A Chinese research vessel, Yuan Wang 5, will dock at Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port from 16 August to 22 August. India is worried that ship’s tracking systems might possibly snoop on its installations
Sri Lanka’s close ties with China have made India edgy time and again. Now even as the island nation is in the throes of its worst economic crisis blamed by experts on Beijing’s “debt trap diplomacy”, a Chinese research vessel has arrived at the Hambantota port, raising eyebrows.
India is on alert and keeping a close eye on the movement of the ship.
What do we know about the Chinese vessel?
The Chinese research vessel “Yuan Wang 5” will dock at Hambantota port in southern Sri Lanka from 16 August to 22 August. It is reportedly involved in tracking satellite, rocket and intercontinental ballistic missile launches.
China has seven such ships and they also help land-based tracking stations. According to a US Department of Defence report, these space support ships are operated by the People’s Liberation Army’s Strategic Support Force (SSF), which is “a theatre command-level organisation established to centralize the PLA’s strategic space, cyber, electronic, information, communications, and psychological warfare missions and capabilities”, reports The Indian Express.
Yuan Wang 5 set sail from the Chinese port of Jiangyin on 13 July and after crossing the East China Sea headed toward Sri Lanka.
The vessel was built in 2007; its overall length is 222 metres and its width is 25.2 metres.
A third-generation tracking ship of the Yuan Wang series, it was built by Jiangnan Shipyard. The Yuan Wang class is not a single class of identical designs but a group of different designs put under the same series that share one name.
Why is the vessel stopping at Hambantota?
The vessel will be in Hambantota mainly for replenishment including fuel, according to Sri Lanka’s defence ministry media spokesman Colonel Nalin Herath.
Located in the hometown of the ousted yet influential Rajapaksa family, the Hambantota port was built largely using loans from China. The port, which is considered important because of its strategic location, was leased to China Merchant Port Holdings after Sri Lanka was unable to repay the loans. This led to fears of the potential use of the port for military purposes, according to a report in The Economic Times.
The port, which is the second-largest in Sri Lanka, is located on a route that connects Southeast Asia with Africa and West Asia. It is a vital stop for Beijing in its Belt and Road Initiative.
The Hambantota port in southern Sri Lanka is considered important because of its strategic location. PTI
After denying reports on the docking of the Chinese ship, Sri Lanka later said that the country routinely gives clearance to commercial and military ships. “We’ve given permission to the Chinese ship in that context,” said Colonel Herath earlier in August.
“Such vessels periodically come from various countries such as India, China, Japan, and Australia. It is nothing unusual,” he said but did not comment on Sri Lanka earlier denying the entry of the ship.
According to the Belt & Road Initiative Sri Lanka (BRISL), the ship will conduct satellite control and research tracking of China’s satellites in the North Western part of the Indian Ocean region through August and September The visit of Yuan Wang 5 to Hambantota Port will be an excellent opportunity for Sri Lanka and the regional developing nations to learn and develop their own space programmes.
Why is India worried?
According to reports, while Yuan Wang 5 is not a military ship such vessels start their movements when China or any other country is carrying out missile tests.
The ship has an aerial reach of more than 750 kilometres. It means that it can snoop upon Kalpakkam, Koodankulam, and the atomic research centre within Indian borders. The ship can track ports of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh and gather vital information from installations in south India, reports The Economic Times.
India has a strategic interest in the Indian Ocean Region. The Chinese have been trying to make inroads from Myanmar to Eastern Africa, the report says.
The Indian government has expressed concern that the ship could spy on its activities, lodging a complaint with Colombo. The United States also expressed concern about the ship, reports AFP.
Sri Lanka’s main Tamil minority party Tamil National Alliance had said earlier that China’s military presence in the Indian Ocean would give India a legitimate defence concern and that Colombo should not accentuate that by providing space for Chinese military presence.
“Chinese spacecraft tracking ship Yuan Wang 5 entering the Hambantota Harbour on August 11 has again given rise to tensions in the region. We do not take sides with regard to power struggles between other countries,” the TNA said in a statement.
What is India doing?
India has said it carefully monitors any development that has an impact on its security and economic interests. “We are aware of reports of a proposed visit by this vessel to Hambantota in August,” External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in New Delhi when asked about the reports of the docking of the vessel earlier in August. “The government carefully monitors any development having a bearing on India’s security and economic interests and takes all necessary measures to safeguard them.”
According to The Indian Express, on 12 August, the MEA spokesperson said, “…We reject the insinuations… Sri Lanka is a sovereign country and makes its own independent decisions… With regard to our security concerns… look, this is a sovereign right of each country. We will make the best judgment in our own interest.”
What is China saying?
Last week, the Chinese foreign ministry said it was “completely unjustified for certain countries to cite the so-called security concerns to pressure Sri Lanka.”
“We urge the relevant parties to see China’s marine scientific research activities in a rational light and stop disrupting normal exchange and cooperation between China and Sri Lanka,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin had said.
Has this happened in the past?
India has in the past raised concerns over the presence of the Chinese military or suspected dual-purpose vessels in the Indian Ocean. In January 2020, four to six Chinese research vehicles were spotted in the Indian Ocean region, making the navy wary.
In 2019, the navy pushed out a Chinese naval ship Shi Yan 1, that had come into waters close to the Andaman Islands, reports The Hindu.
In 2014, Sri Lanka allowed a Chinese nuclear-powered submarine Changzheng 2 in Colombo and it led to diplomatic tension with New Delhi. Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was then secretary to the ministry of defence, flew to India to meet with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval to discuss the matter, the report says.
With inputs from agencies
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