China defends its visa policy towards Arunachal Pradesh

The Chinese Government on Monday defended its visa policy after two young archers from Arunachal Pradesh were prevented by immigration authorities from leaving for China as they had stapled Chinese visas on their passports.

"I have noticed relevant reports. We express regret over the fact that two young Indian sportswomen couldn't come to China to participate in relevant contest. However, China's stance on the east section of the China-India border has been consistent and clear," China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said.

"The visa service China provides for relevant people is a flexible measure we adopt to facilitate bilateral people exchanges before the border issue is resolved, which fully reflects China's sincerity and flexibility," she added.

She hoped that India could make joint efforts with China to create conditions for bilateral people exchanges and cooperation in various areas and maintain the good momentum.

Earlier on October 10, two young women archers from Arunachal Pradesh, who were issued stapled Chinese visas, were prevented at the IGI Airport from leaving for China to take part in the upcoming Youth World Archery Championship.

Mihu Maselo and Yumi Sorang, the only two from Arunachal Pradesh in the 24-member archery squad, were stopped from boarding China Southern Airlines flight to Guangzhou for the Youth World Archery Championship at Wuxi.

"We had no clue that something of this sort would happen. We were prepared and all set for the championship. It was when we reached the airport that we got to know that our visas would not be accepted. We were very shocked," said Mihu Maselo, one of the two archers who were issued a stapled visa by the Chinese Embassy.