report on EconomyNext, Dec 8, 2023 at 6:38 pm
Sri Lanka will seek more information on foreign ships visiting the island nation, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said, following geopolitical concerns and questions raised over permitting Chinese research ships to dock in the Indian Ocean Island nation’s ports and do surveys.
After the visit of two research ships within 14 months, China has sought approval from Sri Lankan authorities for another research ship early next year.
India, the closest neighbour of Sri Lanka, has raised concerns over the two previous research ships citing the possibility of “spying” in the Indian Ocean which is a threat to them.
“In principle, we have sought more information in years to come before we clear it,” Foreign Minister Ali Sabry told reporters at a media briefing in Colombo on Friday.
“We have introduced a SOP (Standard Operation Procedure) for research vessels and all the vessels. We have circulated them amongst the countries who have sent their military vessels during the last 10 years,” he said.
“Therefore, everything is transparent. We are looking at that (SOP) as the foundation.”
Sri Lanka has not granted approval for the third ship as the new request has come without a local partner and the research area being decided by Beijing.
Chinese research ship Shi Yan 6 arrived in Sri Lanka late in October this year and docked in Colombo port, for what Beijing citing was for “geophysical scientific research” in collaboration with the island nation’s National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA).
India uses the Colombo port as its main transshipment hub and accounts for around 70 percent of the total transshipment volume of the port.
The new move has added to neighbouring India’s concerns about China’s growing influence in the Indian Ocean along with possible security threats.
In August last year, Chinese navy vessel Yuan Wang 5 docked at Hambantota in southern Sri Lanka.https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-seeks-more-information-from-foreign-ships-after-concerns-over-chinese-research-vessel-143192/
