The ship’s movements have fueled a row between India and China, two of Sri Lanka’s biggest allies in its current economic crisis, as India fears China could use the port, close to the main Asia-Europe shipping route. as a military base. “The vessel will anchor for three days,” the official, who declined to be named as he was not authorized to speak to the media, told Reuters from the southern port. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register “The purpose of staying at the port is to supply them with fuel, food and other essentials.” Hours after the ship docked, a Sri Lankan cabinet spokesman said the island nation was working to ensure there was no friction between friendly countries. “Even before that, there were ships from the United States, India and other countries coming to Sri Lanka,” Information Minister Bandula Gunawardana told reporters. “We allowed these ships to come. In the same way, we allowed the Chinese ship to dock.” Foreign security analysts describe the Yuan Wang 5 as one of China’s latest generation space surveillance ships, used to monitor satellite, missile and intercontinental ballistic missile launches. The Pentagon says the Yuan Wang ships are operated by the People’s Liberation Army’s Strategic Support Force. On Saturday, Sri Lanka said it had agreed that the ship could dock at Hambadota, despite security concerns raised by India and the United States. read more India has rejected allegations that it pressured Sri Lanka to remove the ship. Sign up now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register Reporting by Uditha Jayasinghe in Colombo, writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar. Edited by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Clarence Fernandez Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
