Sri Lanka offers nod for docking of Chinese analysis ship at Hambantota port on Aug 16

The Sri Lankan authorities has allowed a high-tech Chinese analysis ship to dock on the southern port of Hambantota on August 16, official sources right here stated on Saturday.

The Chinese ballistic missile and satellite tv for pc monitoring ship, ‘Yuan Wang 5’, was earlier scheduled to reach on Thursday and stay on the port till August 17 for replenishment.

However, the Sri Lankan overseas ministry requested the Chinese embassy right here final week to postpone the vessel’s go to following safety issues raised by India. Subsequently, the vessel didn’t dock on the Hambantota port on Thursday as deliberate.

According to the sources, the federal government has lastly permitted the ship to dock on the port. It will now arrive on August 16 and stay on the port until August 22, they stated.

The ship was awaiting clearance to enter from its location 600 nautical miles away east of Hambantota.

Meanwhile, the matter created a lot controversy within the island nation with the Opposition blaming the federal government for what they termed mishandling of the difficulty.

The southern deep-sea port of Hambantota is taken into account strategically essential for its location. The port has been developed largely with Chinese loans.

India has stated it fastidiously screens any growth having a bearing on its safety and financial pursuits.

“We are aware of reports of a proposed visit by this vessel to Hambantota in August,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had stated in New Delhi when requested in regards to the reviews of a proposed go to by a Chinese vessel.

“The government carefully monitors any development having a bearing on India’s security and economic interests and takes all necessary measures to safeguard them,” he stated final month.

New Delhi is worried about the potential of the ship’s monitoring programs making an attempt to listen in on Indian installations whereas being on its approach to the Sri Lankan port.

India has historically taken a stern view of Chinese navy vessels within the Indian Ocean and has protested such visits with Sri Lanka previously.

The ties between India and Sri Lanka got here below pressure after Colombo gave permission to a Chinese nuclear-powered submarine to dock in one in every of its ports in 2014.

India’s issues have been centered on Hambantota port particularly. In 2017, Colombo leased the southern port to China Merchant Port Holdings for 99 years, after Sri Lanka was unable to maintain its mortgage reimbursement commitments, fanning fears over the potential use of the port for navy functions.

On Monday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry stated it was “completely unjustified for certain countries to cite the so-called “security concerns” to strain Sri Lanka.

India on Friday rejected China’s “insinuations” that New Delhi pressured Colombo towards the deliberate go to by the Chinese analysis vessel however asserted that it’ll take choices primarily based on its safety issues.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi stated Sri Lanka, as a sovereign nation, makes its personal impartial choices and famous that India would make its judgment on its safety issues primarily based on the prevailing scenario within the area, particularly within the border areas.

China is the principle creditor of Sri Lanka with funding in infrastructure. Debt restructuring of Chinese loans could be key to the island’s success within the ongoing talks with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout.

India, alternatively, has been Sri Lanka’s lifeline within the ongoing financial disaster. It has been on the forefront of extending financial help of almost USD 4 billion to Sri Lanka throughout the 12 months because the island nation is grappling with the worst financial disaster since independence in 1948.