Sri Lankan foreign ministry confirms that clearance has been given to allow the Chinese “Spy” vessel Yuan Wang 5 to make a port call at Hambantota port from 16th to 22nd August. A controversial Chinese research vessel to visit the island despite India’s concerns that it could spy on New Delhi’s military installations, officials said on Saturday.
New Delhi is suspicious of Beijing’s increasing presence in the Indian Ocean and its influence in Sri Lanka, seeing both as being firmly within its sphere of influence.
The Yuan Wang 5 was cleared to dock at Hambantota port from August 16 to 22 after the government “engaged in extensive consultations at a high level through diplomatic channels with all parties concerned,” including seeking “further information and material,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Saturday.
The statement reads, “The Ministry , as per accepted practice related to such requests for ‘diplomatic clearance ‘, circulated the said request among relevant stakeholders in Government for approval- the Ministry of Defence , the Sri Lanka Navy and the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka ( TRCSL ) .
