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The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Tuesday said that the detention of an Indian citizen in China has been taken up at the highest level with the Chinese authorities, flagging it as a violation of international norms governing air travel.
The MEA statement said, "The issue of the detention has been taken up strongly with the Chinese side. Chinese authorities have still not been able to explain their actions, which are in violation of several conventions governing international air travel. The actions by the Chinese authorities also violate their own regulations that allow visa-free transit up to 24 hours for nationals of all countries." The MEA said that these acts by China violate their own regulations of visa-free transit for all countries. "We have seen statements made by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the arbitrary detention of an Indian citizen from Arunachal Pradesh, who was holding a valid passport and was transiting through Shanghai International Airport on her onward travel to Japan," the MEA statement said. Reiterating India's consistent stance, the MEA emphasised that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India, stating, "Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India, and this is a self-evident fact. No amount of denial by the Chinese side is going to change this indisputable reality." Earlier on Tuesday, China rejected allegations of harassment levelled by Indian national Prema Wangjom Thongdok, who hails from Arunachal Pradesh, and stated that "the lawful rights and interests of the person concerned were fully protected and no compulsory measures were taken on her". Wangjom Thongdok had narrated her "long ordeal" and stated that she faced harassment from Chinese immigration officials at Shanghai Pudong Airport, who "mocked and raised questions" over her Indian citizenship and noted that her 18-hour ordeal came to an end with the help of officials from India's missions in Shanghai and Beijing. (ANI)
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