NB Explains | 'Unacceptable': India hits back at China for stapled visas issued to three Wushu fighters from Arunachal
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New Delhi, July 27: India on Thursday (July 27) slammed China for issuing stapled visas to three Wushu fighters from Arunachal Pradesh, calling the move by Beijing "unacceptable and discriminatory".
Notably, New Delhi decided to call off the Indian Wushu team's trip to China for the World University Games after three female athletes from Arunachal Pradesh received stapled visas from Beijing.
Addressing a press conference, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi called China's actions unacceptable. "It has come to our notice that stapled visas were issued to some of our citizens representing the country in an international sporting event in China."
Bagchi added that New Delhi has lodged its strong protest with Beijing, "reiterating our consistent position on the matter and India deserves the right to suitably respond to such actions."
"Our longstanding and consistent position is that there should be no discrimination or differential treatment on the basis of domicile or ethnicity in the visa regime for Indian citizens holding valid Indian passports," he further said.
Why stapled visas were issued to three Wushu players?
A 12-member team included eight players, one coach and three officials was supposedly ready to go to China for an international event. However, three fighters from Arunachal who were Nyeman Wangsu, Onilu Tega and Mepung Lamgu were issued stapled visas. The visas for the team were applied for on July 16. The rest of the team members got their visas on time, but the documents of the Arunachal fighters were not accepted.
These three were finally asked to submit their documents again on Tuesday, and the Chinese embassy returned the passports with stapled visas on Wednesday.
It has come to light that since they were from Arunachal Pradesh, they were issued stapled visas. And the development also comes against the backdrop of India and China being locked in a military standoff on the Line of Actual Control (LAC) since May 2020.
Not the first time
It is not the first time China has denied visas to sportspersons from Arunachal Pradesh or issued stapled visas with an aim to bar them from travelling to China.
In 2011, the Chinese Embassy issued stapled visas to five karate players from Arunachal Pradesh for a championship in Quanghou. In 2013, two young archers, Maselo Mihu and Sorang Yumi, were stopped from taking part in the Youth World Archery Championship for the same reason.
It is pertinent to mention that such developments are meant to indicate that China doesn’t recognise India’s sovereignty over Arunachal Pradesh whereas India has consistently rejected China’s claim that the northeastern state is disputed territory.
Besides, it is learnt that allowing Indians from Arunachal Pradesh with stapled visas to travel to China would amount to acknowledging that Arunachal Pradesh is disputed territory, and immigration officials at all airports have instructions not to allow anyone with a stapled visa to board a flight to China.
During a visit to India in 2014, Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi contended that such stapled visas do “not undermine or compromise our respective positions on the border question”. In response to these practices, India stopped referring to the "one China" policy in official documents more than a decade ago.