India has lodged a strong diplomatic protest with China after an Arunachal Pradesh woman was detained and harassed for nearly 18 hours at Shanghai Pudong Airport, where Chinese immigration officials refused to recognise her Indian passport during a transit to Japan.
A strong demarche was issued to Beijing simultaneously in the Chinese capital and in Delhi, on the very day of the incident, while the Indian Consulate in Shanghai intervened locally and provided assistance to the stranded passenger.
Sources said that a “strong demarche was made with the Chinese side, in Beijing and in Delhi, on the same day the incident took place”. It was further conveyed that “the passenger had been detained on ludicrous grounds”.
The demarche also stated that “Arunachal Pradesh is indisputably Indian territory and its residents are perfectly entitled to hold and travel with Indian passports”.
It has been highlighted that the actions of the Chinese authorities are in contravention of the Chicago and Montreal Conventions relating to civil aviation. Sources added that at a time when both sides are working towards restoring normalcy, such actions by the Chinese side introduce unnecessary obstructions to the process.
The diplomatic pushback came after Pema Wang Thongdok, travelling from London to Japan on 21 November, posted on X that she was stopped during a three-hour layover in Shanghai.
She alleged she was told that her passport was “invalid” because her birthplace was listed as Arunachal Pradesh, which Chinese officers claimed was “part of China”.
“I was held at Shanghai airport for over 18 hours… They called my Indian passport invalid, as my birthplace is Arunachal Pradesh,” she wrote, adding that her passport was confiscated and she was barred from boarding her onward flight despite holding a valid Japanese visa.
In a subsequent post, Thongdok said immigration officials informed her that her “Indian passport is invalid because I was born in Arunachal Pradesh”.
She alleged that officers flagged her passport the moment they saw Arunachal Pradesh listed as her birthplace, declared it unacceptable, and insisted the state was “part of China”.
Thongdok said her passport was then confiscated and she was barred from boarding her onward flight, despite carrying a valid Japanese visa.