Sri Lanka: Allows Chinese ship to dock despite India’s concerns

The Sri Lankan government has decided to allow a Chinese research vessel to dock, despite concerns expressed by India about its safety.

The vessel Yuan Wang 5, which was due to arrive at the southern Sri Lankan port of Hambadota on August 11, is now expected on the island the day after tomorrow, Tuesday, the foreign ministry said. The approval was originally given on July 12, before it was withdrawn after Indian protests, and given again in a spirit of “consensus”, as the crisis-ridden country desperately needs all the financial aid it can get.

In 2017, Colombo, unable to service a $1.4 billion debt to Beijing for the construction of the port of Hambadota, was forced to cede its operation to a Chinese company for 99 years.

According to the announcement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ship will simply refuel and not conduct scientific research in Sri Lanka’s territorial waters.

The Indian government has expressed strong concern, as it considers the ship to be a spy and intended to gather data on Indian military installations, a short distance from Sri Lanka.

International maritime data monitoring and analysis platforms describe the Yuan Wang 5 as a scientific research and monitoring vessel. But Indian media present it as a “dual-use” ship, also used for espionage, specifically to detect intercontinental ballistic missile launches.

The American Pentagon also labels this scientific research vessel a resource of the Chinese military.

New Delhi is concerned about China’s growing influence in the Indian Ocean and in Sri Lanka, which it considers part of its sphere of influence.

The Indian Foreign Ministry warned against any incident that could harm “India’s security and economic interests”, declaring that New Delhi would “take all necessary measures to defend them”.