India's Foreign Minister S Jaishankar counters China's claim over Arunachal Pradesh
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "India's Foreign Minister S Jaishankar counters China's claim over Arunachal Pradesh")
S Jaishankar Photograph: (WION)
The diplomat-turned-minister was the chief guest at the launch of IITM Global, an initiative of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras(IIT-M)
"By doing this kind of thing, nothing is going to change in reality... Arunachal Pradesh is, and will always be a part of India," emphasized Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar. He was responding to an IIT Madras student's question regarding the November 2025 incident, where an Indian national from Arunachal Pradesh was detained and harassed while transiting the Shanghai Airport in China. China claims almost all of India's Arunachal Pradesh state, calling it "Zangnan" or "Southern Tibet".
The incident involving the Indian national at Shanghai airport took place at a time when both countries were seen as working towards mending ties after the Galwan military clashes of 2020, the resultant standoff, and the escalated tensions. A student hailing from the Northeast Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh had asked the External Affairs Minister about China's behaviour towards the people from his state. The student highlighted the November 2025 incident of the Indian national from Arunachal who was detained at Shanghai International Airport, while holding a valid Indian passport andtransiting China for onward travel to Tokyo (Japan) via Seoul (South Korea).
The Indian passport-holding lady was reportedly stopped by Chinese immigration officials at the Shanghai airport, and the officials mocked her and told her to “apply for a Chinese passport.” "One of our nationals from Arunachal Pradesh was transiting through China.. She was arbitrarily detained, harassed, and inconvenienced... We protested and made the point that there are two issues. This kind of tactic is not going to change anything on the ground. Some international conventions and regulations govern the transit of people, and we expect countries to abide by them... This is an issue, where we have a firm and clear stance," Jaishankar said.
The diplomat-turned-minister was the chief guest at the launch of IITM Global, an initiative of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras(IIT-M), which intends to take Indian tech to foreign countries, facilitate tech transfers, take Indian startups abroad, and help explore business opportunities abroad, among others.
According to the Institute, IITM Global will expand its global footprint by enabling international research, innovation, startups, and academic collaborations, and position the institute as a globally-networked hub. IIT-M is widely recognised as India’s leading institution for higher education. As part of the IITM Global rollout, IIT Madras has signed a series of memoranda of understanding with leading multinational institutions and partners across key global regions. These include three MoUs in the United States, one in the United Kingdom, three in Germany, three in Dubai, three across the Asia-Pacific region, including Singapore and Malaysia, and six under the India-for-Global initiative. The partnerships are focused on joint research, industry and startup collaboration, global talent and knowledge exchange, and translating deep-tech innovation into real-world applications.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “IITM Global Research Foundation is a global outreach initiative of IIT Madras aimed at strengthening international collaborations. It follows a four-pronged approach. First, we aim to take our technologies abroad and explore opportunities for technology transfer across different countries. Second, we plan to bring projects from these nations under joint development agreements, enabling our faculty to work on and provide solutions to global challenges. Third, we aim to introduce our start-ups to business opportunities in these countries. Fourth, we aim to attract foreign investments into our start-ups.”
Trending Stories
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
Further, Prof. V. Kamakoti said, “These four verticals form the core focus of IITM Global. Initially, we are establishing a presence in five locations, including the United States, Dubai, Malaysia, and Germany. Based on success, this initiative will be expanded to multiple nations.”
IITM Global is designed as a dynamic ‘plug-and-play’ framework that enables deep-tech innovators, researchers,
startups, and industry partners to access global markets, capital, and research opportunities. By integrating local context with international engagement, the platform aims to catalyse innovation-led growth while fostering high-impact collaborations with global industry and R&D partners.
