Colombo: A high-tech Chinese research ship docked in Sri Lanka’s southern port of Hambantota has not been berthed as planned, the country’s port authority said on Friday, after India expressed security concerns over its presence in the island nation. days later.
Chinese ballistic missile and satellite tracking shipYuan Wang 5’ was to arrive on Thursday and remain at port till August 17 to refill.
The Harbor Master of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) said the ship did not reach the port as planned.
Local officials said the ship was awaiting approval to enter from its location 600 nautical miles east of Hambantota.
On 12 July, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka gave approval for the docking of the ship at Hambantota port. On 8 August, the ministry in a letter to the Chinese Embassy in Colombo requested the postponement of the ship’s planned docking.
However, it did not specify the reason for such request. ‘Yuan Wang 5’ by that time had entered the Indian Ocean.
Sri Lanka requested the postponement after the Indian government had strongly objected to the visit citing security concerns.
SLPA said that although a Chinese company is in charge of the port of Hambantota, navigation and operational issues are handled by it.
Sri Lanka’s opposition political parties have blamed the government for its wrong handling of the Chinese ship’s docking issue.
In a joint statement, a five-party group of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party urged that the ship be allowed to sail to Hambantota.
The southern deep sea port of Hambantota is considered strategically important for its location. The port has been largely developed with Chinese loans.
India has said that it carefully monitors any developments that affect its security and economic interests.
When asked about reports of a proposed visit by a Chinese vessel in New Delhi, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “We are aware of the report of the proposed visit to Hambantota by this ship in August.”
“The government carefully monitors any developments affecting India’s security and economic interests and takes all necessary measures to protect them,” he said last month.
New Delhi is concerned about the possibility that the ship’s tracking systems may be attempting to spy on Indian installations en route to the Sri Lankan port.
India has traditionally taken a tough stand on Chinese military ships in the Indian Ocean and has opposed such visits with Sri Lanka in the past.
Relations between India and Sri Lanka were strained in 2014 after Colombo allowed a Chinese nuclear-powered submarine to dock in one of its ports.
India’s concerns have been particularly focused on the Hambantota port. In 2017, Colombo leased the southern port to China Merchant Port Holdings for 99 years after Sri Lanka was unable to meet its debt repayment commitments, fueling fears over the port’s potential use for military purposes.
On Monday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it was “completely inappropriate for some countries to put pressure on Sri Lanka, citing so-called “security concerns”.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said, “As Sri Lanka continues to grapple with economic and political difficulties, grossly interfering with Sri Lanka’s normal exchanges and cooperation with other countries is to exploit its vulnerability, which is morally unacceptable.” – is responsible and against the basic norms governing international relations.” Said in response to a question on the planned docking of the Chinese vessel at Hambantota port in Beijing.
“We urge relevant parties to view China’s marine scientific research activities in a reasonable light and refrain from disrupting normal exchanges and cooperation between China and Sri Lanka,” Wang said.
China is Sri Lanka’s main creditor with investments in infrastructure. Debt restructuring of Chinese debt will be critical to the island’s success in its ongoing negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.
India, on the other hand, has been Sri Lanka’s lifeline in the current economic crisis. It has been at the forefront of providing nearly USD 4 billion in economic aid to Sri Lanka during the year as the island nation grapples with its worst economic crisis since independence in 1948.
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