Chinese spy ship in Sri Lanka!
Colombo/New Delhi. Sri Lanka has allowed a Chinese spy ship to stop at its port, regardless of India’s objections. This Chinese ship is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment for espionage and surveillance and can spy on India’s military and nuclear installations. Therefore, India had opposed it and a few days ago it was said that due to India’s opposition, Sri Lanka has indefinitely stopped this Chinese spy ship from coming to its port.
Despite India’s concerns, Sri Lanka has cleared China’s spy ship. The ship will halt at Hambantota port in Sri Lanka from 16 to 22 August. The Chinese ship Yuan Wang 5 is being described by international shipping and analytics sites as a research and survey ship, but it is also believed to be a dual-use spy ship. However, Sri Lanka’s Port Master Nirmal P Silva said that they have received the approval of the Ministry of External Affairs to call the ship to Hambantota from August 16 to 22. The ship has raised concerns for both the Indian Navy and ISRO.
Silva told the international news agency AFP- Today I got diplomatic approval. We will work with the local agent appointed by the ship to ensure logistics at the port. External Affairs Ministry sources have confirmed that Sri Lanka has given fresh permission for the visit. Earlier on July 12, it was allowed before former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa left the country. Significantly, Sri Lanka is going through the worst economic crisis, due to which there were protests for months and the President had to flee the country.
However, officials at Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port said the Chinese ship was about a thousand kilometers southeast of Sri Lanka on Friday night and is slowly moving towards the Hambantota sea port. Sri Lanka leased the port to China for 99 years for $1.12 billion, while the Chinese company that built it was paid $1.4 billion by Sri Lanka. Significantly, China had reacted sharply to India’s opposition to the ship’s arrival at the Sri Lankan port, after which India said that it had not asked Sri Lanka to stop the ship.
