Hambantota move sparks China fears

COLOMBO: NO NEED TO FEAR NAVAL BASE RELOCATION

SRI LANKA is shifting a naval base to a port built and controlled by China, it said on Monday (2), a move that will strengthen security at a harbour that foreign powers fear China could use for mili­tary purposes.

The base, currently in the tourist district of Galle, will be moved 125 km (80 miles) east along Sri Lan­ka’s southern coast to Hambantota, nearer a main shipping route between Asia and Europe.

The $1.5 billion (£1.1bn) deepwater port is likely to play a major role in China’s “Belt and Road” initia­tive and is under a 99-year lease to China Merchants Port Holdings at a cost of $1.12bn (£851 million).

Sri Lanka owes China billions of dollars that for­mer president Mahinda Rajapakse’s government borrowed for major infrastructure projects, includ­ing the Hambantota port, which is located on the island’s southern tip.

But unable to pay back the debt, Sri Lanka agreed last year to give China a 70-per cent stake in the port on a 99-year lease.

Government and diplomatic sources said the US, India and Japan have raised concerns that China might use the port as a naval base.

The Sri Lankan government and the Chinese em­bassy in Colombo have denied that and the agree­ment for the port deal included a clause that it can­not be used for military purposes.

“Sri Lanka has already informed China that Ham­bantota port cannot be used for military purposes,” prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s office said in a statement.

“Since the security of the port will be under the control of the Sri Lanka navy, there is no need to fear,” it added.

A naval unit has already been established in Ham­bantota and construction work for the base is under way, navy spokesman Dinesh Bandara said.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in Beijing that the Hambantota port project was to help Sri Lanka achieve its aim of becoming a lo­gistics hub in the Indian Ocean, which was good for the country’s economic development and the region as a whole.

Sri Lanka president Maithripala Sirisena turned down a Chinese request in May last year for a subma­rine call at Colombo soon after Indian prime minis­ter Narendra Modi visited the island. (AFP, Reuters)