While India expressed concern about the arrival of the Chinese satellite tracking ship to Sri Lanka, the Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday gave permission for the arrival of the Chinese Yuan Wang 5 ship to Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port on August 16.
Yesterday (August 13), the Chinese government gave permission for the Chinese satellite observation ship ‘Yuan Wang 5’ to dock at Hambantota port on the southern coast of Sri Lanka for a week from August 16. While India had earlier expressed concern over the arrival of the Chinese ship, the Sri Lankan government had asked China to postpone the arrival of the ship. However, the ship is scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka on August 16.
Yuan Wang 5 ship
The Yuan Wang 5 was built at the Jiangnan Shipyard in China. In use since September 2007. The ship is 222 meters long and 25.2 meters wide and has state-of-the-art technology.
China uses Yuan Wang-class ships for satellite, rocket, intercontinental ballistic missile and trans-sea aerial surveillance. It has state-of-the-art technology capable of monitoring across the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
Visit Hambantota
On July 12, it was reported that the Sri Lankan government had given permission for China’s Yuan Wang 5 ship to dock at Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port. That is, the then Gothapaya government gave permission for this. From August 11 to August 17, Yuan Wang allowed 5 ships to carry out maintenance work.
Subsequently, India objected to the arrival of this ship. The ship was thus anchored 600 miles east of the port of Hambantota. The August 16 ship arrives in Sri Lanka after a week’s delay after China refused to accept Sri Lanka’s request.
Yuan Wang 5 will carry out China’s satellite control and research missions in the northwestern part of the Indian Ocean region in August and September, according to Sri Lanka’s BRISL website.
President Mahinda Rajapakse established the Hambantota port with money received from China. It is noteworthy that when the then President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe could not repay the loan of 1.1 billion dollars received from China, the government leased Hambantota Port to a Chinese company for 99 years.
A threat to India’s security
The Yuan Wang 5 is a powerful surveillance ship. India expressed concern after news of the ship’s arrival in Sri Lanka. Officials of the Indian External Affairs Ministry contacted the Sri Lankan government and expressed concern that it would pose a threat to India’s security.
Then the current President Ranil Wickremesinghe told India that this permission was given by the previous government. Permission for the Chinese ship to arrive at Hambantota was granted on July 12. At that time, the Sri Lankan government was in complete disarray. Gotabaya Rajapakse, who was the president, went into hiding and tried to flee the country. It is reported that a request has been made to China to postpone the ship’s arrival.
But China refused to accept Sri Lanka’s demand. Yuan Wang 5 will visit Hambantota to monitor ports in southern India including Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. India said there was a risk of being spied on.
Indian Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagshi said, “We got the news that this ship will arrive at Hambantota in August. India will not allow any action that affects India’s security and economic interests. The government will monitor closely. All necessary steps will be taken for that,” he said.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded to this. India has denied the allegation. It is completely unjustified that some countries are putting pressure on Sri Lanka as a security threat.
August 16 Following the arrival of a Chinese spy ship at Hambantota, security and technical aspects are being improved at ports in Tamil Nadu.