Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Dec 8: India has asked China to provide firm assurances that Indian travellers will not face selective targeting, arbitrary detention, or harassment while transiting through Chinese airports. The demand follows the detention of an Indian national from Arunachal Pradesh at Shanghai International Airport last month, an act New Delhi described as a violation of international norms and bilateral commitments.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal, addressing reporters on Monday, said India expects China to respect established international air travel regulations and ensure that such incidents do not recur. “We expect the Chinese authorities to provide assurances that Indian citizens transiting through Chinese airports will not be selectively targeted, arbitrarily detained or harassed,” he said, advising Indian travellers to exercise caution when flying to or through China.

The response comes after Prema Wangjom Thongdok, an Indian citizen from Arunachal Pradesh, alleged that Chinese immigration officials detained her for 18 hours during a three-hour layover while she was travelling from London to Japan on November 21. She said officials refused to recognise her Indian passport and claimed her birthplace—Arunachal Pradesh—was “part of China.”

India strongly protested the incident, noting that China’s actions violated multiple international aviation conventions as well as Beijing’s own visa-free transit rules, which allow all foreign nationals up to 24 hours of entry-free passage.

New Delhi has reiterated that Arunachal Pradesh is an “integral and inalienable” part of India, stressing that no amount of denial or misrepresentation by China can alter this reality.