There is confusion in front of the Sri Lankan government regarding the permission given to the Chinese research vessel Xian to anchor in Sri Lanka. According to a report in Hindustan Times, the Chinese ship is going to arrive in Sri Lanka on October 25. In such a situation, the big question before the Ranil Wickremesinghe government of Sri Lanka is whether it should allow it or not. According to the report, Xian will conduct joint marine survey with Sri Lankan government agency NARA for the next 17 days after docking at Colombo and Hambantota ports.
The ship has received permission!
A report in the English daily newspaper The Daily Mirror has claimed that the Sri Lankan government has allowed the Chinese research ship Xi Yan to arrive at its port. Quoting the statement issued by the Sri Lankan Defense Ministry, it is being said that the Ministry has given permission to lay the anchor. The Defense Ministry said that NARA has a program to conduct research with a Chinese research ship. However, it is not yet clear on which date in October this ship will reach Sri Lanka port. Let us tell you, it has been told from China that Shi Yan is a team of 60 people who does the work of oceanography, marine ecology and marine geology testing.
India expressed concern about the Chinese ship
Here, India has officially expressed concern to Sri Lanka for giving free rein to Chinese survey, surveillance and ballistic missile trackers ships at its Colombo and Hambantota deep sea ports. In this regard, India has said that this is not good for India’s security. Earlier in July, when Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe had visited India, PM Modi had said that India’s concerns should be addressed on behalf of Sri Lanka.
India has expressed concern earlier also
It is noteworthy that even before this, India had expressed concern about the Chinese research vessel. Last year, India had expressed concern over the arrival of Chinese research vessel Yuan Wang 5 to South Sri Lanka. Not only this, India had described this ship as a spy ship and not a research ship. The ship was berthed at the China-built Hambantota port in southern Sri Lanka. At the same time, India had opposed it saying that it could be used to spy on Indian military and nuclear establishments.
When will President Wickremesinghe take a decision?
According to Hindustan Times report, the decision on whether the Chinese ship Shi Yan will be allowed to dock in Sri Lankan port is expected to be taken by the Sri Lankan President after attending the Belt-Road-Initiative summit in Beijing. do. However, the dilemma in Sri Lanka regarding the Chinese ship is that Sri Lanka is in a recession. Both China and India have helped him a lot. China is also the biggest lender. In such a situation, Sri Lanka can neither take the risk of angering India nor China. India had provided assistance of about US $ 4 billion to Sri Lanka after the economic and political crisis of 2021, including food items, oil and aviation fuel.