Indo-China: The faultlines that refuse to blur

China has once again indulged in its theatrics to claim that Arunachal Pradesh is its territory. It has been doing this for long but this time the victim was an innocent traveller from Arunachal Pradesh. The brief detention and  harassment of Prema Wangjom Thongdok at Shanghai Pudong International Airport has once again brought to fore the  simmering tension beneath the surface of India-China relations. This is despite the recent thaw in the relations at the higher levels.

For Prema layover on a routine international journey  turned into an 18-hour ordeal, with Chinese authorities declaring her Indian passport “invalid” because it had Arunachal Pradesh as her place of birth. China’s territorial claims over Arunachal Pradesh, which it refers to as “Zangnan” or southern Tibet, frequently manifest in such petty tactics.

An Indian citizen was detained not on security grounds, but on identity and nationality is unacceptable to every Indian. China has hardened posture on border claims,  under President Xi Jinping. Of late China has indulged in creating irritants  even in sports — archers, wushu athletes and university competitors have  been denied entry into China.

The Sino India border conflict over Arunachal Pradesh is rooted in the 1914 Simla Convention, where the McMahon Line was drawn by the British and Tibetan representatives. China participated  but refused to sign the final agreement. India accepted the McMahon Line at independence. The two Asian giants have clashed over border dispute several times — from the 1962 war to the 1975 Tulung La incident and  the 2020 Galwan Valley face off.

China has time and again resorted to provocations. It objected to the Dalai Lama’s visits, renaming of Indian villages, Indian dam approvals in response to Chinese hydropower projects, and most recently,  naming of a mountain peak after the sixth Dalai Lama.

However, the provocation so far have been confined to diplomatic level but Thongdok’s case shows that they spill into civilian life, complicating travel, and the  experiences of ordinary people.

While recent engagements between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Xi Jinping hinted at cautious cooperation, neither country has shifted its fundamental strategic stance. India must insist that international transit norms be respected and that unilateral interpretations of territorial claims cannot dictate global travel protocols.

Besides, infrastructure and border management must be strengthened . At the same time, both nations must recommit to dialogue mechanisms that prevent such flashpoints from escalating into larger crises.

Incidents like Thongdok’s may appear minor in isolation, but they point to a larger truth: until the border dispute is meaningfully addressed, every interaction remains a potential battleground.