India and China are in a verbal battle after months of peace in their relationship. The problem is that Chinese officials are said to have harassed a woman from Arunachal Pradesh in India.
China says that Arunachal Pradesh is part of its land and calls the area southern Tibet, or Zangnan.
Here is what happened, what the problems are with Arunachal Pradesh, and why the new problems between the two most populous countries in the world are important.
What took place?
Based on her Indian visa, Prema Wangjom Thongdok was going to Japan on Friday from the UK, where she lives. She was supposed to have three hours to rest at Shanghai Pudong International Airport in China.
Thongdok said that the officials at Shanghai Airport held and harmed her for 18 hours because her passport said that she was born in Arunachal Pradesh.She also said that the Chinese officials at the airport told her that her Indian visa was “not valid” because Arunachal Pradesh was actually a part of China.
She said that the official told her that her Indian visa is not legal because she was born in Arunachal Pradesh when she asked why she was being taken out. That person also told Thongdok, “Arunachal is part of China.” “Your passport doesn’t work.
She said, “Arunachal is part of India,” Thongdok said. It’s not part of China that I’ve heard of.
She also said that she was held at the airport without being told how long she would be held by the officials.
According to other Indian news sources, Thongdok said that airport officials told her she would lose her visa if she didn’t buy a new ticket on China Eastern Airlines. She lost money because she missed planes and room plans.
She also said that a friend in the UK helped her get in touch with the Indian consulate in Shanghai. After that, Indian officials helped her get on a late-night flight out of the city.
The Indian Express newspaper said that Thongdok had a smooth trip through Shanghai Pudong International Airport in October. What was different this time is not clear.
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Have things like this happened before?
In 2005, Beijing made it a rule that people from Arunachal Pradesh who want to visit China must have a stapled visa. It is written on the papers of other Indian citizens who live there.
China’s point of view is that it can’t give normal passes to people from Arunachal Pradesh because it already sees them as Chinese.
India, on the other hand, has never accepted Chinese visas that are stuck on documents. It said that doing so would be the same as saying that people from Arunachal Pradesh are not Indian.
Two shooters from Arunachal Pradesh were given stapled cards in 2013 so they could go to the Youth World Archery Championship in Wuxi, China. They were not allowed to fly to China by India.
Three martial arts players from Arunachal Pradesh were given stapled visas to go to Chengdu, China, for the World University Games in July 2023. Because of this, the whole Indian wushu team didn’t go to the games in Chengdu.
The same three wushu players from Arunachal Pradesh couldn’t play in the Hangzhou Asian Games in September 2023 because they couldn’t download their recognition cards, which were supposed to be visas for entering China.
In protest, Indian Sports Minister Anurag Thakur didn’t go to Hangzhou for the opening of the games as planned.
What is the fight over in Arunachal Pradesh?
An expert from the Sigur Center for Asian Studies at George Washington University, Raj Verma, told Al Jazeera that the border disagreement between India and China over Arunachal Pradesh is a holdover from the British Empire.
The McMahon Line was set up in March 1914 during the Simla Convention in India. This was a time for talks between Tibet, China, and the British Empire. He was the main British mediator, and the line is named after him. There were Chinese members at the meeting, but they didn’t sign the major deal and didn’t agree with the McMahon Line.
In December 2022, there were small fights along the border in Tawang. Both sides pointed the finger at the other. China said that Indian troops were blocking a normal search, and India said that Chinese soldiers had crossed into Indian land and were trying to “change the status quo.”
China gave the go-ahead in January for a dam to be built in Medog County, Tibet, which is close to the border with India. India responded by giving the go-ahead for the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project in Arunachal Pradesh. This was done to counteract the effects of the Chinese dam and stop floods. But the Indian reservoir project could flood dozens of Indian and Bangladeshi towns that are home to indigenous people.
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