ISLAMABAD: India has strongly reaffirmed that Arunachal Pradesh is an“inalienable and integral part” of the country following fresh Chineseassertions over the territory during the detention of an Indian citizen inShanghai.
The Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday issued a formal demarche to theChinese embassy in New Delhi protesting the 18-hour detention of PremaWangjom Thongdok, a UK-based woman hailing from Arunachal Pradesh, atShanghai Pudong International Airport.
Thongdok alleged that Chinese immigration officials questioned the validityof her Indian passport, mocked her by stating Arunachal Pradesh belonged toChina, and denied her entry despite holding a valid visa.
China maintains that Arunachal Pradesh, which it refers to as Zangnan, ispart of “South Tibet” and has repeatedly renamed several places in thestate, actions consistently rejected by India as lacking legal basis.
At her regular briefing on Tuesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokespersonMao Ning reiterated Beijing’s stance, declaring “Zangnan is Chineseterritory” and claiming China never recognised the “illegal McMahon Line”.
India dismissed the remarks, with MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal statingNew Delhi has “never accepted the illegal Chinese occupation of Indianterritory in this area” and urged Beijing to refrain from “advancing absurdclaims”.
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The incident has once again highlighted the unresolved boundary disputebetween the two nuclear-armed neighbours, who fought a brief war in 1962and continue to hold regular corps commander-level talks.
Diplomatic sources said India conveyed its strong objection to thetreatment meted out to its citizen and demanded that China ensure suchincidents do not recur.
Source:www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-rejects-chinas-claim-over-arunachal-pradesh-after-indian-citizen-detained-in-shanghai/article68934512.ece”>https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-rejects-chinas-claim-over-arunachal-pradesh-after-indian-citizen-detained-in-shanghai/article68934512.ece