Demarche served to China for detaining, harassing Indian

New Delhi: India served a demarche to China after a woman from Arunachal Pradesh was detained and told that her Indian passport was "invalid" during a transit halt at the Shanghai Pudong Airport. China's conduct has been described as a "needless obstruction" at a time when both countries are working to restore normalcy, sources said.

In a series of posts on X, Pema Wang Thongdok said the immigration officials at Shanghai Pudong Airport detained her for "eighteen hours" on November 21, claiming her passport was "invalid" as her birthplace, Arunachal Pradesh, was "part of China". Thongdok was reportedly travelling from London to Japan on November 21 when she landed in Shanghai for a three-hour layover. She said immigration officers declared her passport "invalid" solely because her place of birth was listed as Arunachal Pradesh.

A strong demarche was made with the Chinese side, in Beijing and in Delhi, on the same day the incident took place, a source said, adding the Indian Consulate in Shanghai also took up the matter locally and extended fullest assistance to the stranded passenger. Arunachal Pradesh is indisputably Indian territory.