India Lodges Strong Diplomatic Protest over Detention of Indian National at Shanghai Airport

On 26 November 2025, India lodged a formal diplomatic protest with Beijing after an Indian national from Arunachal Pradesh was detained and reportedly mistreated at the Shanghai Pudong International Airport. According to initial reports, Chinese authorities declared the woman’s Indian passport “invalid” solely because she hailed from Arunachal Pradesh — a state China continues to claim as “South Tibet.” The incident has triggered strong reactions within India, intensifying the debate over China’s use of administrative and immigration procedures to assert its territorial claims.

From India’s standpoint, the detention constitutes a violation of international norms governing the treatment of foreign nationals, and raises serious concerns about the safety and dignity of Indian citizens abroad. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) summoned senior Chinese diplomats, emphasizing that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and inalienable part of India, and any attempt to undermine India’s sovereignty through such practices is unacceptable.

The episode must be viewed within the broader context of India–China relations, which remain strained due to unresolved boundary issues, military standoffs in Eastern Ladakh, and China’s continued issuance of “stapled visas” to residents of Arunachal Pradesh. Analysts argue that the detention reflects a pattern where China leverages civil-administrative tools — visas, passports, maps — to consolidate contested geopolitical claims.

For India, the incident reinforces the need for robust consular protection mechanisms, strengthened traveller advisories, and proactive diplomacy to safeguard citizens in regions with politically sensitive overlaps. It also brings into focus issues of identity, sovereignty, and the politics of recognition, especially when national documents such as passports become instruments of geopolitical contention.