Chinese 'spy' ship Yuan Wang 5 cleared to dock at Sri Lanka: Report

The Chinese vessel Yuan Wang-5, which is popularly assumed to be a surveillance ship, was granted permission to land in Sri Lanka's Hambantota port on Saturday, according to reports from the local media. The Yuan Wang 5 was launched in 2007 as a research and survey vessel with a tonnage of 11,000 tonnes.

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"Yuan Wang 5 will now berth at the Hambantota International Port on August 16, five days later than scheduled. It was originally due to arrive on August 11. This was delayed after India raised strong concerns citing national security," the report said.

At the beginning of this week, Sri Lanka stated that it had informed China that it would want to postpone the arrival of the Chinese ship Yuang Wang 5 to the Hambantota port. The Chinese vessel was planned to stop at the port in Hambantota that is owned by the Chinese on August 11 to refuel, and it was expected to depart on August 17.

"The Ministry has communicated to the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Colombo to defer the visit of the said vessel to the Hambantota port," the foreign ministry had said in the statement.

As recently reaffirmed by Foreign Ministers Ali Sabry and Wang Yi at a bilateral meeting in Phnom Penh on August 4, the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry has declared that it desires to reaffirm the longstanding friendship and outstanding ties between Sri Lanka and China, which remain on a stable basis.

India has voiced security worries about the ship's planned stop at Hambantota because, despite appearances, the spy ship is capable of mapping the ocean floor, which is essential for the Chinese Navy's anti-submarine operations.

India is worried that it would undertake satellite research in the northwest area of the Indian Ocean when it is visiting the important Sri Lankan port.

The port of Hambantota, around 250 kilometres from Colombo, was constructed using high-interest Chinese loans. Having taken on too much debt from China, the Sri Lankan government eventually leased the port to the Chinese for 99 years.

(With inputs from ANI)