Paper: GS – II, Subject: International Relations, Topic: India and Its Neighborhood, Issue: China claims on Arunachal Pradesh.
Context:
Prema Thongdok, an Indian citizen from Arunachal Pradesh, was detained at Shanghai airport while transiting from London to Japan.
Key Takeaways:
- Chinese immigration officials refused to acknowledge her Indian passport, claiming Arunachal Pradesh is a part of China and suggesting she apply for a Chinese passport.
What is China’s so-called claim on Arunachal Pradesh?
- The Claim – China claims the entire Arunachal Pradesh as its territory. It calls the area “Zangnan” in the Chinese language and makes repeated references to “South Tibet”.
- It has tried to give Chinese names to places in Arunachal Pradesh it published a list of six such names in 2017, and another 15 names in 2021.
- India has dismissed the Chinese invention of these names.
Ground for the claim: At the 1914 Simla Convention where the McMahon Line was drawn, China was represented by the Republic of China.
- The present communist government came to power only in 1949, when the People’s Republic was proclaimed.
- The Chinese representative did not consent to the Simla Convention, saying Tibet had no independent authority to enter into international agreements
What is the Line of Actual Control (LAC)?
- The LAC separates Indian-controlled territory from Chinese-controlled territory.
- It is divided into three sectors Eastern Sector (Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim), Middle Sector (Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh) Western Sector (Ladakh) India and China do not agree on the LAC.
- India considers the LAC to be 3,488 km long while the Chinese consider it to be only around 2,000 km.
India’s Response:
The Indian government has taken the incident very seriously and issued a “strong demarche” to China, both in Beijing and in Delhi. The Indian consulate in Shanghai also took up the matter locally and extended assistance to the stranded passenger.
Key points of India’s response:
- Strong Demarche: India lodged a formal protest with China, expressing its strong disapproval of the incident.
- Ludicrous Grounds: India emphasized that the passenger was detained on baseless and unacceptable grounds.
- Arunachal Pradesh is Indian Territory: India reiterated its firm stance that Arunachal Pradesh is an integral and indisputable part of India, and its residents are entitled to hold and travel with Indian passports.
- Violation of International Conventions: India highlighted that the actions of the Chinese authorities contravene the Chicago and Montreal Conventions relating to civil aviation.
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