The matter of an Indian woman\u2019s detention at the Shanghai airport had been taken up strongly with Beijing, said the Ministry of External Affairs.<\/b>
\nArunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India, stated the Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday after China reiterated its claim over the territory.
\u201cArunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India, and this is a self-evident fact,\u201d stated ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. \u201cNo amount of denial by the Chinese side is going to change this indisputable reality.\u201d
Beijing refers to Arunachal Pradesh as Zangnan. It lays territorial claims over a large portion of the state, claiming that it is \u201cSouth Tibet\u201d. India has repeatedly rejected the Chinese claims.
Earlier in the day, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning reiterated the claim that \u201cZangnan is China\u2019s territory\u201d, while answering a question about an Indian woman having been detained at the Shanghai airport for 18 hours on November 21.
Prema Thongdok had alleged that she was detained after the Chinese immigration authorities claimed that her passport was invalid because it showed her birthplace as Arunachal Pradesh.
\u201cThe Chinese side has never recognized the so-called \u2018Arunachal Pradesh\u2019 illegally set up by India,\u201d stated the Chinese spokesperson.
She also denied that Thongdok was detained.
\u201cOn the individual case you mentioned, according to what we have learned, during the entire time, China\u2019s border inspection authorities carried out checks procedures in accordance with laws and regulations,\u201d stated the spokesperson.
She added that the authorities were \u201cimpartial and non-abusive\u201d and that the rights of Thongdok were \u201cfully protected\u201d.
Responding to the statement, Jaiwsal said that the matter of Thongdok\u2019s detention had been taken up \u201cstrongly with the Chinese side\u201d.
\u201cChinese authorities have still not been able to explain their actions, which are in violation of several conventions governing international air travel,\u201d said Jaiswal. \u201cThe actions by the Chinese authorities also violate their own regulations that allow visa free transit up to 24 hours for nationals of all countries.\u201d
Thongdok, who has lived in the United Kingdom for 14 years, is a native of Rupa town in Arunachal Pradesh\u2019s West Kameng district.
She said that she was travelling from London to Japan and that her journey included a three-hour layover at the Shanghai Pudong airport.
The woman said that she was singled out during the security check for her Shanghai-Tokyo flight.
Thongdok said that the officials pointed to her passport, which showed Arunachal Pradesh as her birthplace.
\u201cThey were insisting that Arunachal Pradesh is a part of China, and that therefore my passport is not valid,\u201d she said. \u201cI asked them what laws state this or what written document specifies that such a passport is invalid.\u201d
Thongdok alleged that the Chinese immigration officials mocked her, blocked her onward flight to Tokyo and left her without food. She eventually contacted a friend in the UK, who reached the Indian consulate in Shanghai, and diplomats arrived within an hour with food, she said.
However, the Indian officials could not convince Chinese immigration to allow her to continue to Japan, forcing her to book a flight to India via Thailand, she added.<\/p>\n