Sri Lanka’s government on Saturday granted permission to a controversial Chinese research vessel to visit the island despite concerns from neighboring India that it could spy on New Delhi’s military facilities, officials said.
The Yuan Wang 5 is described as a research and survey vessel by international shipping and analysis sites, but according to Indian media it is a dual-use spy vessel.
New Delhi is wary of Beijing’s growing presence in the Indian Ocean and influence in Sri Lanka, seeing both as firmly within its sphere of influence.
The Yuan Wang 5 was initially scheduled to call at Sri Lanka’s Chinese-run port of Hambantota on August 11, only for Colombo to ask Beijing to indefinitely postpone the visit following Indian objections.
But Sri Lanka’s port chief Nirmal P Silva said he had received permission from the foreign ministry for the ship to call at Hambantota from August 16 to 22.
“I received the diplomatic clearance today. We will work with the local agent appointed by the ship to ensure logistics at the port,” Silva told AFP.
Foreign ministry sources confirmed that Colombo had renewed permission for the visit, which had initially been granted on July 12, a day before former president Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled after months of protests over the worst crisis economy of the country.
Rajapaksa, whose brother Mahinda took out a huge loan from China while he was president from 2005 to 2015, resigned after fleeing to Singapore.
Tens of thousands of protesters stormed his palace and home in Colombo after accusing him of mismanagement in an economic crisis that has led to acute shortages of food, fuel and medicine.
Port officials said the Chinese vessel was about 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) southeast of Sri Lanka on Friday night and was slowly heading towards the deep-sea port of Hambantota.
Sri Lanka leased the port to China for 99 years for $1.12 billion, less than the $1.4 billion Sri Lanka paid a Chinese company to build it.
According to Indian reports, the Yuan Wang 5 could be used for space and satellite tracking, and has specific uses in intercontinental ballistic missile launches.
The Indian government has expressed concern that the ship could be spying on its activities and had lodged a complaint with Colombo.
The foreign ministry in New Delhi has said it will closely monitor “any incidence on India’s security and economic interests and take all necessary measures to safeguard them”.