Chinese warship docks at Colombo following delay over Indian concerns

A Chinese Navy warship with surveillance capabilities has recently arrived at the Colombo port, marking its presence almost a year after a different spy vessel caused concerns in India by berthing at a strategic port in Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan Navy reported that the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy warship, named HAI YANG 24 HAO, reached the Colombo port on Thursday (10) and is scheduled to depart on Saturday.

“The 129-metre-long ship which arrived in Colombo is manned by a crew of 138 and it is commanded by Commander Jin Xin. The ship is scheduled to depart the country tomorrow,” the navy statement said.

According to media reports on Friday, Sri Lanka delayed its arrival upon concerns raised by India. "The Chinese authorities sought permission for it earlier, but Sri Lanka delayed permission because of resistance from India," the Daily Mirror newspaper reported.

Despite a briefing by Sri Lanka to Indian officials, the latter remained concerned about the research ship's visit to the island nation.

In August last year, a similar visit by the Chinese ballistic missile and satellite tracking ship, ‘Yuan Wang 5', which arrived in the southern Sri Lankan port of Hambantota elicited strong reactions from India.

There were apprehensions in New Delhi about the possibility of the vessel's tracking systems attempting to snoop on Indian defence installations while being on its way to the Sri Lankan port.

However, after a considerable delay, Sri Lanka allowed the ship to dock at the strategic southern port of Hambantota, being built by a Chinese company.

Sri Lanka considers both India and China equally important partners in its task to restructure its external debt.

The negotiations for Sri Lanka's external and domestic debt restructuring must be concluded by September, in time for the International Monetary Fund's review of its USD 2.9 billion bailout extended in March this year.

The island nation was hit by an unprecedented financial crisis in 2022, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948, due to a severe paucity of foreign exchange reserves.

(PTI)