Days after asking China to defer the schedule of its “spy ship” to dock at its port, Sri Lanka on Saturday gave the go-ahead for it to drop anchor at the Hambantota port. Equipped with latest reconnaissance and surveillance equipment, the ship is a threat to India as it can monitor India’s military and other sensitive installations.
The Chinese research vessel Yuan Wang 5 will dock at the Hambantota port, about 250 km away from Colombo, on August 16 and will move out on August 22 after refueling and replenishment, officials in Lanka said. The ship was earlier schedule to arrive at the port on August 11.
However, the arrival date was changed after the Lankan Government asked China to defer the visit. Beijing blamed New Delhi for pressurising Sri Lanka to defer the visit of its ship. India, however, on Friday denied the charge.
The ship is now about 600 nautical miles (1,000km) away in the east from port. The southern deep-sea port of Hambantota was developed with Chinese loans and the Sri Lankan Government handed over the port to China on a 99-year lease in 2017.
India has said it carefully monitors any development having a bearing on its security and economic interests. New Delhi is suspicious of Beijing’s increasing presence in the Indian Ocean and influence in Sri Lanka, seeing both as being firmly within its sphere of influence.
“We are aware of reports of a proposed visit by this vessel to Hambantota in August,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had 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.
India has traditionally taken a stern view of Chinese military vessels in the Indian Ocean and has protested such visits with Sri Lanka in the past. New Delhi had lodged a protest with Colombo in 2014 when it allowed Chinese submarine to dock at one of its port then.
On Monday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it was “completely unjustified for certain countries to cite the so-called “security concerns” to pressure Sri Lanka.
In response, India on Friday said, “We reject the insinuations in the statement about India. Sri Lanka is a sovereign country and makes its own independent decisions.”
Reiterating this point, Bagchi also said as regards India-China relations “we have consistently emphasized the necessity of mutual respect, mutual sensitivity and mutual interests as a basis for the development of ties”.
“With regard to our security concerns, this is the sovereign right of every country. We will make the best judgment in our own interest. This naturally takes into account prevailing situation in the region especially in the border areas,” he said.
According to reports, the Yuan Wang 5 could be employed for space and satellite tracking, and has specific uses in intercontinental ballistic missile launches.
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.
Designated as a research and survey vessel, Yuan Wang 5 was built in 2007 and has a carrying capacity of 11,000 tonnes. During this visit, the ship could conduct satellite research in the northwestern part of the Indian Ocean region thereby posing a security risk.
