As China’s ‘Yuan Wang-5’ spy ship is due to arrive in Sri Lanka on Tuesday (Aug 16), China has refused to disclose details of the talks held to obtain the country’s approval.
India had expressed strong opposition to the Sri Lankan voyage of the ‘Yuan Wang-5’ ship, which is known to have modern spying facilities. Subsequently, Sri Lanka requested China to postpone the ship’s arrival. Chinese embassy officials engaged in talks with the Sri Lankan authorities to get permission for the ship’s arrival.
Subsequently, Sri Lanka granted permission to the Chinese ship. Accordingly, the Chinese spy ship is scheduled to arrive at Ambantota port on Tuesday. The ship will be stationed there till August 22. In the explanatory statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka regarding the approval of the ship, various issues were raised with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the arrival of the ship.
Extensive consultation was held with all parties regarding them. The arrival of the ship is permitted only after ensuring the welfare of all parties including mutual trust and promotion of friendship.
Reports said that the Sri Lankan government had given permission to the Chinese ship with the restriction that it should not carry out any scientific research.
Sri Lanka, which is caught in a severe economic crisis, has taken a large amount of credit from China. The Sri Lankan government had requested China to extend the deadline for repayment of the loan. But China did not approve it.
It was reported that during the talks regarding the approval of the ship, there was talk of deferring the payment of the loan installment and Sri Lanka approved the arrival of the ship only after China agreed to it.
In this case, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin was questioned on Monday about the details discussed during the talks. He refused to answer the question in detail.