India, China Step Up Claim Over Arunachal
Despite New Delhi's protest through diplomatic channels on Monday, China on Tuesday denied that Thongdok was ill-treated and claimed that she was neither detained nor harassed.
New Delhi:In a sharp escalation of the war of words between India and China, New Delhi late on Tuesday night slammed Beijing over the “arbitrary detention” of Indian woman from Arunachal, Prema Wangjom Thongdok, at Shanghai airport last week, and said the denial by China of the fact that Arunachal Pradesh is a part of India will not change “this indisputable reality”.
New Delhi said the “issue of the detention has been taken up strongly with the Chinese side who have still not been able to explain their actions, which are in violation of several conventions governing international air travel”. The MEA pointed out that 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”.
“We have seen statements made by the Chinese ministry of foreign affairs 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 onward travel to Japan. Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India, and this is a self-evident fact”, New Delhi said.
Lambasting the ill-treatment of the Indian woman passenger by Chinese authorities on “ludicrous grounds”, India had earlier on Monday issued a demarche to China both at Beijing and in New Delhi and had told China that “Arunachal Pradesh is indisputably Indian territory and its residents are perfectly entitled to hold and travel with Indian passports”.
New Delhi had also told Beijing that this was in violation of the Chicago and Montreal Conventions relating to civil aviation and that “at a time when both sides are working on restoring normalcy, such actions by the Chinese side introduce unnecessary obstructions to the process”.
Despite New Delhi's protest through diplomatic channels on Monday, China on Tuesday denied that Thongdok was ill-treated and claimed that she was neither detained nor harassed. Beijing also reiterated its position that it does not recognise Arunachal Pradesh as part of India. Chinese envoy in New Delhi Xu Feihong reiterated the same position.
Responding to a query on the incident, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning was quoted on Tuesday by media reports as stating in Beijing at her media briefing, “Zangnan (the Chinese name for Arunachal) is China’s territory. The Chinese side has never recognised the so-called ‘Arunachal Pradesh’ illegally set up by India. On the individual case you mentioned, according to what we’ve learned, during the entire time, China’s border inspection authorities carried out checks procedures in accordance with laws and regulations, the law enforcement was impartial and non-abusive, the lawful rights and interests of the person concerned were fully protected, no compulsory measures were taken on her, and there was no so-called ‘detaining’ or ‘harassing’. The airline provided her with resting facilities and meals. For anything more specific, I’d refer you to competent authorities.”
It may be noted that Beijing refers to Arunachal as “South Tibet” and considers it a part of China. New Delhi has always maintained that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India. The developments come at a time when direct air-connectivity has been restored between the two nations along with other confidence-building measures over the past one year after four years of strained ties between the two Asian giants following the Galwan military clash five and a half years ago.
In New Delhi, the Chinese envoy told a media outlet, “We (India and China) have a border issue, disputed areas, that remains to be solved. Both of us have claims and a very strong insistence on our positions. That is why the border issue is so important. We have sufficient wisdom to find a solution to the border issue. … The China-India border issue is very complex and it will indeed take time to resolve it”. Commenting on the matter regarding the Indian lady, the envoy claimed that “her interests were fully protected” and that she was “properly treated and given proper food”.
In the incident that took place last week, Thongdok, who resides in Britain, has alleged harassment by Chinese authorities at Shanghai’s Pudong airport during a transit halt, according to media reports. She was on a flight from London to Tokyo with a transit halt at Shanghai. She told the media that during the halt, when Chinese authorities discovered that she was from Arunachal Pradesh, the harassment began resulting in confinement to the transit area for 18 hours. Chinese officials reportedly told her that her Indian passport was invalid as she was from Arunachal since China does not consider Arunachal Pradesh to be a part of India. She was reportedly mocked and ridiculed by Chinese officials and airline staffers and told that perhaps she now needs to apply for a Chinese passport.
According to reports, Thongdok managed — through her contacts in Britain — to contact the Indian mission in Shanghai. She was also reportedly forced by Chinese authorites to book a fresh ticket to Japan on a Chinese airline. She was able to board the flight to Japan subsequently after assistance from Indian diplomats who reached the Shanghai airport to help her.