Chinese military warship docks at Sri Lanka port dafter delay caused by Indian concerns

A Chinese military vessel equipped for surveillance purposes has docked at Colombo port, nearly a year after another spy vessel berthed at a strategic port in the country and raised concerns in India.

According to the Sri Lankan Navy, the People’s Liberation Army Navy warship, identified as HAI YANG 24 HAO, made its entry into the port of Colombo on Thursday. The vessel is to leave 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.

India had opposed the docking of the Yuan Wang 5, which analysts describe as a high-tech ship for tracking objects in space, as it fears China could use the port, near the main Asia-Europe shipping route, as a military base.

Sri Lanka, which needs the support of both India and China as it struggles with its worst economic crisis in decades, initially granted the ship permission for a five-day replenishment stay in Hambantota, from Aug. 11.

It later asked China to delay the vessel’s arrival, citing the need for more consultations.

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.