- UL Mabruk
- For BBC Tamil
image source, MARINE TRAFFIC.COM
The news that China’s ‘Yuan Wang 5’ is scheduled to arrive at Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port has created a lot of tension in the Indian Ocean region. In particular, India has expressed strong opposition to the arrival of this ship. Although it is said to be a space exploration ship, India sees it as a spy ship.
It is said to be able to monitor locations up to 750 kilometers away from this ship. So India’s complaint is that this ship will spy on India’s most important central stations from Hambantota port.
It was earlier reported that the vessel will arrive at Hambantota port on the 11th, stay there for a week and then depart on the 17th of August. The port was given to China on a 99-year lease in 2017.
In this situation, the Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs has written to the Chinese Embassy in Colombo on 5th August to postpone the arrival of the Yuan Wang 5 ship to Hambantota port.
In it, Sri Lanka requested that the arrival of the said ship be postponed pending further consultations on the matter.
China reacts
In this context, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters in Beijing on Monday, “Sri Lanka is a sovereign country. It has the right to develop relations with other countries for the benefit of its own development. The cooperation between China and Sri Lanka is independently chosen by both countries and serves common interests. It does not accept any third party. “It is pointless for India to put pressure on Sri Lanka citing security concerns,” Wang said. “China urges relevant parties to look at Chinese scientific research in a fair and reasonable manner and stop disrupting the normal exchanges between China and Sri Lanka,” Wang said.
Wang said it was pointless to pressure Sri Lanka citing security issues, adding that reports attributed Sri Lanka’s move to concerns expressed by India.
image source, Getty Images
Yuan Wang 5
China is currently the largest lender to Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka owes more than 10% of its total foreign debt to China. On the one hand, although a significant amount of the loan received from China has been spent on the construction of Hambantota Port, the construction of the Mattala Airport, and the construction of the Lotus Tower in Colombo, none of the income has been received so far.
On the other hand, in Sri Lanka’s current economic crisis, neighboring India – has provided a much-needed loan of around $3.5 billion to buy fuel, medicines and food, as well as gifts of rice and milk.
Against this backdrop, it is feared that if China’s Yuan Wang 5 ship is allowed into Hambantota port, it will have various effects on Sri Lanka-India relations. This article examines them.
India will not wash its hands of the relationship
“There is a military crisis for India in the presence of a Chinese ship in Sri Lanka,” says Professor K.R., head of the Department of Political Science at the University of Jaffna. Ganesalingam.
Professor K.R. Ganesalingam
Saying that Sri Lanka’s foreign relations with India and China are seen as unique, he states that “everyone has the observation that Sri Lanka is taking action against India, which has provided massive economic aid in the current crisis”.
Ganesalingam spoke to BBC Tamil; “The arrival of the Chinese ship has the potential to open up a platform similar to how Sri Lanka has dealt with the governments of India and the United States so far by showing that it is going to lean towards China,” he said.
“Sri Lanka has been successfully moving its politics forward for more than two decades by emphasizing its relationship with China. Therefore, the arrival of the Chinese ship can be a good opportunity for Sri Lanka,” he said.
image source, PMD
Ranil Wickramasinghe
Prof. Ganesalingam says that despite India’s complaints and objections, Sri Lanka’s allowing a Chinese ship to enter the Hambantota port angers India, but India will not wash its hands of relations with Sri Lanka altogether.
“I don’t think that India will go for a decision to completely reject Sri Lanka. India will not maintain a position of conflict with Sri Lanka. That means India will not take any steps like expelling Sri Lankan ambassadors from India by being enmity with Sri Lanka”.
“India has the intention of maintaining relations with Sri Lanka on the basis of continuing to keep the region where Sri Lanka is under its influence. Sri Lanka’s border areas are within India’s security environment. Therefore, India will not create crises with Sri Lanka”.
“On the other hand, Sri Lanka is not a powerful country like Russia or China, as far as India is concerned,” he explained.
Ranil will not behave in a way that causes enmity
During this, the professor also published his observations on the diplomatic practices of the current President of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe.
“In Sri Lanka’s current crisis, a Sri Lankan ruler will not create a situation where other countries are hostile. And compared to other presidents of Sri Lanka, Ranil Wickremesinghe will not create such problems. He has been known as a diplomat and a leader with a liberal face in the past. Therefore, the West and India Prof. Ganesalingam is confident that he will not use the Chinese ship issue as an antagonism.
Reminding that the Hambantota port has been given to China on a 99-year lease, the professor says, “According to the agreement, there is no chance of stopping a Chinese ship from coming to the Hambantota port.” He also states that an agreement to lease a port means that the lessee country has all the rights to keep the sea area within its influence.
image source, Wounded
Ranil Wickramasinghe
At the same time, he also pointed out that Hambantota port was given to China on lease basis only during the tenure of the current President Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister in 2017.
Professor Ganesalingam recalled that when the Chinese President came to Sri Lanka in 2014, a Chinese submarine arrived in Sri Lanka; He mentioned that even then there was opposition to India and the then rulers of Sri Lanka had said that this would not happen in the future.
“Intelligence media reports that China has selected three locations to conduct intercontinental ballistic missile interception operations. They are Hambantota Port, Cambodia Port, and Myanmar Chitwe Port. If China implements that plan, the arrival of the Yuan Wang 5 ship may be directed towards Hambantota Port. And so on. , the arrival of this ship remains a matter of crisis for India and the US”.
“Sri Lanka granting permission to this Chinese ship to come to Hambantota port is similar to what is happening in Kathimuna. If there are any crises in this, it will have a huge impact on Sri Lanka”.
Professor Ganesalingam says, “When such crises occur – India has a habit of picking up issues related to the Tamils and the North East. America and the West also have this habit. By doing so, those countries will try to bring Sri Lanka under their control.”
Ranil solves the scam
This being the case, President Ranil Wickramasinghe is acting to deceive India in the matter of Yuan Wang 5 Chinese ship, said R. Sivaraja says
R. Sivaraja
“India does not want Ranil Wickramasinghe to be elected as the President. India was behind the Tamil National Federation’s announcement of its support to Sajith Premadasa. Keeping that in mind, Ranil is acting on the Chinese ship issue to deceive India,” Sivaraja said while talking to BBC.
“If the disputed Chinese ship arrives in Sri Lanka, India will not fully trust Ranil. On the other hand, Sri Lanka’s relationship with China will be renewed. After this, China will help Sri Lanka,” he said.
Senior journalist Sivaraja says that the arrival of the Yuan Wang 5 ship in Sri Lanka will create a rift in Sri Lanka-India relations, but India will not show it; “In the next election, India will try to bring someone whom it considers to be in its favour,” he said. However, he says that the situation may change if Ranil acts in favor of India during his tenure.
Pro-Chinese – tactic to sway the Vimal team
“At the same time, Ranil Wickramasinghe is showing that he is leaning towards Russia and China in order to sway Vimal Weerawansa’s team, who claim to be independent from the Rajapaksa government and act independently in Parliament,” said Sivaraja.
Sivaraja mentions that “Vimal’s team is pro-China and Russia and China has told some things to Ranil Wickramasinghe through Vimal’s side”.
Also, “If Ranil Wickramasinghe takes Vimal’s team to his side, the Sinhalese dominant forces will not go against Ranil. Ranil’s Russian and Chinese support will remain only until Vimal’s team is taken into the government. After that, Ranil will start doing things as per his wish,” says senior journalist Sivaraja.