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India protests after Arunachal woman detained in Shanghai
India’s foreign ministry issued a strong demarche to the Chinese side, in Beijing and in Delhi, on the same day the incident took place, and the Indian consulate in Shanghai also took up the matter locally
India lodged a strong protest with Beijing after a woman from Arunachal Pradesh was detained at Shanghai airport on November 21 by authorities who declared her Indian passport invalid.
The woman, who identified herself as Prema Wangjom Thongdok, on Monday said she was held by immigration officials at the Shanghai airport for more than 18 hours, made fun of and even asked to apply for a Chinese passport.
“I was held at Shanghai airport for over 18 hrs on 21st Nov, 2025 on claims by China immigration & @chinaeasternair They called my Indian passport invalid as my birthplace is Arunachal Pradesh which they claimed is Chinese territory,” she wrote on X.
She lives in the United Kingdom and was on her way to Japan for a vacation with a three-hour layover in Shanghai. Thongdok was holding a valid Japanese visa but wasn’t allowed to board the onward China Eastern Airlines flight. Her ordeal ended only after Indian officials intervened, she said.
To be sure, India has consistently rejected Chinese claims over Arunachal Pradesh, saying the northeastern state is an integral and inalienable part of the country.
“When I tried to question them and ask them what the issue was, they said, ‘Arunachal is not part of India’ and started mocking and laughing and saying things like ‘you should apply for the Chinese passport, you’re Chinese, you’re not Indian,’” she said in an interview to news agency ANI.
Thongdok said she lived in the UK for around 14 years and had transited through Shanghai a year ago without any problems.
“It was a very humiliating, questionable behaviour from the immigration staff as well as the airline staff...I called up the Shanghai and Beijing Indian embassies and within an hour, the Indian officials came to the airport, got me some food and spoke through the issues with them and helped me get out of the country. A very long ordeal, 18 hours, but glad that I’m out of there,” she said.
India’s foreign ministry issued a strong demarche to the Chinese side, in Beijing and in Delhi, on the same day the incident took place, and the Indian consulate in Shanghai also took up the matter locally and extended the fullest assistance to the stranded passenger, people aware of the matter said on Monday.
It was stressed that the passenger had been detained on ludicrous grounds; Arunachal Pradesh is indisputably Indian territory and its residents are perfectly entitled to hold and travel with Indian passports, the people said.
It was also highlighted that the actions of the Chinese authorities are in contravention of the Chicago and Montreal Conventions relating to civil aviation, they said. At a time when both sides are working on restoring normalcy, such actions by the Chinese side introduce unnecessary obstructions to the process, the people added.
In recent years, China has resorted to steps such as renaming dozens of towns and geographical features in Arunachal Pradesh as part of its efforts to lay claim to the region.
