No amount of denial by Chinese side will change this indisputable reality: MEA on China's claim over Arunachal Pradesh

New Delhi [India], November 26 : India on Wednesday 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."

Addressing a weekly media briefing here, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal lodged a strong protest with China. This comes after an Indian woman from Arunachal Pradesh, Prema Wangjom Thongdok, was detained at Shanghai Airport for 18 hours, with Chinese officials claiming her Indian passport was invalid since Arunachal Pradesh is part of China.

Calling the detention "arbitrary," Jaiswal 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 a Arunachal Pradesh who was holding a valid passport and was transiting through Shanghai International Airport on her onward 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 Indian citizen from Arunachal Pradesh was singled out, "humiliated" and detained for nearly 18 hours 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".

On Tuesday, India issued a strong demarche to China over the mistreatment of Prema, who has described the behaviour of immigration and airline staff as "humiliating" and "questionable," adding that she was unable to contact her family during the ordeal.

Following the incident, 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".

India, in response, 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.

In a statement on Tuesday, the MEA 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.

Speaking about the broader bilateral relationship between the two countries following the incident, the MEA spokesperson emphasized that maintaining peace and tranquillity along the border is essential to the progress of India-China ties.

"Maintenance of peace and tranquillity in the border regions is a prerequisite for the continued and overall development of India-China bilateral relations. Our position in this regard has always been very clear and consistent," he said.

Jaiswal noted that since October 2024, both sides have worked to preserve stability along the border, thereby facilitating people-centric engagements. However, he cautioned that arbitrary actions, such as the recent detention incident, are "most unhelpful" to ongoing efforts to rebuild trust.

The MEA Spokesperson was refering to the mutual agreement made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping back in October 2024, in Kazan on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit, to restore bilateral relations between the two nations following the trust deficit created by the 2020 Galwan incident.

He further stated that such actions involving Indian citizens undermine attempts by both nations to normalise bilateral relations gradually.

"Our position in this regard has always been very clear and consistent since October 2024. Both sides have worked closely to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border regions. And it is on this basis that progress, especially in particular with a focus on people-centric engagements, has been made," Jaiswal said.

"Arbitrary actions by China, as the one that we refer to that I refer to involving Indian citizens from Arunachal Pradesh, are most unhelpful towards efforts made by both sides to build mutual trust and understanding, and gradually move towards normalisation of bilateral relations," he added.

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor