India on Thursday lodged a strong protest against China for issuing "stapled visas" to some Indian players who will be representing the country at the World University Games. The three players selected for the mega sports event are from Arunachal Pradesh. According to media reports, they were reportedly barred from travelling by the Arunachal government as China gave the trio stapled visas.
What is a Stapled visa?
It is worth mentioning China gives stapled visas to Indian residents of Arunachal Pradesh and Jammu Kashmir as it claims the areas as part of Tibet as its own. These visas are not stamped but pinned on the passport as pamphlets. It could be removed once the trip of an individual is complete.
Notably, this was not the first time China deliberately did this to Indian players from Jammu-Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh.
In 2011, it issued similar visas to five members of an Indian karate team who were scheduled to travel to China's Quanzhou region. According to the reports, the players were stopped at IGI Airport in Delhi and returned home.
Later in 2013, two archers from Arunachal Pradesh-- Maselo Mihu and Sorang Yumi-- were stopped in a similar fashion. They were reached at the IGI airport to participate in the Archery Youth World Championships.
In 2016-- nearly two years after the Bhartiya Janata Party came into power-- Indian Badminton Team’s manager, Bamang Tago, who is a resident of Arunachal Pradesh failed to tour China for the China Open Superseries tournament.
Does the Indian government attempt to solve the issue?
Yes. On several occasions, New Delhi raised the issue with the Chinese government. According to the press release issued following the visit of the then-Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the Ministry of External Affairs said the matter was raised by his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj.
As per the release, the discussions were comprehensive and substantive. "The issuance of visas by India and China is guided by the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding on Simplifying Visa Procedures between the two governments signed in June 2003, which is being implemented by both sides. The government’s position that there should be no discrimination against visa applicants of Indian nationality on grounds of domicile and ethnicity has been clearly conveyed to the Chinese Government on several occasions and at the highest level," read the statement.
Subsequently, in June 2015, Swaraj admitted that the issue of stapled visas to Indians from Arunachal Pradesh remains “unresolved.” According to her, the issue was even raised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Beijing. However, the issue was still unresolved.
