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China seeks urgent meeting after Sri Lanka relents to India pressure, says report

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Chinese ship Yuan Wang 2 in Waitemata Harbour, Auckland, New Zealand. [Photo: Wikimedia/Gadfium]

The embassy of China in Colombo has sought an urgent meeting with senior Sri Lankan authorities after Sri Lanka sought a deferment of the planned docking of a high-tech Chinese research vessel at the strategic Hambantota port over which India raised concerns, PTI reported citing sources.

As per the report, the Chinese space and satellite tracking research vessel ‘Yuan Wang 5’ was scheduled to dock at the Hambantota Port from August 11 to 17, weeks after Sri Lanka witnessed a major political turmoil following massive mass protests over the country’s worst economic crisis in decades.

A ‘third-person’ note from Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry to the Chinese embassy in Colombo dated August 5 says “the ministry wishes to request that the arrival of the vessel Yuan Wang 5 in Hambantota to be deferred until further consultations are made on the matter.”

India was worried that the vessel would be used to spy on its activities and that it had lodged a complaint with Sri Lanka, the report said quoting various other reports.

The Chinese embassy in Colombo sought an urgent meeting with the higher Sri Lankan authorities to discuss the issue after receiving the note from the Foreign Ministry seeking a delay in the visit, the news agency report said quoting the sources.

Some Sri Lankan news portals also reported that Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe held a closed-door meeting with China’s Ambassador Qi Zhenhong after Colombo sought a deferment of the planned docking.

But the President’s Office denied the media reports about the meeting, the report added.

On July 12, amidst the political turmoil in Sri Lanka, the then government approved the Chinese vessel’s docking at the Hambantota port.

The Chinese vessel was expected to dock at the Sri Lankan port for “refuelling and ‘replenishment’ and will conduct satellite control and research tracking in the northwestern part of the Indian Ocean region through August and September.

The southern deep-sea port of Hambantota is considered strategically important for its location. The port, located in the hometown of the Rajapaksa family, has been developed largely with Chinese loans.

According to reports, India has informed Sri Lanka that the docking of the high-tech Chinese research vessel could pose a threat to its national security.

Sri Lanka received strong messages of protests from India as the ship was said to have the capability to track satellites and intercontinental ballistic missiles, the report said.

India has said it carefully monitors any development having a bearing on its security and economic interests.

“We are aware of reports of a proposed visit by this vessel to Hambantota in August,” India’s External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in New Delhi when asked about the reports of a proposed visit 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 said last month.

New Delhi is concerned about the possibility of the ship’s tracking systems attempting to snoop on Indian installations while being on its way to the Sri Lankan port.

 

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