed Arunachal Pradesh as her birthplace.
Following the incident, India firmly conveyed to the Chinese side that Arunachal Pradesh is “indisputably” an Indian territory and its residents are perfectly entitled to hold and travel with Indian passports, government sources said.
Pema, whose family hails from Rupa in West Kameng district, claimed that Chinese officials insisted Arunachal Pradesh was “part of China” and demanded she accept their interpretation before allowing further processing.
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.”
Pema, 35, 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.
Sources said a strong demarche (a formal diplomatic protest) was made with the Chinese side, in Beijing and in Delhi, on the same day the incident took place.
The Indian consulate in Shanghai also took up the matter locally and extended the fullest assistance to the stranded passenger, they said.
“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,” one of the sources said.
“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,” the source said.
At a time when both sides are working on restoring normalcy, such actions by the Chinese side introduce unnecessary obstructions to the process, sources said.
Speaking to PTI, her mother Sang Chhom Thongdok said Pema went through a “harrowing ordeal”, but she is “very smart and strong” and didn’t buckle under pressure.
“After the issue cropped up, she first reached out to her late father’s friend in Delhi, who helped her get in touch with the Indian embassy authorities in China, and they, in turn, helped her travel out of China. She is currently in Bangkok, Thailand,” she said.
Pema has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju and Arunachal Pradesh CM Pema Khandu, she said.
Thongdok said her daughter spent her formative years in the national capital, studied B.com from a prestigious college under Delhi University, and went to a UK university for higher studies.
“My daughter has been living in the UK for nearly 10 years, but she is an Indian citizen. She works for a financial firm and travels frequently, but had never faced such an issue at any airport before,” she said.
Thongdok said the family has a flat in the national capital too, and after her husband’s death due to Covid-19 in 2021, she divides her time between her native place and Delhi.
The incident comes in the backdrop of China’s long-standing and frequently reiterated claim over Arunachal Pradesh, which it refers to as ‘South Tibet’. India has consistently rejected these claims, asserting that the state is an integral and inalienable part of the country.
Beijing has often attempted to reinforce its stance through diplomatic and administrative provocations, drawing strong reactions 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.
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.
Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu criticised the Chinese immigration authorities for what he described as “unacceptable and appalling” treatment.
Khandu said he was “deeply shocked” by the ordeal faced by Thongdok and claimed that the conduct of Chinese officials amounted to “humiliation and racial mockery”.
Subjecting her, despite a valid Indian passport, to such treatment is appalling, the chief minister said in a post on X. He also asserted that “Arunachal Pradesh is and will always be an integral part of India. Any insinuation otherwise is baseless and offensive”.
Calling the incident a “violation of international norms and an affront to the dignity of Indian citizens”, Khandu said he was confident that the Ministry of External Affairs would take up the matter urgently to ensure such episodes are not repeated.
China denies allegation
China on Tuesday refuted allegations that an Indian woman from Arunachal Pradesh, Pema Yangjom Thongdok, was harassed at Shanghai airport, saying the actions taken by the Chinese immigration officials were as per laws and regulations.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning claimed that the woman was not subjected to any compulsory measures, detainment or harassment as alleged by her.
“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.
The law enforcement was impartial and non-abusive, the lawful rights and interests of the person concerned were fully protected, and no compulsory measures were taken on her, and there was no so-called “detaining” or “harassing,” Mao said.
“The airline provided her with resting facilities and meals,” she said.
She also defended the action taken against Thongdok, saying, “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”.
About India’s demarche protesting the treatment meted out to Thongdok and New Delhi’s firm assertion that Arunachal Pradesh is very much part of India, Mao reiterated China’s claims over the area, which it calls Zangnan or South Tibet.
“Zangnan is China’s territory, and China does not recognise the so-called Arunachal Pradesh illegally established by India,” she said. (PTI)
