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Kerala Kaumudi Online
Friday, 29 March 2024 7.15 PM IST

Sri Lanka allows Chinese spy ship to dock despite India's concerns

spy-ship

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has granted permission to Chinese spy ship Yuan Wang-5 to dock at its Hambantota port, Sri Lankan media reported.

According to Times Online, the Sri Lankan government gave approval to the ship to dock at the port on Friday.

This comes after India raised strong concerns citing national security.

The Chinese vessel was initilly scheduled to dock at Chinese-leased Hambantota port on August 11 for refuelling and leave on August 17.

“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 had said in the statement.

India had expressed its 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 crucial to anti-submarine operations of the Chinese Navy.

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.

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TAGS: SRI LANKA, CHINESE, SPY SHIP, INDIA
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