India has lodged a strong protest with China after an Indian woman from Arunachal Pradesh alleged that she was detained and harassed for 18 hours by officials at Shanghai Airport. In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs said the issue has been taken up firmly and “at the highest level” with Chinese authorities. The ministry added that Beijing’s actions violated international conventions on air travel, as well as China’s own rules that permit 24-hour visa-free transit for passengers of all nationalities. Reasserting India’s consistent position, the MEA said: “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.” Prema Wangjom Thongdok, currently a UK resident, detailed her ordeal while travelling from London to Japan on November 21. Her scheduled three-hour layover in Shanghai turned into what she called a “traumatising” experience. According to Pema, Chinese immigration officials refused to accept her Indian passport because it listed Arunachal Pradesh as her place of birth.