MEA urges China to provide assurances Indian travellers not to be harassed at airports

New Delhi [India], December 8 (ANI): The Ministry of External Affairs on Monday sought "assurances" from China that Indian citizens transiting through Chinese airports will not be "selectively targeted, arbitrarily detained or harassed" and that Beijing will "respect" regulations governing international air travel.

Addressing the weekly press briefing, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal also issued a travel advisory warning Indians travelling to or transiting through China to "exercise due discretion."

Jaiswal was responding to media queries when asked what the MEA recommends for Indian nationals travelling to or through China after an Indian woman from Arunachal Pradesh, Pema Wangjom Thongdok, was detained at Shanghai Airport for 18 hours last month, with Chinese officials claiming her Indian passport was invalid since Arunachal Pradesh is part of China.

"We fully share your concern following the recent incident at Shanghai airport that you have cited. We expect the Chinese authorities to provide assurances that Indian citizens transiting through Chinese airports will not be selectively targeted, arbitrarily detained or harassed and that regulations governing international air travel will be respected by the Chinese side," Jaiswal said.

"MEA would advise Indian nationals to exercise due discretion while travelling to or transiting through China," the MEA spokesperson added.

Thongdok was travelling from London to Japan on November 21 with a layover at Shanghai Pudong International Airport, when she was singled out, "humiliated" and detained at Shanghai International Airport after Chinese immigration officials declared her Indian passport "invalid" and mocked her nationality, asserting that "Arunachal is not part of India".

Following the incident, India firmly rejected China's claims over Arunachal Pradesh, stating that the northeastern state is an "integral and inalienable part of India", adding that no amount of denial from Beijing can alter the "indisputable reality".

Jaiswal, in a separate briefing last month, lodged a strong protest with China over the incident involving Thongdok, calling the detention "arbitrary".

He reaffirms India's consistent position on the matter, noting that the government has issued a strong demarche to China both in Beijing and New Delhi immediately after the incident.

"We made a statement; you would have seen that regarding the arbitrary detention of an Indian citizen from Arunachal Pradesh who was holding a valid passport and was transiting through Shanghai International Airport on her onwards travel to Japan, we want to say that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India, and this is a fact which is self-evident; no amount of denial by the Chinese side is going to change this indisputable reality," Jaiswal said.

"At the same time, I said that we did take up this matter. We did do a strong demarche with the Chinese side, both in Beijing and Delhi, when the incident took place," the MEA Spokesperson added.

The MEA, in a statement, also strongly rejected China's remarks regarding the status of Arunachal Pradesh and expressed grave concern over what it described as the "arbitrary detention" of the Indian national.

It further said the matter has been taken up with Chinese authorities at a high level, while reiterating that Arunachal Pradesh remains an "integral and inalienable" part of India.

Meanwhile, China rejected allegations of harassment levelled by Thongdok and stated that "the lawful rights and interests of the person concerned were fully protected and no compulsory measures were taken on her." (ANI)

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