New Delhi : China on Tuesday rejected allegations that an Indian woman from Arunachal Pradesh was harassed during a layover at Shanghai airport, even as its Foreign Ministry used the incident to again assert Beijing’s claim over the state, which it calls Zangnan. Zangnan is Arunachal Pradesh only, which India asserts is an “indisputable” part of its territory.
Responding to questions on the incident, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning denied any harassment and said Thongdok “was not subjected to any compulsory measures, detainment or harassment. Mao also reiterated China’s territorial claim, saying, Zangnan is China’s territory. China never acknowledged the so-called Arunachal Pradesh illegally set up by India.
India, however, reacted strongly. Government sources said: “India has lodged a strong protest with Beijing after a woman from Arunachal Pradesh was detained and told her Indian passport was ‘invalid’ during a transit halt at Shanghai Pudong Airport Officials conveyed to China that the passenger had been detained on ‘ludicrous grounds’, reiterating that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral part of India and its residents have full rights to hold and travel on Indian passports.”
The nuclear-armed neighbours have been effectively divided by the 3,200km (1,990 mile) Line of Actual Control since a brief but bloody border war in 1962. The current border between Arunachal Pradesh and Tibet is based on the British colonial “McMahon Line”, which China has never recognised.
Beijing claims certain territories south of this line as part of its Tibet autonomous region, referring to them as Zangnan. India designates these areas as Arunachal Pradesh. On Tuesday, foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said that border inspection authorities had “carried out verification procedures in accordance with laws and regulations, enforced the law fairly and civilly, and fully safeguarded the legitimate rights and interests of the individual concerned”.
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