SRI LANKA-CHINA-INDIA Chinese military ship heads for Hambantota port: Colombo reassures Delhi

The docking, scheduled for August 11, drew the ire of the Indian government. India fears that Sri Lanka is being used by the Chinese as a military base. The ports that Beijing has built as part of the Belt and Road are in Delhi’s sights. China and India are Colombo’s main creditors, which are struggling against a dramatic economic crisis.

Colombo () – Sri Lanka is discussing with India and China to find a friendly solution regarding the imminent docking of the Chinese military research ship “Yuan Wan 5” in the port of Hambantota.

According to sources from the Belt & Road Initiative Sri Lanka (BRISL), a Colombo-based think tank that analyzes China’s new Silk Roads project, the Yuan Wang 5 will enter Hambantota on August 11 and remain docked for a week.

The Chinese ship recently successfully completed a maritime monitoring mission for the launch of the Tiangong space station module. The Yuan Wang 5 is due to depart again on Aug. 17 after refueling and then carrying out “space monitoring, satellite control and research” tasks in the northwestern Indian Ocean until September. Always under the watchful eye of India.

The BRISL recalls that the arrival of ships from China to the ports of Sri Lanka dates back to the fifteenth century, the time of the great voyages of the Chinese admiral Zheng.

Sources from the Colombo Foreign Ministry told that Delhi is concerned about any circumstances that may have an impact on “India’s security and economic interests and is monitoring the situation to take the necessary measures to safeguard them.” For some time the Indians have been keeping under control the ports built by the Chinese from Myanmar to East Africa as part of the Belt and Road, which they consider “a direct challenge to the interests of India” since they could be used as bases. military.

That is why “the Sri Lankan government will closely monitor any developments that may affect India’s security and economic interests and take all necessary measures to safeguard them.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) and the Ministry of Defense had granted the authorization to dock the Yuan Wang 5 several weeks ago, before the new president Ranil Wickremesinghe took office.

India has “raised its concern” about the timing of the Chinese ship’s arrival at the port of Hambantota – built and controlled by China – undoubtedly taking advantage of the island country’s political crisis.

No Chinese military ship has reached Sri Lanka since 2014. Eight years ago a Chinese submarine docked in Colombo drawing the ire of Delhi and the matter was raised at the “highest level”.

According to senior government sources, Sri Lanka must handle the situation at a time when the government is preparing to start talks on debt restructuring, with India and China being the country’s two largest creditors. Therefore, your cooperation is essential for the island, which must face a deep economic crisis.

However, some analysts point out that the arrival of the Yuan Wang 5 will be a great opportunity for Sri Lanka and other countries in the region to learn about how to develop their own space programs.