Sri Lanka allows Chinese spy ship to dock
Colombo [Sri Lanka], August 13 : Sri Lanka granted permission to Chinese vessel Yuan Wang-5 known as spy ship to dock at Hambantota port, sources reported.
"Yuan Wang 5 will now berth at the Hambantota International Port on August 16, five days later than scheduled. It was originally due to arrive on August 11. This was delayed after India raised strong concerns citing national security," the report said.
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Earlier this week, Sri Lanka confirmed that it has communicated to China to defer the visit of the Chinese vessel Yuang Wang 5 to Hambantota port.
The Chinese vessel was scheduled to dock at Chinese-leased Hambantota port on August 11 for refuelling and leave on August 17.
The foreign minister said in a statement that, "The Ministry has communicated to the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Colombo to defer the visit of the said vessel to the Hambantota port."
The Foreign Ministry stated it wishes to reaffirm the enduring friendship and excellent relations between Sri Lanka and China which remain on a solid foundation, as reiterated most recently by the two Foreign Ministers Ali Sabry and Wang Yi at a bilateral meeting in Phnom Penh on August 4.
India had expressed its security concerns over the docking of the vessel at Hambantota as it was shown as a research vessel while the spy ship can map the ocean bed which is critical to anti-submarine operations of the Chinese Navy.
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Hambantota port, located around 250 kms from Colombo was built with high-interest Chinese loans. The Sri Lankan government struggled to repay the debt they had taken from China following which the port was handed over to the Chinese on a 99-year lease.
-PTC News with ANI inputs
