India has issued a strong diplomatic protest to China after an Indian woman from Arunachal Pradesh was detained and allegedly harassed for more than 18 hours while transiting through Shanghai Pudong International Airport. The incident has triggered a fresh diplomatic confrontation between the two countries.

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According to official sources, Chinese immigration officials refused to accept the woman’s Indian passport, claiming her birthplace — Arunachal Pradesh — was “Chinese territory.” India described the conduct as “ludicrous” and “unacceptable.”

The passenger, Pem Wang Thongdok, was travelling from London to Japan on November 21, with a scheduled three-hour layover in Shanghai. Her routine transit turned into a prolonged ordeal after officials reportedly invalidated her documents solely due to her Arunachal Pradesh origin.

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Acting immediately, New Delhi lodged a strong demarche with the Chinese government in both Beijing and New Delhi. The Indian Consulate in Shanghai also intervened, providing “fullest assistance” to the stranded traveller.

Government sources emphasized that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India, and all its residents are fully entitled to hold and travel on Indian passports. Refusing to recognize this, they said, is baseless, provocative, and completely unacceptable.

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