‘India understands’, says Sri Lanka's Harin Fernado as Yuan Wang 5 docks at Hambantota; here's all you need to know

New Delhi: Yuan Wang 5, China's space and satellite ship, is berthed at Hambantota port in Sri Lanka. The surveillance vessel is being used by Chinese military to track satellite, rocket and intercontinental ballistic missile launches. India says that Yuan Wang 5 is not mere military ship and that the vessel could spy on its activities. According to India, Beijing can scruitinise movement in as many as six ports in south India.

Amid all this, Sri Lanka's tourism minister Harin Fernado on Saturday said he hoped that Chinese ship 'Yuan Wang 5' visit to Hambantota would not cause a major diplomatic row as India understands its situation.

India has been carefully monitoring minutest of development that has an impact on its security and economic interest with the docking of the Chinese vessel. The country has also lodged a complaint with Colombo.

But it is not the first time China became a foil to India and Sri Lanka’s relationship.

India and Sri Lanka share close cultural, religious and economic ties and this connection goes back centuries.

India has been a major trade partner for Sri Lanka. The island nation imports hosts of products including food items from India. Also, Lanka's minority Tamil population share close cultural and ethnic bonds with people of Tamil Nadu.

In 2005, when Mahinda Rajapaksa became the president of Sri Lanka, Colombo moved away from the Indian sphere of influence and this gradual shift was consolidated during his second term. During this time, Sri Lanka inked slew of agreements with China on infrastructure projects including as a port in the southern town of Hambantota.

The numbers suggest that China had loaned over 5 billion dollars to Sri Lanka so far which is about 10 per cent of the island nation's overall external debt.

But all these said, China did not come to rescue Sri Lanka when it sought additional loans to tackle its prevailing economic crisis. On the other hand, India had provided around 3.5 billion dollars as credit and currency swap. As part of the credit line, it has dispatched several shipments of fuel, food and fertilisers to its neighbour - Sri Lanka - in the recent months.

Pic credit: AP

In February 2021, Sri Lanka pulled out of a joint partnership agreement with India and Japan to develop the much-hyped East Container Terminal (ECT) at the Colombo port. On the same day, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) returned 400-million-dollar currency swap facility, which it availed in July 2020 to meet its emergency needs during the Covid19 induced lockdown.

Why Sri Lanka allowed China to dock its ship in Hambantota

At first, the Sri Lankan government refused to admit that the ship will be docking at its key port and their defence ministry claimed that they have no information. However, the island nation made a U-turn days later, saying that the Chinese ship would dock for fuel and replenishment.

Sri Lanka also said that it has granted permission to Yuan Wang to dock at Hambantota from 16 August to 22 August. Reports say that the vessel has been allowed on the condition that it will not carry out any research work while in Sri Lankan waters.

India had earlier raised concerns over the ship’s visit with Sri Lanka. The island nation initially asked China to defer the visit of it research ship citing security considerations at Hambantota port. However, trapped in a delicate diplomatic and geopolitical spot, Colombo gave its nod to the vessel to dock at its port, disregarding the Indian concerns.

What did Sri Lanka say to India as it permitted China to dock its ship?

Sri Lanka said that the visiting Chinese ship is not classified as a warship, and therefore, does not warrant being barred entry in its port.

As a space and satellite tracking ship ostensibly, the Yuan Wang 5 posed no direct threat to India’s “unity, integrity and security” — at least not in a way vocative of the 1987 Indo-Sri Lankan Accord, which calls upon the two countries to prevent foreign activity in their respective territories that could pose a threat to the other.

Hambantota port and China's Yuan Wang 5

The BRISL (Belt & Road Initiative Sri Lanka), a Colombo-based organisation studying China’s ambitious connectivity project said that the Yuan Wang 5 will conduct “satellite control and research tracking in the northwestern part of the Indian Ocean Region” through August and September.

Vessels of the Yuan Wang class are believed to be used for tracking, supporting satellite and intercontinental ballistic missiles by the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Strategic Support Force.

The Hambantota port is the strategic worry for India. The port is less than about 160 kilometers from mainland India.

Pic credit: AP

Also, from Hambantota, one can spy on Indian vessels and ports.

Meanwhile, Yuan Wang 5 is a Chinese research vessel which is 222 meters long has range of 750 kms and with this, China can easily snoop on Indian assets

Located strategically near the bustling Indian Ocean shipping routes, the Hambantota port, was touted good for Sri Lankan commerce. But it wasn't profitable, and the government defaulted on those Chinese loans.

Why China has docked its ship in Sri Lanka's Hambantota

In 2017, China secured 99 years lease on Hambantota for 1.12 billion dollars and since then, their plan has been clear to develop the port into a multipurpose harbour, trade during the day and espionage by the night. It can be also seen as China's grand plan to dominate the Indian Ocean.

Why Sri Lanka is hosting the Chinese vessel?

Neither the Sri Lankans nor the government of Colombo are happy with China, despite that they are hosting the military vessels of Beijing because of leverage.

Pic credit: AP

For the unversed, Sri Lanka has a burden on itself of owing billions of dollars to China. Also, the island nation requires Beijing's assistance for IMF bailout.

China has been quite understanding of our requirements: Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka's tourism minister Harin Fernado, who was in Ahmedabad to promote tourism in Sri Lanka, said Beijing has made a lot of investment in Colombo and has been "understanding its requirements in the past. Sri Lanka is a small country, and Sri Lanka has very good friendship with everyone. I am sure India understands that. We have a very good diplomatic relationship with India."

He further said that Sri Lanka's President Ranil Vickremesinghe and its foreign minister were in constant touch with Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "I think they understand our situation," Fernado added.

"There is a lot of investment by the Chinese in Sri Lanka and they have also been quite understanding of our requirements in the past. So I am quite hopeful this is not a major diplomatic issue. This could be looked into," he further said.

With inputs from agencies

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.