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Chinese Vessel Won’t Dock At Sri Lanka’s Hambantota Port

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According to a media report citing sources, China’s hi-tech spy ship ‘Yuan Wang 5’ will not dock at Hambatota port as scheduled. Newsfirst.lk website reported that the Harbour Master for the Hambantota Port said no vessel can enter the port without his permission.

‘It is claimed that the Chinese vessel ‘Yuan Wang 5′ will not reach Hambantota Port on Thursday. However, there was no update on whether or not the ship will be allowed to enter the Hambantota Port.

On Monday, China described Indian opposition to the docking of the vessel at Hambantota port as ‘senseless’. It added that “relevant” countries should stop disturbing normal exchanges between Beijing and Colombo.

China’s Yuan Wang 5, a space and satellite tracking ship, was given permission by Colombo last month to berth at the southern Sri Lankan port of Hambantota between August 11 and 17. This raised security concerns in New Delhi.

Following India’s concerns, Sri Lanka had asked Beijing to defer the arrival of the ship, reports from Colombo said.

The Hindustan Times reported that, responding to the reports, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, said on Monday that Beijing had taken note of the reports and asserted that “the cooperation between China and Sri Lanka is independently chosen by the two countries and meets common interests. It does not target any third party”.

It is “senseless to pressure Sri Lanka” by citing the issue of security concerns, Wang said, referring to the fact that Sri Lanka’s move was engineered by New Delhi.

According Colombo-based diplomats, the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry sent a note verbale to the embassy of China referring to a ministry’s note on July 12, 2022, conveying clearances for vessel Yuan Wang 5 to enter the port of Hambantota for “replenishment purposes.”

India has concerns over ‘Huan Wang 5’ docking in Sri Lanka as the vessel can be used to map the ocean bed, a move which is vital to Chinese Navy’s anti-submarine operations.

The Chinese ambassador muscled his way with the Sri Lankan government and said that denying docking permission for the vessel would have an impact on bilateral ties between China and Sri Lanka.

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